Email from Rep. Tenney Congresswoman Tenney's Weekly Newsletter   Have questions? Contact Me Here   As we gather with family and friends to celebrate this joyous season, let us take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and be grateful for the many blessings in our lives. Let us also remember those who cannot be with their loved ones this year. To the courageous men and women of our military serving at home and abroad, and to our dedicated first responders and frontline workers—thank you for your sacrifice and unwavering service. May this Christmas season bring you peace, joy, and time to cherish the things that matter most.  From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! Voting to Avert a Government Shutdown and Continue Funding the Government Until 2025 In November, the American people overwhelmingly rejected the Biden administration and Senate Democrats' reckless spending, which wastes taxpayer dollars on Green New Deal pet projects, cripples our economy, and raises the national debt In November, voters made it clear that they are fed up with the way Washington is currently run and issued a mandate for Republicans to deliver a fiscally responsible budget that cuts outrageous spending and reins in Washington’s bloated bureaucracy. Passing a short-term Continuing Resolution is essential to avoid a shutdown under the Biden administration and ensures that we can enact our America First agenda in the new year. With Republicans set to have a majority in Congress and President Trump set to return to the White House in 2025, we will have the opportunity to implement the fiscally conservative, America First priorities that voters demanded. In the meantime, a Continuing Resolution was necessary. While this process was difficult, I am relieved we reached an agreement to prevent a shutdown and were able to secure critical funding. Thank you to President Trump, Speaker Johnson and our great leadership team for their extraordinary efforts. This legislation provides $10 billion in economic assistance to farmers struggling with crop loss, government overregulation, and external market forces, while also extending current farm bill programs through September 30, 2025. Additionally, a shutdown would severely impact military families in our district, cripple our defense industrial base, and hinder Customs and Border Protection Agents working to secure our border. During a shutdown, servicemembers risking their lives for our freedoms and border agents responding to an unprecedented crisis would go unpaid. Even worse, a shutdown while the Biden administration controls all the federal agencies would have surrendered complete control to un-elected staff due to the complete absence of leadership by President Biden. House Republicans have already begun working on implementing policies necessary to usher in a new era of leadership. We are committed to growing our economy, reducing inflation by reducing taxes, cutting wasteful spending, securing our borders, and unleashing American energy dominance. House Republicans are dedicated to delivering a more efficient, transparent and accountable government that returns the Constitutional power back to the American people. Attending the First DOGE Caucus Meeting The DOGE Caucus is taking wasteful government spending to the chopping block. This week, the DOGE Caucus hosted its first meeting to begin brainstorming how we can work with the DOGE to cut government waste. The Caucus Room was packed to the brim with a bipartisan group of members eager to get to work to implement effective cuts to the federal government. Under President Trump's leadership and a Republican-controlled Congress, we are determined to cut wasteful government spending and reduce costs for hard-working Americans. Seven Years Since the Most Pro-Growth, Pro-Worker, Pro-Family, Pro-Small Business, Pro-American Tax Cuts On December 22, 2017, President Donald signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, strengthening small businesses and putting more money in hard-working Americans' pockets. This legislation, which I supported in 2017, reduced taxes on middle-income families and small businesses and created nearly five million domestic jobs in just two years after its passage. Yet, if Congress fails to act, these tax cuts will expire on December 31, 2025. This would mean significant tax increases for the 440,200 taxpayers in New York's 24th District. The average taxpayer in NY-24 could face a 25% tax hike if the cuts are not extended. A family of four with a median income of $69,878 in NY-24 would experience a $1,373 tax increase, equivalent to about seven weeks' worth of groceries for a typical family. Impact on NY-24 by the Numbers: 78,990 families would see their Child Tax Credit cut in half. 92% of taxpayers would see their Standard Deduction reduced by nearly 50%. 40,720 small businesses would pay an effective 43.4% tax rate if the 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction expires. 14,827 taxpayers would be affected by the return of the individual Alternative Minimum Tax. The current death tax exemption will be cut in half, affecting 6,804 family-owned farms in NY-24. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the tax-writing committee of Congress, I am already working with my colleagues to ensure Americans do not lose these tax cuts. Headed into the new year, I am even more committed than ever to working with President Trump to preserve and expand the TCJA before time runs out. 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.1715 - Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act – this bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to carry out research on advancing weather and climate modeling and prediction. The research required by the bill must meet security and integrity requirements that apply to certain research activities of the National Science Foundation. H.R.9699 - Pay Our Troops Act – This bill would ensure that members of the Armed Forces are paid during a government shutdown. Our servicemembers put their lives on the line to defend our country, and they should never have to worry about not being paid because Congress can’t act in a fiscally responsible manner. This bill will help protect all our servicemembers, including those at Fort Drum, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, and at Coast Guard stations throughout NY-24. H.R. 10299 - The Medicaid Funds Integrity Act - This bill would prohibit federal Medicaid dollars from being used for on non-health care programs aimed at advancing the Biden Administration's radical anti-gun agenda. New York's Medicaid program, which is already facing unsustainable deficits because of bureaucratic mismanagement and fraud, should be putting its resources towards necessary health care services for New Yorkers, not operating programs aimed at undermining our Second Amendment rights. 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. 10545, the American Relief Act. While the process to reach this bill was complicated, and this bill is still not ideal, this bill will avert a government shutdown over the holiday. Thank you to President Trump, Speaker Johnson and our great leadership team for their extraordinary effort. This bill would extend Fiscal Year 2024 spending levels through March 2025 and includes $100.4 billion in aid for victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton; $10 billion in economic aid for farmers; extends critical health care programs for hospitals and community health centers; and preserves access to telehealth services for seniors. Once again, despite House Republicans having gone through the regular appropriations process months ago, Democrats were insistent on brinkmanship games that would have resulted in a shutdown, leaving our servicemembers and border patrol agents without pay over the holidays. This is beyond reckless. Democrats were also willing to let farmers and hurricane victims go without desperately needed aid. Despite Democrats’ recklessness, House Republicans remained committed to keeping the government open and providing this much needed relief. I am eager for President Trump to come to power in just 31 short days to ensure that Congress undergoes regular order, cuts government spending, and ends the process of last-minute continuing resolutions. H.R. 10545 passed the House by a vote of 366-34 with one present. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 10515, the American Relief Act, although it certainly is not ideal. This bill would extend Fiscal Year 2024 spending levels through March 2025 and includes $100.4 billion in aid for victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton; $10 billion in economic aid for farmers; extends critical health care programs for hospitals and community health centers; preserves access to telehealth services for seniors; and suspends the debt ceiling through January 2027. 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 year. After already extending appropriations from September 30, 2024 to December 20, 2024, Senate Democrats have still refused to meaningfully engage in passing all twelve Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bills. Despite House and Senate Democrats supporting everything included in this bill, for partisan political reasons, they refused to support this commonsense measure. Instead, Democrats are willing to let the American people suffer, our troops to spend the holidays without pay, and our farmers and hurricane victims to go without the aid they desperately need. While House Republicans will continue working for the American people and to keep the government open, Democrats seem committed to a needless government shutdown. Unfortunately, H.R. 10515 failed to pass the House by a vote of 174-235, with one member voting present. I voted “Yes” on S. 4077, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 180 Steuart Street in San Francisco, California, as the "Dianne Feinstein Post Office". Senator Dianne Feinstein was the longest-serving female Senator in American history, representing California for over 30 years. While I rarely agreed with Senator Feinstein, I appreciated her willingness to stand up to the far-left, such as by opposing the Green New Deal. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 348-39. I voted “Yes” on S. 141, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. This bill will support the men and women who have honorably served our nation by ensuring they receive the care and services they have earned and cut unnecessary bureaucracy. This bill is supported by numerous veterans’ organizations because it provides much-needed reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs, streamlining and strengthening the services and benefits relied upon by our veterans and their families. Critically, this bill ensures home and community-based services are provided at every VA center, allowing our veterans the dignity of receiving care in their own homes. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 382-12. I voted “Yes” on S. 3998, the Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act. As our federal courts are already overwhelmed with growing caseloads, we cannot allow existing temporary judgeships to expire. This bill makes longstanding temporary judgeships that are regularly reauthorized into permanent judgeships, allowing for the American people to have certainty in the capacity of our federal courts. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 390-0. I voted “Yes” on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7213, the Autism CARES Act. This bill reauthorizes critical programs supporting autism education, research, and resources through Fiscal Year 2029. This bipartisan legislation ensures continued funding for vital initiatives like the CDC's Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program, early detection and intervention activities at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). Additionally, it mandates reporting on ways to expand the number of developmental-behavioral pediatricians, addressing a key shortage in specialized care. With robust support in both chambers of Congress, the bill builds on two decades of progress driven by previous Autism CARES Acts, aiming to enhance quality of life, expand services, and advance research for millions of Americans with autism. This bill passed the House by a vote of 374-15. I voted “No” H.R. 1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act. This legislation would bypass the traditional Office of Federal Acknowledgment review process within the Department of the Interior, granting full recognition to the tribe and enabling them to request federal trust land for building a casino. Skipping this established process would exempt the tribe from a thorough evaluation by experts, historians, and genealogists to verify their documentation and historical connection to the land. Maintaining this critical oversight function is vital to ensure that all recognition petitions are properly and fairly reviewed. This bill passed the House by a vote of 311-96. I voted “Yes” on S. 3448, the Never Again Education Reauthorization Act. The bill would reauthorize the Never Again Education Act through 2030 and would direct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to provide schools across the country to provide teachers with training and resources to teach about the Holocaust. As anti-Semitism continues to rise throughout our country, Holocaust knowledge is at an all-time low. A recent survey showed that only 53% of American adults know that approximately six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust and 60% did not know how Hitler rose to power. These numbers are startling, and we must do more to increase Holocaust education and awareness, especially as survivors continue to diminish in number. We must never allow a horror like the Holocaust to happen again. We must never forget. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 402-12. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 115, the Midnight Rules Relief Act. The bill would allow Congress to overturn multiple rules passed by the administration in the last 60 days in one Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution. Current law only allows each CRA resolution to overturn one rule. As the Biden administration rushes to finalize rules en masse as their administration ends, Congress must be empowered to overturn these rules as quickly as they are finalized. This bill will expedite the process of overturning these rules and eliminating red tape created by the Biden administration. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 210-201. I voted “Yes” on S. 759, the Beagle Brigade Act. This bill officially establishes the National Dog Training Center in Georgia, managed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The center specializes in training dogs to inspect passenger baggage, cargo, mail packages, and vehicles for foreign pests and diseases that pose risks to domestic agriculture and natural resources. This bill passed the House by a vote of 381-20. I voted “Yes” on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 8663, the DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act. This bill would require the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security to conduct research, development, testing, evaluation, and cost benefit analyses on equipment used by federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The Biden Border Crisis has allowed fentanyl and xylazine to flood our Nation’s borders, endangering the American people and our law enforcement. This bill will bolster resources available to our law enforcement officers to detect fentanyl and xylazine. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 404-1. I voted “Yes” on S. 3857, the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act. This bill takes approximately 172.1 acres of specified lands in San Diego, California, into trust for the benefit of the Jamul Indian Village of California. Land taken into trust shall be part of the tribe's reservation. The bill prohibits gaming on the land taken into trust. A nearly identical version of this bill passed the House by voice vote last April. This bill passed the house by a vote of 405-10. I voted “Yes” on S. 1351, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. This bill creates an interagency Federal Work Group on Youth Residential Programs to promote and implement best practices related to the health, safety, care, treatment, and proper placement of youth in residential programs. The work group is tasked with developing recommendations for a national database to compile information on processes and outcomes for youth in these programs. Additionally, it is responsible for supporting the education and training of professional and paraprofessional personnel working with this population. I cosponsored the House companion to this legislation and was thrilled to see it pass the House by a vote of 373-33. My FORKS Made in America Act Passes the House Since my first term in office, I have been at the forefront of efforts to include stainless steel flatware under the Berry Amendment. Originally enacted during World War II, the Berry Amendment mandates that the Department of Defense purchase certain goods exclusively from American producers as long as they are available in sufficient quantity and at a fair market price. Therefore, I am thrilled that this legislation was included in the FY25 NDAA. The FORKS Made in America Act strengthens the Berry Amendment by including stainless steel flatware and dinnerware, providing a much-needed boost to our domestic flatware industry. This legislation will significantly benefit American manufacturers like Sherrill Manufacturing in Central New York. I look forward to seeing it strengthen New York’s manufacturing sector and support our regional economy. Congratulations Assemblywoman-Elect Andrea Bailey and Thank You Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes On Saturday, our team attended the swearing-in ceremony for Assemblywoman-elect Andrea Bailey. Andrea will be leaving her position as Livingston County Clerk to represent the 133rd Assembly District, which encompasses all of Livingston County and parts of Ontario, Steuben, Monroe and Wyoming Counties. Andrea is a lifelong resident of Livingston County; she lives in Geneseo with her husband, John, and their three children. As Andrea begins her service in Albany, I know she will be a fantastic advocate for the residents of the 133rd, and I look forward to working with her. She enters office with the support of her predecessor, Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes, who built a distinguished legacy throughout her years of service to the 133rd District. We wish Marjorie well as she departs office to enjoy a well-earned retirement. It has been an honor to serve beside Assemblywoman Byrnes and we will miss her leadership dearly. Honoring our Veterans at a Wreaths Across America Event in Canandaigua Wreaths Across America's mission to "Remember, Honor, and Teach" is a powerful reminder of the debt we owe to those who defended our freedoms. Our team attended the Wreaths Across America event at the Hunn Cemetery in Canandaigua this weekend to honor NY-24's Veterans. It was a privilege to pay tribute to their sacrifices and ensure their memories are never forgotten. 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 | 2230 Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, DC 20515 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice