Honoring Our Fallen Heroes |
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Please join our community for an update on developments in Congress to honor the sacrifices of our active-duty service members and veterans. This will be followed by a candlelight vigil to honor the 13 service members recently killed in Afghanistan as well as all of the brave Americans who gave their lives for this nation.
If you would like to attend or dedicate a candle in honor of a specific fallen hero, please visit the link below.
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This week, House Democrats tried to push through their radical infrastructure and reconciliation plans that would raise taxes to an unprecedented level never seen in this country before. The failed leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer combined led to a totally unproductive week. Thankfully, neither of the trillion dollar plans were considered but there is still a good chance they will be considered later this year.
We cannot normalize recklessly spending trillions in taxpayer money that's going to drive inflation even further through the roof. I joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business to share my thoughts on the dangerous tax and spend agenda that Democrats continue to push, despite countless warning signs that this plan will do more harm than good for our economic recovery efforts.
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Health Freedom For All Act |
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In an unprecedented move, President Biden announced that he would impose a mandatory vaccine requirement on US businesses employing more than 100 workers or require weekly testing for those who remain unvaccinated. This decision is a complete reversal of previous assurances made by President Biden and his Administration that he would not impose such mandates on the American people and instead prioritize voluntary vaccination efforts.
I received my vaccine and support voluntary vaccination efforts. However, I strongly oppose others being forced to receive the vaccine or it being made a condition of employment. I introduced a commonsense bill, the Health Freedom for All Act, which makes clear that OSHA does not have the authority to force Americans to receive vaccines or undergo testing. Like President Biden’s extension of the CDC’s eviction moratorium earlier this year, this mandate is yet another attempt by the Administration to skirt the law and do through government coercion what it is failing to do through persuasion. I am honored to lead this effort to stop the President from further abusing our Constitution.
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Flights for Freedom Act Passes Foreign Affairs Committee |
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My Flights for Freedom Act PASSED the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week with bipartisan support. I introduced this bill to make sure the State Department does not charge stranded Americans for their lifesaving flights out of Afghanistan. The State Department committed to not charging Americans after it caved to public pressure. My bill ensures it sticks to this commitment. |
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A Moment of Silence for Sherry Boehlert |
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Congressman Sherry Boehlert was a devoted public servant who honorably served his country and the great people of New York. He is remembered fondly by so many of his former colleagues, family, and friends. It was my privilege to honor him in the House of Representatives this week. |
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Defending Our New York Farmers |
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I had the honor of welcoming New York Farm Bureau representatives from #NY22 to Washington. We discussed the devastating impacts the reconciliation bill would have on our Upstate farming community as well as the need to expand access to rural broadband. I appreciated their great insights!
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I'm committed to restoring transparency to government, which is why I explain every vote I take on the House floor. While we may not always agree, you will always know where I stand on the issues and how I vote in Congress. To read more about my votes, please click here.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 1693, the EQUAL Act. While I understand the intent of this legislation, it did not include meaningful input provided from the law enforcement community or adequately address their concerns. Crack cocaine is generally more accessible in communities and reducing penalties for those arrested with crack cocaine could make it harder for law enforcement to keep these drugs off the streets. This bill passed the House by a vote of 361-66.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4981, to amend the Fentanyl Sanctions Act. This bill amends the previous Fentanyl Sanctions Act by extending certain deadlines, allowing the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking more time to develop solutions to combat the flow of synthetic opioids into the United States. This bill passed the House by a vote of 410-14.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4250, the War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act. This bill provides the Department of State with more resources to authorize rewards for information that may lead to the arrest, conviction, or extradition of foreign nationals wanted for alleged war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. This bill passed the House by a vote of 412-9.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1228, the Libya Stabilization Act. This bill authorizes U.S. sanctions against persons who contribute, directly or indirectly, to the violence in Libya. Additionally, the bill calls for humanitarian assistance to those suffering from the side effects of the conflict, including food, shelter, and medical care. This bill passed the House by a vote of 386-35.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4686, the Cambodia Democracy Act. This bill urges the President to impose sanctions on the senior Cambodian officials and military personnel responsible for endemic government corruptions and human rights abuses in Cambodia. This bill passed the House by a vote of 403-17.
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I voted “Yes” on S. 848, the Consider Teachers Act. For the past 12 years, many recipients of the TEACH Grant program have been hit by unexpected debt as small administrative errors turned their grants into loans that must be paid back with interest. This legislation will fix the problem, providing more flexibility and efficiency in the program so these grant dollars can be used more effectively with less bureaucracy. This bill passed the House by a vote of 406-16.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1154, the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to assess the sustainability and feasibility of creating a study area known as the Great Swamp National Heritage Area throughout Virginia and North Carolina. This study would determine whether the area has natural, historic and cultural resources representing different aspects of the people and culture of the United States, and whether it is worthy of recognition and continued use. This bill passed the House by a vote of 391-36.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 2617, the Performance Enhancement Reform Act. This bill would reform the process for drafting performance goals for federal agencies, increasing collaboration and improving how the government delivers resources to the American people. This legislation will integrate direct feedback from key stakeholders, improving services for American families and small businesses. This bill passed the House by a vote of 414-10.
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I voted "No" on the House Amendment to S. 1301, that gives a blank check to Speaker Pelosi, completely suspending the debt limit until December 2022. In the past, Republicans and Democrats have come together multiple times to raise the debt ceiling. However, this time Speaker Pelosi has again completely cut House Republicans out of the process, forcing through a bill that would clear the way for her multi-trillion-dollar deficit fueled takeover of the American economy. It would be deeply irresponsible to clear the way for a plan so out of step with the priorities of the American people. This bill passed the House by a vote of 219-212.
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I voted "No" on H.R. 1204, the District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Home Rule Act, which would allow the DC Government to irresponsibly increase the salary of the DC Chief Financial Officer at the cost of taxpayers. This bill required a 2/3 majority to pass and failed in the House by a vote of 259-170.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3599, the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act. This bill will create a Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program within the Office of Personnel Management to allow cybersecurity personnel in federal agencies to do temporary rotations in other government agencies. This bill passed the House by a vote of 410-15.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 5305, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. This stop-gap bill lacks critical policies to constrain the Biden Administration from further enacting its radical agenda, including one-size-fits-all overreaching federal vaccine mandates. The bill also includes provisions completely unrelated to government funding, such as providing benefits and Real IDs to Afghan nationals at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, who I recently called on to resign for his failure to secure our southern border. I could not support a funding bill that concealed deeply flawed policy provisions without even the opportunity for debate or amendments. This is not how the American people expect Congress to operate. This bill passed by a vote of 254-175.
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I voted “Yes” to H.R. 3533, To establish occupational series for Federal positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management. This bill would require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish or update existing career pathways for Federal Government positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management. This bill passed by a vote of 416-9.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R.5434, the Surface Transportation Extension Act. Unfortunately, due to mismanagement by Speaker Pelosi, authorization for federal highway programs expired midnight on Thursday. This resulted in the furloughing of 3,700 federal employees and the halting of multiple highway and road projects funded through the highway trust fund. All this disruption could have been easily avoided by a vote earlier this week, however House Democrats were too focused on ramming through their own liberal agenda. This legislation thankfully will provide a clean bipartisan extension of funding for the next 30 days so these essential programs and projects can resume. I hope in the next few weeks we can work on a longer-term authorization that is free from partisan riders. This bill passed the House by a vote of 365-51.
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There's still time to complete the Community Opportunity Survey! |
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If you haven't already, I hope you will take a brief minute to complete my Community Opportunity Survey. It’s only a few short questions. This feedback will provide valuable, first-hand insights on the economic challenges and opportunities in our region. I’m fighting every day to bring dynamism and growth back to New York. This survey will provide me with key insights from our community that I will take with me to Washington to drive my advocacy.
Please click here or on the image above to complete the survey.
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Rural Business Development Grant |
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As your representative in Washington, it is my job to make sure our government works for taxpayers. That is why I want to call your attention to the Rural Business Development Grant available through the Department of Agriculture. This government initiative is designed to help small, rural businesses by providing the funding and technical assistance they need to better serve our communities. Click here to find out more about this fantastic opportunity.
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Thank you to all who attended our region’s Service Academy Night on Monday. If you are interested in applying to a US Service Academy, my office is here to help. Learn more about the congressional nomination process at the link here.
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USDA Rural Water Infrastructure Seminar |
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On Monday, my office hosted a seminar with the USDA focused on current rural water infrastructure programs and available funding for our communities. Thank you to all who took the time to attend the seminar. If you missed it, visit my website at the link here to watch the full meeting.
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Honoring Our Gold Star Families |
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This past weekend, we honored the brave mothers of our fallen service members for National Gold Star Mother's Day. As a nation we will never forget the sacrifice of these heroes and we will always remember the families they left behind. |
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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 22nd 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 #NY22 as we can each week.
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