January 27, 2024
Dear Friends,
Among my deepest joys and honors as a member of Congress is the opportunity to connect and speak with constituents about the issues that matter to you. This week, I was thrilled to spend time traveling across our beautiful district, feeling energized after many events, meetings, and visits throughout our Capital Region. Over the past several days, I’ve celebrated significant milestones for two Community Project Funding programs for which I secured funding, and I got the chance to meet with some of our region’s bright young students and some of our talented workforce of the future to speak about the ways our federal government can help support future generations.
Supporting our students and building for the next generation
This week, I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful 5th graders at Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary School, where I delivered dozens of books through the Library of Congress Surplus Books Program. This fantastic program facilitates the donation of surplus books from the Library of Congress to schools and nonprofits for the purpose of building public library collections and inspiring young readers. I’ve made these book deliveries since 2017, and in that time have donated thousands of books valued at more than $50,000 to schools, libraries, and educational institutions throughout our region. If this sounds like a program your school or nonprofit would be interested in, please fill out this form on my website to request books.
I treasure every opportunity to connect with young workers across our region, but as an engineer, I’m always particularly excited to meet with those pursuing a career in STEM. On Thursday, I was thrilled to visit the College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering at the University at Albany to tour Applied Materials’ cutting-edge research and development facility. Applied Materials is a leader in semiconductor tool manufacturing and software, and it was great to speak with their talented team about the importance of STEM education and about the critical work they’re doing to advance the next generation of semiconductor chips right here in our Capital Region.
I’m working to deliver funding for STEM education and drive investments in high-tech manufacturing— including through the CHIPS and Science Act — because growing the STEM field drives innovation, job creation, and economic prosperity. I was blown away by the research being conducted at this facility, and I’ll continue pushing for investment in our future workforce.
Cheering the unveiling of my community projects
Over the past few years, my colleagues in Congress and I have been proud to participate in the Community Project Funding process, a mechanism through which local municipalities and nonprofit organizations can apply for federal funding to support our region. I’ve been thrilled to have a number of successes in recent years securing vital federal funds for worthy projects, some of which took big steps forward this week!
- On Monday, I celebrated the opening of the brand-new Hometown Health Dental Clinic, a facility that will ensure that underserved children and adults have timely access to high-quality dental care. Through both the American Rescue Plan and Community Project Funding, I secured millions in critical funds to help the incredible staff at Hometown Health deliver essential, exceptional care to families across our Capital Region.
- Yesterday, I joined the students and faculty at Maria College to celebrate the opening of the new Center for Academic Innovation (CAI), an innovation hub that utilizes virtual reality and other advanced technologies to offer critical training opportunities for nursing students. The first of its kind in the nation dedicated to nursing, this new facility will serve as a nationwide model while directly responding to the need to alleviate the national shortage of nurses.
These projects build upon a bold vision for our district, and I will continue fighting to ensure our Capital Region receives the federal support it needs to boost our health, competitiveness, and prosperity for generations to come.
Between attending these events, hosting a tax season workshop, holding Mobile Office Hours in South Glens Falls, visiting local stores, and more, my week was filled with opportunities to speak directly with members of our community. Those moments are why I love this work, and why it is my highest honor and deepest privilege to represent our great Capital Region. Your voices will continue to inspire me and fill my own voice as I return to Washington next week. Now and always, I will be tireless in the effort to improve the lives of everyday folks across our Capital Region and our nation.
As always, thank you for reading.
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from state and federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- The application window for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program is just around the corner, and our office is here to help connect local departments to these critical federal grant opportunities!
- The primary goal of AFG is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations.
- Since its inception in 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) AFG program has awarded billions in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much-needed emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles, research and training.
- The application period for the 2023 AFG Program period is expected to run January 29, 2024, through March 8, 2024. This year, FEMA is putting an emphasis on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
- This coming Tuesday, my office will be hosting a virtual AFG workshop on January 30th at 6:00PM.
- Additionally, FEMA will be conducting application development workshops for the FY 2023 AFG program. The schedule is posted HERE.
