This week, we have seen a rash of antisemitism and violence on campuses across the country including Columbia University in New York and George Washington University in D.C. When news broke about the incidents at Columbia, Andrew said, "I am appalled by the grotesque antisemitism on display at Columbia University. No student should have to fear hate and violence on campus. Columbia must protect its Jewish community and crack down on those threatening their safety and displaying support for terrorism." That's why he joined Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and the rest of the New York Republican delegation in sending a letter to Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik urging her to resign for failing to put an end to an unsanctioned mob of students and agitators involved in documented incidents of despicable antisemitic harassment and calls for violence and terrorism against Jewish students on Columbia’s campus.  Read their letter here.

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The House Homeland Security cyber subcommittee will hold a May 1 hearing on CISA’s notice of proposed rulemaking to establish a mandatory incident reporting regime, featuring private sector stakeholders. 'Just two years after CIRCIA was signed into law, the cyber threat landscape has become even more dynamic with ever-increasing risk to our critical infrastructure from cyber adversaries, such as China and Russia, and opportunistic cybercriminals. Addressing these complex threats to the homeland demands effective implementation of CIRCIA,' subcommittee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) said in a statement to Inside Cybersecurity. Garbarino said, 'It is more important than ever to ensure there is a streamlined process for critical infrastructure entities to identify cross-sector vulnerabilities and mitigate risk.' CISA was directed under the 2022 Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act to establish a mandatory regime where critical infrastructure owners and operators would be required to report cyber incidents to the agency within 72 hours and 24 hours for ransom payments. The law gave CISA 24 months to issue the NPRM and an additional 18 months for the final rule. The agency published the 447-page NPRM on April 4. The expansive rulemaking provides definitions for key terms, how to determine applicability, a proposal for establishing agreements between CISA and other agencies who have reporting requirements, and what should be provided in reports to CISA.The NPRM also contains data records and preservation requirements and details on enforcement and protections. CISA interprets key terminology from the law in the NPRM to suit the agency’s reporting needs. The agency’s approach to defining what should be considered a “covered entity” has drawn concerns from stakeholders. Garbarino said, 'Successfully combating the cascading effects of cyber intrusions requires complete alignment with Congress' intent in CIRCIA, which will empower CISA to foster public-private partnerships and enhance interagency information sharing.'

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In honor of 5 years of service as the 54th Grand Knight of the Lindenhurst Knights of Columbus, Andrew provided Steven Strigaro with a Congressional Certificate of Recognition. Congratulations Steven on your OLPH Past Grand Knight Testimonial. Your dedication and leadership have left an indelible mark on our community. Here's to many more successes ahead.

This week, the ELIJA Foundation held a ribbon cutting of the marketplace at ELIJA Farm as part of Autism Acceptance and Action Month. There was a seed planting and harvesting demonstration given by several learners with Autism. ELIJAFarm is a nonprofit farm that supports innovative, farm-based learning experiences. These experiences focus on teaching, and helping individuals of all abilities, especially those with Autism, and other differently-abled people. Andrew wholeheartedly supports this endeavor and applauds ELIJA Foundation for its work in support of those with Autism.

A Central Islip resident contacted Andrew's office for help with a last-minute passport request. He had checked his passport and realized it expired on Tuesday when he was due to travel on Sunday. Andrew's casework team was able to reach out to the NYC Passport Agency and secure a passport appointment so this constituent could get his passport prior to his travel and make his trip. 

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 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 led a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services expressing concerns regarding the continuing poor performance of Managed Care Advisors (MCA) -Sedgwick as the federally-contracted administrator of the Nationwide Provider Network, which is part of the World Trade Center Health Program. As a leading supporter of this crucial health program, he is committed to ensuring that the program continues to provide health care and medical monitoring for 9/11 responders and survivors as was originally intended. Read the full letter here.

This week, Andrew called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work more closely with Congress and to ensure energy reliability and affordability remain key factors in energy policymaking. He said, "Decarbonization of the electric power sector is an important environmental priority but must be accomplished in a manner that preserves electric affordability, reliability, and security...I am aware of reports that the EPA is about to finalize a rule that may not have the flexibility and efficiencies necessary at this time, and write to ask that you work more closely with the U.S. Congress on the development of policy more fit to the task of regulating greenhouse gases, even as you continue implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act."