Congresswoman Tenney's Weekly Newsletter   Have questions? Contact Me Here   Anti-Semitic Professor Reinstated At Cornell Following the horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, which claimed the lives of over 1,300 Israelis, Cornell Professor Russell Rickford described the Hamas-led violence as "energizing" and "exhilarating" during an anti-Israel rally on campus. I immediately called for his resignation. However, instead of being removed from his position, Rickford took a leave of absence for the 2023-2024 academic year and has now returned to teaching. This is deeply concerning, and this week, I sent a letter to Cornell's Interim President Kotlikoff demanding an explanation for Rickford’s reinstatement. Additionally, I am urging the university to launch a formal investigation into acts of vandalism that occurred on the first day of classes. While I fully support every student's right to free expression, this does not extend to acts of vandalism or threats against fellow students. These anti-Israel protesters are not just damaging property; they are terrorizing the Jewish community on Cornell's campus. In my letter, I am demanding Cornell outline the specific measures it is taking to protect Jewish students this semester, as well as provide a justification for retaining a professor with such blatantly anti-Semitic views. READ MORE: Rep. Tenney Seeks Answers from Cornell Over Reinstatement of Professor We Must Preserve the Trump Tax Cuts President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has been one of the most impactful policies for small businesses and hardworking families in NY-24. However, Vice President Kamala Harris has promised to rescind the TCJA, a move that would devastate our local economy and hit families across our community hard. NY-24 is home to over 440,000 hardworking taxpayers, and if Trump’s tax cuts expire as scheduled on December 31, 2025, the average taxpayer here would face a 25% tax hike. Additionally, 78,990 families in our district would see their Child Tax Credit cut in half, and 6,804 family-owned farms would lose half of their death tax exemption next year. This looming tax hike would burden working families and small businesses, threatening the prosperity of NY-24. My Anti-BDS Labeling Act Passed the House of Representatives Following the October 7th attacks, the deadliest attacks on Jews since the Holocaust, there has been a marked rise in both anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence, along with increased support for the discriminatory BDS movement. This movement targets products from Israeli-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria, aiming to undermine Israel's economy and penalize both the state and companies based in Israel. My bill, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act, codifies a rule that has been in place for nearly four years, ensuring that goods produced in Israel are accurately labeled. This reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel, our closest ally, by supporting its economy and demonstrating continued support for Israeli businesses. I am pleased that this critical legislation passed the House by a vote of 231-189, further strengthening the bond between our two nations and standing firm against efforts to delegitimize Israel. Calling for the UK to Designate the IRGC as a Terrorist Organization The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carries out regime operations both inside and outside the country and provides direct support, weapons, training, and intelligence to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Palestine Islamic Jihad. The IRGC's involvement in supporting terrorist organizations across the globe presents a direct threat to international peace and security, In 2019, the United States designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and Canada has recently followed suit. This week, I sent a letter to the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, David Lammy, calling for the United Kingdom to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organization. By designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the United Kingdom will send a powerful message that it stands united with its allies, like the United States and Canada, against the forces of extremism and terror. The UK must join its allies in taking decisive action to counter this destabilizing force. READ MORE: Lawmakers press U.K. to designate IRGC as a terrorist group As your representative in Congress, my top priority is championing legislative initiatives that benefit you and your families. Each week, I review numerous bills and letters, engaging in thorough discussions with members of our community to determine which actions to support and address your needs. Below are a few bills I recently cosponsored. H.R.9525 - Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act – This bill would create a new grant program for nonprofit organizations to provide service dogs to eligible veterans. These programs would include training for the service dogs and focus on veterans with disabilities, such as PTSD, survivors of military sexual trauma, TBI, blindness and deafness. H.R. 9462 - the Educational Choice for Children Act – This bill would provide a tax credit for donations made to fund scholarships for children to attend K-12 schools, including private, parochial, and charter schools. A child’s ZIP code should never determine their educational opportunities, and this bill helps incentivize private donations to fund school voucher programs. Transparency in Congress and a well-informed electorate are vital to preserving our self-governing Constitutional Republic. My constituents deserve to know how their members of Congress vote, which is why I have explained every vote I have cast in Congress since I was first elected. To read more about my votes and see the full list with explanations of all the legislation considered this week by the House, please click here. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 8314, the No Foreign Election Interference Act. This bill would penalize tax-exempt organizations that donate to political committees after receiving funds from foreign nationals and would remove their tax-exempt status if they do so twice. Current law prohibits foreign national from contributing to political committees, however, a current loophole allows these individuals to donate to nonprofits that also engage in political activities. This bill closes this loophole and ensures tax-exempt organizations cannot launder funds from foreign nationals. This vote required a 2/3 majority to pass and failed by a vote of 218-181. I voted “No” on S. 2861, the Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act. While I applaud Billie Jean King’s historic career as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, I am concerned about her support for the inclusion of biological men in women’s sports. It is disheartening to see the very athletes, such as Billie Jean, who championed and promoted female sports now work directly against the women they fought for by supporting the participation of biological men in female sports. I continue to affirm that Congress should not use Gold Medals to advance partisan causes or activists—it should be a unifying process designed to honor individuals who made extraordinary contributions to their communities beyond partisan activities and policies. This bill passed by a vote of 308-87. I voted “Yes” on S. 1146, the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to strengthen both federal and state capability’s in finding and locating missing foster youth. Additionally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on why foster youth go missing in the first place and provide recommendations to policymakers on how to strengthen preventative measures. Under Title IV-E, states, territories, and tribes are entitled to claim partial federal reimbursement for the cost of providing foster care, adoption assistance, and kinship guardianship assistance to children who meet federal eligibility criteria. With the unfortunate rise in children entering foster care, it is imperative that the government assures that every child is accounted for properly. This bill passed by a vote of 408-7. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 9076, the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act. This bill reauthorizes Title IV-B of the Social Security Act to make critical improvements to our nation’s child welfare programs. This long overdue reform will expand the availability of prevention services to better meet the needs of vulnerable families while also bolstering child support enforcement through better accountability and use of taxpayer dollars. I was honored that my “Ensuring Legal Representation for Child Welfare Act” was included in this piece of legislation, which will help provide legal representation for children in foster care and the child welfare system throughout the country. This bill passed by a vote of 405-10. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1513, the FUTURE Networks Act. This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a task force on 6G wireless technology. This task force will be required to submit a report to Congress with detailed information on 6G wireless technology, including its possible uses and limitations and how best to work with Federal, State, local, and Tribal government entities to leverage such technology. Ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of innovation in telecom and broadband technology is of vital interest to our nation’s economic and national security. This bill passed by a vote of 393-22. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7213, the Autism CARES Act of 2024. This bill reauthorizes various programs that support autism education, research, and resources and expands research activities on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and increases the number of Centers of Excellence on ASD from five to seven. This bill will build on the tremendous successes achieved by the original Autism CARES Act and better support individuals with ASD. This bill passed by a vote of 402-13. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5339, the Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act. This bill works to ensure that financial institutions uphold their fiduciary responsibility to work for investors, not the woke mob. First, this bill requires that financial institutions must make financial decisions solely on financial factors, not based on the radical ESG agenda. Similarly, this bill requires ERISA retirement plans to focus on economic factors, instead of using workers’ retirement savings to advance radical policies. Next, this bill declares that ERISA retirement plans may not discriminate when selecting fiduciaries, counsel, employees, or service providers. Finally, this bill requires that workers are given an explanation of the differences between investments selected by ERISA fiduciaries and choosing investments through a brokerage window. This commonsense bill protects workers’ retirement savings to ensure that every worker can retire with dignity. This bill passed by a vote of 217-206. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5179, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act. This bill codifies the Trump administration’s “Made in Israel” rule amidst rumors that the Biden administration is considering overturning this rule. In 2020, the Trump administration announced its “Made in Israel” rule, which requires goods made in Israeli-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria to be labeled as “Made in Israel.” In 1995, Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords, that cemented Israeli civil and military control over Area C of Judea and Samaria. Despite this agreement, the Obama administration requires goods made in this territory to be labeled as “Made in West Bank/Gaza.” Additionally, this rule requires goods to be labeled as either “Made in West Bank” or “Made in Gaza”, rather than “Made in West Bank/Gaza”, recognizing the fact that Judea and Samaria and Gaza are two separate political units. I want to thank Chairman Jason Smith of the House Ways & Means Committee for advancing my commonsense bill, and I urge my Senate colleagues to pass this bill expeditiously. This bill passed by a vote of 231-189. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. This bill would require that illegal aliens that commit sex offenses or domestic violence are deported and are inadmissible for entry into the United States. As the Biden-Harris border crisis continues to plague our Nation, with millions of illegal aliens entering each year, this bill ensures that the most dangerous individuals that commit heinous crimes are deported. I am appalled that the overwhelming majority of my Democratic colleagues refused to support this commonsense bill and are willing to let these dangerous individuals, that have already broken the law by entering our country illegally, remain in our country. This bill passed by a vote of 266-158. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 9494, the Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025. This bill would extend Fiscal Year 2024 spending levels through March 2025 and includes the SAVE Act. While House Republicans have gone through regular order and passed the overwhelming majority of appropriations bill, the Senate has yet to pass a single appropriations bill. This reckless behavior by the Senate has once again led to a near-shutdown just days before the end of the fiscal year. This continuing resolution extends funding into March 2025, ensuring that no lame-duck omnibus is passed before the new Administration next year. Importantly, this bill also includes the SAVE Act which would ensure no illegal aliens vote in the upcoming 2024 election. This bill also provides an additional $10 billion for disaster relief and $1.95 billion for Virginia Class submarine procurement. Many communities in NY-24 suffered from the recent storms and tornadoes this past summer, and the disaster relief funding would help these communities rebuild damaged infrastructure and provide much needed relief. Additionally, the Virginia Class submarine is absolutely critical to our national defense, and we must continue to fund the production line despite the need for a continuing resolution. I urge my Senate colleagues to join House Republicans in restoring regular order and passing all 12 individual appropriations bills rather than waiting until the last minute to force a continuing resolution or omnibus. Unfortunately, H.R. 9494 failed to pass the House by a vote of 202-220. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3724, the End Woke Higher Education Act. This bill works to ensure that institutions of higher education educate students, rather than indoctrinating them with woke ideologies. First, this bill includes the Accreditation for College Excellence Acts, which requires college accreditors to ensure that they do not require, encourage, or coerce institutions to support a specific partisan or political ideology. Additionally, this bill includes the Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act which requires institutions to uphold students’ First Amendment rights and prohibits any political litmus tests forced on students by college faculty or administrators. As we’ve seen, many colleges and universities have abandoned their missions to be institutions of higher learning in favor of promoting radical ideologies. This bill will work to return these institutions to their core mission and purpose. This bill passed by a vote of 213-201. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4790, the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act. This bill makes commonsense reforms to federal financial regulation that will strengthen our financial system, refocus capital markets on international expansion, and protect the interests of investors from the hijacking of woke DEI radical activists. Under the Biden-Harris administration, regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have strayed from their primary directives to pursue radical, highly partisan environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. This bill prevents the unelected bureaucrats within these agencies from enforcing their radical agenda on the American people. This bill passed by a vote of 215-203. I voted “Yes” on H.J. Res. 136, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles". This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 18, 2024. This out of touch Biden-Harris administration rule functions as a de facto EV mandate and will pose significant harm to our nation’s automobile dealers and consumers. This regulation would require 56% of car sales to be electric by 2032, a requirement that almost no automobile manufacturers or dealers are ready to meet. This joint resolution overturns this radical rule and passed by the House by a vote of 215-191. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 9106, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act of 2024. This bill requires the U.S. Secret Service to apply the same standards for security purposes for all Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. As we’ve seen with the two recent assassination attempts on President Trump’s life, the Secret Service must provide additional security to President Trump. I am honored to be a cosponsor of this critical legislation and was pleased to see it pass unanimously. This bill passed by a vote of 405-0. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5717, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act. This bill prohibits sanctuary states and cities from using taxpayer funds to pay for services for illegal aliens. While New York State and New York City continue to encourage illegal aliens to come to New York, Albany is using federal taxpayer funds to care for these illegal aliens. Taxpayers should never be forced to pay the price for Albany’s reckless policy decisions that have fueled the ongoing Biden-Harris border crisis. I cosponsored this critical legislation to ensure that New York taxpayers no longer are forced to pay for services for illegal aliens. This bill passed by a vote of 219-186. A Special Thank You to Our Veterans on the Patriot Trip I was honored to join these brave veterans from across New York who took part in Assemblyman Hawley's Patriot Trip. Their bravery and sacrifices are why we enjoy the freedoms we have today. I was grateful for the chance to thank these heroes in person and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure every American service member and veteran is well-equipped and properly supported, whether they are actively serving our country or returning to civilian life. Read My Plan to Deliver for America’s Veterans Here Attending a NASCAR Race at Watkins Glen International Thank you to the outstanding team at Watkins Glen International and NASCAR for hosting us at this weekend's race! To support racetracks across NY-24, I introduced the Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act. This bill aims to incentivize further investment in motorsports facilities like Watkins Glen by making the seven-year cost recovery period permanent, providing the industry with the certainty it needs to thrive, grow, and drive economic prosperity.  Watkins Glen is an incredible asset to our community, and I look forward to many more races in the future! Visiting Williams Farms in Marion Established in 1949, Williams Farms has expanded from 38 to 750 acres, growing crops like potatoes, onions, and apples. Now led by Doug Williams, this family-owned farm continues to thrive, building on a long tradition of success. Thank you, Doug, for the insightful tour! Attend our Upcoming Service Academy Informational Night As a member of the House of Representatives and Mother of a Naval Academy graduate, it is my honor to nominate a select number of candidates to four of the five service academies. This honor of attending a service academy comes with an obligation and commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation. If you, or a student you know, are interested in applying for a nomination to one of the service academies, we highly recommend you attend our Service Academy Informational Night on September 30th. For more information and to RSVP, visit the link here. To apply to be nominated to a Service Academy by our office, please visit our website here and be sure to submit your application by October 11. For more information, feel free to contact my Oswego office at (315) 236-7088! Need Help with a Federal Agency? Call us today. If you or someone you know ever needs assistance with a federal agency, we are just a phone call away and are ready to help you! Please contact my Victor Office at 585-869-2060, my Oswego Office at 315-236-7088, or my Lockport Office at 716-514-5130! I am honored to have the opportunity to represent you. Have News or Updates to Share? Email Me!  If you have updates regarding events in the community or other news to share from across New York's 24th District, please visit the "Contact Me" page on my website to share it with me. My team will try to include as many of your updates from around #NY24 as we can each week.     tenney.house.gov Rep. Tenney | 2349 Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice