This week, Andrew held his annual Back to School event in coordination with NYPD Hockey, SCPD Hockey, Suffolk County Sheriff's Office Hockey Team, Suffolk PBA, and Suffolk Police SOA. Together they gave away 650 backpacks, hundreds of school supplies, and a variety of community resources to the families in the Village of Bellport community and beyond. NYPD Soccer was onsite to work with kids on soccer skills, Suffolk County Sheriff's Office provided Operation Safe Child, SCPD 5th Precinct let the kids play with the police lights and sirens, and SCPD Emergency Services brought the bearcat for the kids to see all the cool equipment. Thank you to Village of Bellport Mayor Maureen Veitch for hosting and community groups Bellport Teachers Association, Bellport PTA, Youth Enrichment Services, AHRC Suffolk, and Island Harvest for making this event extra special.

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U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) led a bipartisan contingent of his fellow Long Island, N.Y., members of Congress in questioning the Biden administration about how to adequately inform their constituents about what is needed to address the recent outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in their home state. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on July 26 announced that a Boar’s Head Provisions Co. establishment in Virginia issued a recall of all its liverwurst products for Listeria monocytogenes, as well as additional deli meat products that were produced on the same line and on the same day as the liverwurst, amounting to roughly 207,528 pounds of products, according to an Aug. 14 letter sent to Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen and FSIS Administrator Paul Kiecker. On July 30, the Boar’s Head establishment then expanded its initial recall of deli meat products after whole-genome sequencing results revealed that a liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogene, the letter says...Rep. Garbarino, who was joined by U.S. Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) in signing the letter, noted that reports show there have been at least 15 cases across New York State, including four on Long Island and six in New York City. Nationally, they wrote, dozens have fallen ill and at least three deaths have been reported due to the outbreak. They requested that Kiecker and Cohen respond to several questions, including what steps the FSIS has taken to deploy inspectors and investigators to hotspots like Suffolk County and Nassau County and what steps have been taken to update its Retail Listeria Monocytogenes Guidelines and work with public health partners and industry groups to improve its outreach since the current outbreak. Additionally, Rep. Garbarino and his colleagues asked what steps the CDC has taken to increase public awareness of the signs and symptoms of listeria during the current outbreak.

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This week, Andrew met with the Babylon Chapter of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international humanitarian agency, in his Patchogue office. CRS aids 130 million people in more than 110 countries and territories and met with Andrew to discuss issues related to addressing hunger and malnutrition.

A constituent reached out to Andrew's office for help securing her delayed Social Security benefits. She had applied for Social Security benefits and was approved earlier this year. However, five months after the decision she still had not received her benefits. Andrew's casework team reached out to the Social Security Administration and was able to secure her past-due benefits.

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 joined fellow Long Island Congressmen LaLota and D'Esposito in sending a letter to Governor Hochul in the wake of last weekend's storm. “The heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe damage from the recent storm that hit Long Island requires an immediate response,” Andrew said in a statement. “That’s why we are calling on Governor Hochul to clarify that this disaster is covered by a state of emergency declaration to ensure the swift mobilization of state and federal resources.” Read the full letter here.