Outgoing Speaker of the House Chris Donovan said the jobs bill known as Senate Bill One will be passed during a special session.
Some believe the bill did not get brought up in the House because Donovan's minimum wage bill was not passed in the Senate. The minimum wage bill that could not get enough support in the Senate called for a 25 cent hike each year for the next two years.
Speaking on WNPR's Where We Live, Donovan said the jobs bill might have had bipartisan support, "but it was a five hour debate." While looking ahead to the special session, Donovan said he'd support the jobs bill even if his minimum wage bill doesn't have the votes needed to pass. "Whether it happened by the end of the session day or whether it'll happen in another week or two, I don't think that's really the issue," said Donovan.
During the show, former presidential candidate Ralph Nader called in to ask Donovan about the minimum wage at the federal level. "There's no movement by the Democrats in Congress to introduce a $10 federal minimum wage, which would increase consumer demand in a recessionary economy and create more jobs," said Nader. Donovan agreed and pointed out that in Connecticut, he has been involved in twelve attempts to raise the minimum wage.
Donovan's message about Senate Bill One remained the same throughout the show. "Rest assured...we're going to be doing the jobs bill."
Democratic Convention
Last week, Donovan's Democratic opponent Elizabeth Esty was on Where We Live and questioned the motives of convention delegates who switched their votes. "There was some moving around, not of my delegates but of some other delegates, to ensure a three-way primary," said Esty. Her other Democratic opponent, Dan Roberti just made it above the 15 percent threshold to make the primary ballot, creating a three-way race.
After the convention, the Hartford Courant's Rick Green said that if Roberti remains in the race, "Esty probably goes nowhere."
When Donovan was asked about the alleged vote switching at the convention, he denied the claims. "I was not part of that at all," said Donovan. He did say that he was "hoping for a one-way race" in the primary.
Middle East and Foreign Policy
With recent news that President Barack Obama is planning on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014, Donovan said "there's an opportunity to withdraw our troops earlier."
Donovan admitted that when it comes to foreign policy, he "doesn't have all the solutions" but expressed his confidence in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The other Middle Eastern country that is in the spotlight is Iran. Donovan said he does not support military action at this moment. But he believes the sanctions are having an impact against Iran.
