2007 - Since 2004 Senator Williams as served as the elected Senate President Pro Tempore of the Connecticut General Assembly. This is the most important and responsible position in the Senate. _____________________________________________________________________________
From the transcript of the Connecticut Senate - June 25, 2007 - debate on the budget:
SEN. LOONEY:
. . .
And also would like to mention the leadership
of our President Pro Temp, Senator Williams, throughout this entire process,
establishing a vision, finding ways to develop common ground, bringing people
together when there was a severe difference of opinion that threatened to
impede the process, but keeping an eye on the goal.
And one of the major important parts of that goal very early in the session was the way in which Senator Williams staked out a position on the need for a substantial healthcare initiative in this budget.
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From the transcript of the Connecticut Senate - June 5, 2007:
"SEN. HARRIS:
Thank you, Mr. President. This is a very
important evening and such an important topic. And before I begin, you're going
to be hearing from a lot of us around the Circle that had a piece in it. And
this has been, in many ways, a bipartisan effort, going forward through the
Committee system.
But there's one person at the outset I would
be remiss, as the hour grows late, if I don't thank, and that's our President
in the Circle, Don Williams. Senator Williams, a long time ago, knew and showed
that this is a priority for the people of the State of
Access to healthcare, wellness prevention, of
course, is a national issue, but we have it right here at home. Over 400,000 of
our fellow citizens, our family, friends, and neighbors, uninsured. That
doesn't include those that are under-insured or are paying tremendous amounts
for their insurance.
And even those who have coverage have
difficult at times getting access because we don't have the providers in place,
the dentists, the behavioral health specialists, the doctors, the healthcare
professionals, across the spectrum, to be able to provide service.
Senator Crisco, do you accept the yield?
SEN. CRISCO:
Thank you, Mr. President. I do. And I want to
commend my colleagues, Senator Handley, Senator Harris, and Senator Harp.
Obviously, they are the Three Musketeers, and I'm Dartanian.
But, Mr. President, this really is a
historical time for this great Circle, and I really want to express my
appreciation, like my colleague, Senator Williams, for his leadership.
We have kind of a kidding thing in our
caucus, and we're very thankful for a phone booth we have in the corner. And
our President of the Senate goes into that phone booth and comes out our
superhero.
And as that superhero, he has provided the leadership that is so, so dearly needed."
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From the transcript of the Connecticut Senate - May 31, 2007 - debate on the tax package:
"SEN. WILLIAMS:
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to support
the amendment, to thank those who have commented either way, but obviously
especially those who have commented in favor of the amendment.
I want to thank our Finance Committee and
Chairman Eileen Daily. They have shown a boldness and a vision that we rarely
see when it comes to plotting the course for revenue in the State of
The tax package that we will vote on in this
amendment is truly transformational. It's what the citizens of
It provides fairness in a way that we have
never provided for the income tax. From day one, we were looking at a more or
less flat tax, the same type of flat tax or similar type of flat tax that Steve
Forbes has proposed at the national level because it helps multi-millionaires.
But in point of fact, the proposition that we
have before us today is to move forward in a year where we can afford to do so
and provide dramatic tax relief and tax cuts for the people of the State of
What we'll be voting on in a minute provides
income tax cuts for 95% of everyone who pays the income tax in the State of
Also, in a session where there has been much
discussion about property tax relief, the amendment before us provides the most
direct property tax relief in the form of doubling the property tax credit
directly to the taxpayers.
And finally, the third main [inaudible] of
this proposal provides an earned income tax credit for those men and women who
are working as hard as they can, who struggle to make ends meet because they
are low income wage earners, to provide them with the same kind of benefit that
we provide at the federal level, the earned income tax credit that was
supported by both Democrats and Republicans, including President Ronald Reagan.
This makes sense to provide relief across the
board for the low income wage earners, the property tax relief that will apply
across the board for all property owners and the income tax cuts that will
benefit 95% of the population of the income taxpayers in this state.
It would be, frankly, irresponsible for us
not to provide this kind of relief, this kind of bold initiative that truly is
transformational.
So, Mr. President, thank you, and again, I strongly support this amendment."
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From the debate on a bill to allow children of immigrants who attend Connecticut high schools for four years and then graduate to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities - transcript of the Connecticut Senate - June 1, 2007:
"SEN. WILLIAMS:
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to support
this bill, to thank Senator Jonathan Harris for his work and all of the other
folks here in the Senate and in the House who have moved this forward.
You know when we talk about undocumented
immigrants, I think we're really talking about a matter of perspective.
My own background, and I've never done a
comprehensive genealogy, shows that I have English and German and Welsh and
Scottish and Dutch relatives. I cannot say for certain that all of them came to
this country legally.
I don't know whether that's true or not. I do
know that we are a nation of immigrants and that the bill before us tries to
help folks who are here from other countries including the children, primarily
the children of those who may be undocumented immigrants.
And I'm wondering if we were not only talking
about children, but if we were also talking about grandchildren and great
grandchildren and great, great grandchildren how many of us around this Circle
could say with certainty that we would be legal immigrants, that we would not
be undocumented immigrants.
You know, in addition to the nationalities
that I mentioned, I also have the privilege of having some [inaudible] blood on
my father's side. And I suspect that from the [inaudible] perspective, we are
all illegal immigrants.
So it is truly a matter of perspective in
looking at the debate as it has gone throughout the United States. I note that
there are ten states that have adopted this law.
It's very interesting, five of the states are
quite progressive, California, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, the State of
Washington. The other five are very conservative, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Nebraska.
What brings these progressive states and
these conservative states together? It's the acknowledgement of reality. It's
the willingness to look at those who are among us and not pretending that we
cannot see those who have come to this country for the same reason that our
ancestors came to his country, to work and to get ahead.
And in order to work and to get ahead, you
need an education, and that's what this bill is about. Providing folks just
like our ancestors, just like our relatives, with the opportunity and the tools
that they need to succeed.
This isn't arbitrary, because we require that
folks have stayed in this country, in this state, have gone to our schools,
have graduated from Connecticut high schools, and have signed an affidavit
intending to become legal citizens of this state, of this country.
That is the American dream, so I think it
makes sense to join with these progressive states, with these conservative
states that recognize to move our economy forward we need the influx of new
blood of immigrants that we have always had throughout the history of this
country.
And whenever we have had immigrants come to
this country, you know what, throughout history there have been backlash—
[Gap in testimony. Changing from Tape 2A to
Tape 3A]
SEN. WILLIAMS:
--state the future of our country and the
American dream of those who are coming and living among us just as our ancestors
and our relatives did in the past.
Mr. President, I strongly support this and
thank those who move this forward to bring it to this point today. Thank you."