This week, the Town of Babylon held an opening ceremony for "The Wall That Heals." This traveling exhibit brings a half-scale replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. to communities across the country. It serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served in the Vietnam War and allows Long Islanders the chance to come together to honor and recognize our Vietnam Veterans.

This week, Suffolk County Police held a "Coffee with A Cop" event in Patchogue. The Community came out to meet with police and learn about community resources. While Andrew was in Washington, D.C. for votes, his office attended, spoke to constituents, and handed out information on resources and constituent services. Andrew is committed to ensuring he and his office are always available to provide NY-02 with the resources they need.

Ahead of tomorrow's holiday, Andrew reintroduced a resolution expressing support for the recognition of the second Monday in October as ‘‘Columbus Day.’’ The resolution also honors the contributions of the Italian American community to our society. Andrew first introduced the resolution during the 117th Congress. This year, Chair of the Italian American Caucus Representative Mark Amodei (R-NV-02) co-led the legislation and more than a dozen Members joined as cosponsors. In a statement, Andrew said, "I am incredibly proud to be Italian. Christopher Columbus was the first Italian to set foot in the Americas and, in doing so, he discovered the new world and changed the course of history. Now, on Columbus Day we recognize his contributions and those of all Italian Americans. Attempts to abolish Columbus Day are attempts to rewrite history and erase a core piece of Italian American heritage. Columbus Day is a point of great pride for our community and I am committed to making sure it is preserved for future generations." Learn more here.

As we approach the anniversary of Super Storm Sandy, Andrew cosponsored the Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act, which creates a Small Business Administration (SBA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Loan Program to help small businesses take preventative action to bolster their infrastructure in preparation for future flooding events. As a coastal community, Andrew knows how important it is for Long Island to be prepared for flooding in the event of future storms.

This week, Andrew met with the President of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) in his Washington, D.C. office. HANYS is a statewide hospital and continuing care association in New York representing 500 not-for-profit and public hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare organizations. They discussed the important work these health care facilities perform and some of the challenges they are currently facing. Andrew is committed to ensuring Long Islanders always have access to the health care services they need.