This week, following intensive negotiations with House leadership, Andrew and his fellow New York Republicans introduced the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act which was subsequently passed through the House Rules Committee. This legislation would fix an unfair loophole that currently exists in the tax code by ensuring that every person is able to deduct up to $10,000 in State and Local Taxes (SALT) on their Federal tax returns even if they are married. Under current law, single people are able to deduct up to $10,000 while married couples are only able to deduct the same amount between them. While Andrew is committed to continuing his fight as Co-Chair of the Congressional SALT Caucus to provide SALT relief to all Long Islanders, the advancement of this measure is a positive step towards lessening the tax burden for Long Island families.

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On Thursday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “The Record,” Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) said that there is a bipartisan bill on immigration that Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) already has available to him that has already been passed by the House of Representatives — the POLICE Act, which would clearly make assaulting a police officer a deportable offense — but the Senate has been sitting on the bill and has refused to act on the bill since it received it last May. Garbarino stated, 'I put in the POLICE Act, which was passed on a bipartisan basis in the House of Representatives last May. It says that if you assault a police officer, that is a deportable offense. Because, right now, the law isn’t really straight on that. So, that was passed. It’s waiting. We’re waiting for Chuck Schumer to pass it in the Senate. So, something like happened this weekend doesn’t — people can be deported for it.'

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Read the full article here.

This week, the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce held a community meeting where updates were given including the progress of a local sewer project and an update on a $3 million grant Andrew helped secure from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While Andrew was in Washington, D.C. for votes, a representative from his office attended to share information about the constituent services Andrew offers.

A constituent contacted Andrew's office regarding assistance in receiving copies of her deceased uncle’s military records. Her uncle died over 20 years ago and his ashes were in an urn unburied. Since he is a Veteran, she wanted him laid to rest at a National Cemetery. Andrew's casework team reached out to the National Personnel Records Center and attained the veteran’s military records. Now that the family has the required records, he will be interred at Calverton National Cemetery with proper military honors this June.

Andrew knows how frustrating dealing with bureaucracy can be. That is why he has an entire team dedicated to helping constituents get what they need from the federal government. If you need help dealing with a federal agency, contact our office and our team will get to work on your case. 

This week, Andrew cosponsored the Human Trafficking Awareness Act. This legislation would statutorily authorize a human trafficking awareness training for State, local, tribal, territorial, and educational institution law enforcement officers through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). The bill would also authorize dedicated funding specifically for State and local officer human trafficking awareness trainings. This would allow FLETC to provide training to an estimated 10,400 State and local law enforcement officers each year.

This week, Andrew waived onto a China Select Committee hearing entitled, "The CCP Cyber Threat to the American Homeland and National Security" to discuss the cyber threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, Andrew is committed to safeguarding Americans and building resilience to China's malign cyber threats. Watch his line of questioning here.

This week, Andrew met with the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA)in Washington, D.C. to discuss the importance of promoting excellence in education for New York and Long Island public school students. Andrew is committed to always putting our kids first and prioritizing quality education.