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I'm Mark Sudall. Welcome back to Power in Politics. Joining me this week is Connecticut State Treasurer Eric Russell. Welcome back to the show. Thanks, Mark. Thanks for having me. Nice to have you. Well, now you are running for your second term now. Uh, what have you been able to accomplish in this first term so far? So I'm really proud of our record, uh, and the work that we've done over the last several years as treasurer. Uh, part of my job as treasurer is to function as the state's elected chief financial officer, which a lot of people don't know, right? Correct. Yeah, so we've made a lot of progress in terms of, uh, balanced budgets, surpluses, paying down a lot of our unfunded pension liability, over $10 billion of additional contributions since 2021. Um, and then making sure that those funds that we're putting into our pension fund are performing well and so over the last three years we've performed at 12.4%, adding tens of billions of dollars to the pension fund really to shore up the retirement security of state employees and teachers, uh, in our state. I mean I think where we are is, you know, in in the past where we've been jumping from kind of fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis, we're now in a position where we can. Really make decisions about how we balance that interest in being fiscally sound but making critical investments in families in our state and really working to bring affordability um to so many working families in our state and so um you know there's a lot more work that we've done in the office it's very broad, uh, returning record numbers of unclaimed property to people in our state paying down some of our um our debt, so our bonded debt, how we ultimately invest in infrastructure and schools and uh. Um, childcare facilities in our state, um, all of this is about ultimately making sure we are set up for longer term success as a state, um, and so we're really proud of that record. Um, we'll talk a little bit more about some of those things as well. Uh, let's also talk about what's coming out of Washington that certainly has made, uh, your job, I think the governor's job more challenging, right? Uh, definitely, it's really there's been just a lot of volatility and uncertainty, um, since the new administration came in. Um, as I said, we, in terms of what we control as far as our, our overall fiscal health, the work that we've been doing to support families in our state, I think we're making a lot of progress there, but there certainly has been a lot of headwinds, uh, lately, and it's been this sporadic policy, whether that's around, uh, tariff policy or this really brutal, um, anti, uh, immigrant policy that's ultimately impacting families in our state but also the economy and the workforce. Um, or it's cuts to programs like Medicaid and food assistance programs and housing assistance programs that are impacting our budget that are really inflating costs, uh, SNAP benefits, SNAP benefits, um, you know, I think what we've done, and part of this is because of where we've been positioned fiscally, is we've been able to really. Navigate through a lot of this and make sure that at its core we're also protecting particularly the most vulnerable in our state and you saw that when we backfilled food assistance programs like SNAP when they were being cut by the federal government while we're doing work to try to make sure we're um ensuring that people have health care in our state um and so we're trying to just balance all of those those things and I think what's toughest right now is in a spot where there's already been this affordability crisis. For people, we're seeing a lot of this policy and particularly this conflict in Iran now that is leading to even more inflated costs, driving inflation up, gas prices, housing prices, all for residents in our state, which is really a challenge. Yeah, we're talking about gas prices here and I know the governor has been talking about this gas tax holiday. What are your thoughts on that and, and how else could we make it more affordable? Listen, this has to be something that's driven on the federal level and that's what really should be happening. Um, I think on the state level, particularly as we navigate this budget process, there's, we're going to continue to look at ways that we can help to bring down costs for families, right? And that is going to be the work that's happening between the governor and the legislature over the coming weeks, um, heading to the end of session, but some of these challenges are being not only being created by the federal government. Uh, either through policy or lack of action by Congress, um, and that's really where these big picture challenges need to be addressed as well. So as you've talked about some of your accomplishments, so why are you running again? Uh, so one I would say is to continue some of the, the work that we've done. Um, I love this job. I've been really honored to be in this role. And again, I'm proud of the work that we've done, whether it's improving our, our, uh, funded ratios and performance in our pension fund. Uh, paying down debt, managing our cash responsibly, but also finding ways to invest in people and in families in our state, whether that be, um, our work administering the early childhood education endowment, which is a first in the nation model that's about creating a sustainable, uh, way to provide quality affordable child care for families in our state, investing in children at. The most critical times in their development, um, but also in thinking about how that impacts the economy, getting more people back to work as families are struggling with deciding between someone re-entering the workforce or staying home because the cost of childcare is so high. Uh, whether it's programs like Connecticut Baby Bonds that is about addressing wealth inequality in Connecticut where now we have, um, every child whose birth is covered by Husky in the state is going to have $3200 invested in a trust on their behalf that we, uh, they can use for wealth building, uh, for purchasing a home in Connecticut, for starting or investing in a Connecticut business to help pay for education in the future. Um, all of this is about balancing our fiscal health and investing in people and in our future. I think when you think about. Many of the challenges that we've had in Connecticut is because people kicked the can down the road for a long time and we're being short-sighted about decision making and we're paying for that now. You think about the 70 years we went without funding our pensions properly, we would have billions of dollars more freed up in our budget right now to lower taxes or to invest in education and, uh, or more into childcare. And so my goal in this role is to really think longer term about how we are building the Connecticut that we want for the future. In a challenge and uh addressing many of the inequalities and challenges that we've had um because of policy that was created over a long period of time and as we get ready to wrap up here, thank goodness that uh. Fiscally, I think our state is in pretty good shape compared to other states. Uh, the rainy day fund and so forth, uh, that you've been able to fall back on definitely with the SNAP benefits and things like that as well. Eric Russell, thank you so much for the time. I wish we had more time, but I appreciate it. always nice to have you on and good luck this fall. Thank you. Great to see you. Great to see you too. Next, state lawmakers are set to crack down on ICE arrests.

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Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced it is suing Connecticut over its sanctuary city policies. Attorney General William Tong and the city of New Haven are named in the lawsuit. The suit targets Connecticut's Trust Act. That's the law which restricts state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents. Governor Ned Lamont responding saying, quote, Our laws do not prevent federal authorities from enforcing immigration law. Rather, they reflect a long standing principle the federal government cannot require states to use their personnel or resources to carry out federal enforcement responsibilities. And state lawmakers are set to crack down on ICE arrests. News 12 Connecticut's John Craven tells us the Senate approved new rules for immigration agents. ICE agents could face sweeping new restrictions under legislation the Connecticut Senate took up on Tuesday where we've seen American citizens. Shot and killed for standing up for their rights. Protected spaces like playgrounds and churches would be off limits unless agents have a warrant signed by a judge. Law enforcement could no longer cover their faces, and state authorities could access crime scenes involving federal agents. It's a response to the killings of two protesters in Minneapolis. ICE agents have been operating like vigilantes in Connecticut and elsewhere. If immigration agents violate the rules, they could face lawsuits or even criminal charges. Republicans think the new rules are unworkable and unconstitutional. I certainly would bet dollars to donuts that as soon as it's challenged in the federal courts, it'll be struck down. I would call it a Trojan horse. Anti-police bill if I was going to characterize it to someone, but Democrats say they aren't worried. We think that we are on solid ground in passing this. We know the Department, the Federal Department of Justice has lost in a number of their lawsuits that they have brought. Well, this bill next goes to the Connecticut House, even though it goes farther than Governor Lamont proposed. He says he is on board. John Craven, News 12, Connecticut. And also this week, Connecticut House Republicans unveiled their budget proposal. It aims to lower local property taxes by sending $365 million to cities and towns to pay for it. GOP lawmakers want to end Medicaid coverage for undocumented immigrants and budget for fewer state workers. That's all our time. I'm Mark Sudoff. Thanks for watching.

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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell join the program this week.

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