April 15, 2023
Dear Friends,
I’m working each day in Congress to bring home federal dollars that will make a lasting impact on our Capital Region and its residents. Often, these successes are years in the making, carried forth through a committed, resolute effort.
This week, I’m ecstatic to share that some of those hard-fought efforts have paid off—one resulting in a key investment in our transportation infrastructure and the other a proposal that would bring equity to our region’s healthcare system.
A needed investment in the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge
For decades, our nation’s infrastructure has been left in disrepair. Without the help of strong federal investments, our communities have suffered from crumbling roads and bridges, outdated transit systems, lack of broadband access, contaminated water infrastructure, and more.
In November 2021, Congress finally took action, coming together to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to tackle many of our nation’s most pressing infrastructure needs. Since the passage of this long-needed legislation, the dollars have poured into our region, and our communities continue to reap the benefits.
Most recently, I was thrilled to announce a $21 million grant allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to renovate and strengthen the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge. With an estimated 6.5 million trips taken on this section of the New York State Thruway each year, this bridge is an instrumental commerce and travel corridor, connecting our region as well as serving as a major link between New York and Massachusetts.
Last year, I sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in support of the grant to improve the safety and reliability of this transportation infrastructure and support economic growth in our Capital Region. On Thursday, I was honored to welcome Secretary Buttigieg to the district to celebrate this essential funding that will help extend the service life of this bridge by 50 years. I look forward to working further with the Secretary and this administration to secure investments that connect our communities and maintain our region’s status as a thriving hub of economic activity.
Ensuring fairness for our region’s healthcare
Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked alongside our Capital Region health care providers and hospitals to fix the Medicare Wage Index—the broken calculation that determines federal Medicare reimbursement rates for hospitals. This index has long shortchanged our region, denying our hospitals critically needed federal dollars and causing longstanding issues of underfunding.
Over the years, I’ve meet with hospital workers and leaders to learn about their grievances with this current system and relay these concerns and demand action in Washington. I successfully pushed for a provision that would right this wrong and boost the Medicare Wage Index for our district under the Heroes Act of 2020. While that bill was passed in the House but stalled in the Senate, I’ve never stopped working since then to ensure the longevity of our hospitals and support our health care workers and those they serve.
This week, that effort saw promising results under the Fiscal Year 2024 Hospital Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule from the Centers from Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This proposed rule addresses that longstanding inequity in the Medicare Wage Index and, if finalized, would result in our Capital Region hospitals receiving more than $100 million annually in additional Medicare payments.
Comments are due on the FY2024 Hospital Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule in June, and a final rule will be issued later this year. Moving forward, I will be advocating strongly for this proposal and submitting comments on behalf of my district hospitals. I will do all in my power to ensure this proposed rule sees the finish line.
These are encouraging and deeply impactful investments. But as I always say, our work is not done yet. As I head back to Washington this coming week, I’ll continue striving to deliver the investments that will help our region continue to grow and thrive.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information from the IRS that may be of interest to you:
- The deadline to file your taxes is just around the corner (April 18th)! If you need additional time, make sure to apply for an extension to file.
- Individual tax filers, regardless of income, can use IRS Free File to electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension. This form will extend the time you have to file to mid-October.
- An extension of time to file your return does not grant you any extension of time to pay your taxes.
- To get the extension, you must estimate your tax liability and also pay any amount due.
- You can also get an extension by electronically paying all or part of your estimated income tax due and indicating the payment is for an extension. You can make a same day payment using online account services. A payment can be scheduled with Direct Pay using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or with a credit or debit card.
- Special rules may apply if you are:
- For more information, visit the IRS webpage HERE.
