Standing With Workers Against Mandates |
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This week, I joined first responders at the Capitol to speak out against the devastating impacts of recent vaccine mandates. The Biden Administration has finalized its plan to use the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to force 80 to 100 million Americans onto the vaccine.
While I fully support voluntary vaccination efforts and personally have been vaccinated, these mandates are a serious infringement on your liberties. Vaccination efforts should be voluntary, and Americans should never be coerced into making medical decisions. That’s why earlier this year I introduced H.R. 5471, the Health Freedom for All Act. This bill makes it clear that OSHA does not have the authority to enforce the mandate. Americans should have the right to choose their own medical treatments without government interference.
This week I introduced my second bill, H.R. 5851, the Employment Freedom for All Act. This bill ensures that American workers fired for not receiving the vaccine are not then prevented by non-compete agreements from securing gainful employment elsewhere. I wholeheartedly believe the vaccine mandate far exceeds the boundaries of executive authority. President Biden has decided that our constitutional guardrails are completely irrelevant. I will not stop fighting to protect your constitutional rights and reverse this coercive policy.
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I voted NO on Phase One of "Build Back Better" |
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Yesterday night I voted "No" on Phase One of the Democrat's Build Back Better agenda. We must invest in our Nation’s infrastructure by cutting red tape, incentivizing long-term private sector investment, and meeting the needs of everyday Americans. But this bill fails to deliver on these priorities.
Unfortunately, less than ten percent of new spending in this bill goes to roads and bridges. This shortfall reveals the real intentions behind the wasteful spending bill. It is not about investing in communities like ours, it’s about redistributing wealth from rural areas to urban centers. It contains subsidies for luxury electric vehicles and wasteful spending for non-federal transit systems, among other misguided and counterproductive government programs. I support targeted investments in our infrastructure that are well thought out and improve the quality of life for Americans. Sadly, this bill is not that.
Worse yet, this bill paves the way for House Democrats to now pass the Biden-Pelosi-Sanders Reconciliation bill, which is the most wasteful bill in our Nation’s history. It is trillions of dollars in misguided and downright dangerous policies, like new taxes on farms and small businesses, mass amnesty for up to eight million illegal immigrants, and a new IRS surveillance program. I cannot in good conscience support a proposal that is tied to a package that would have such devastating consequences for the hardworking New York families I represent.
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Phase Two of "Build Back Better" is Even Worse |
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From IRS bank account surveillance to radical Green New Deal policies, the Build Back Better agenda would be disastrous for our country. I joined my colleagues in a press conference this week to speak about the many problems with reconciliation, which fundamentally reimagines and expands the role of the federal government in unprecedented ways. Rather than this partisan scheme, we need real bipartisan solutions. One-party Democrat rule is not the answer.
Read more about the disastrous policies in this package below!
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It's Simple: No Score, No Vote |
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The full text of the Build Back Better Act was released just this week, and it is more than 2,100 pages long and chalked full of tax increases. We still do not know how many of the new programs and taxes will even work or who they will hurt. That's why I've joined my colleagues in Congress in calling on Speaker Pelosi to wait for the Congressional Budget Office to perform a full, non-partisan assessment of the legislation before it is considered by the House.
We need to know exactly how much it will cost, who will be impacted the most, and how much will it add to our national debt. It is totally irresponsible for Speaker Pelosi to bring this bill up for consideration without a full CBO assessment. It is vitally important for Congress to have all the information before considering such far-reaching legislation.
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MVCC Celebrates 75 Years! |
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This week I had the honor of recognizing Mohawk Valley Community College on the House Floor for serving upstate New York for 75 years. MVCC was founded with a clear mission: meet the unique workforce needs of our communities. For the past 75 years, MVCC has played an important role in developing our workforce and empowering students to achieve their goals. I'm so grateful to have such a fine institution in Utica working to improve the lives of New Yorkers. I am confident the next 75 years will see even greater achievements! |
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Key 2A Case Begins at Supreme Court |
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This week, the Supreme Court took up the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen case, which is one of the most pivotal Second Amendment cases dealing with conceal carry of our lifetime. Far too many states, including New York, have overly stringent firearm requirements that result in law-abiding Americans being denied their Second Amendment rights. I am honored to have led 175 of my House colleagues in an amicus brief earlier this year supporting the plaintiff in this case. You can read more about this effort here.
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Celebrating Veterans Small Business Week |
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This week, we celebrated Veterans Small Business Week and recognized veterans who continue to make tremendous contributions to our communities and nation. As a member of the House Small Business Committee, I was honored to participate in a roundtable discussion with my fellow committee members to showcase veteran small business owners from around the country. Small businesses continue to be the lifeblood of both of our local and national economies and I will continue to support them and their success in Congress. |
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Remembering the Life of Majeedah Razzaq |
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Majeedah Razzaq was a larger-than-life woman who served Broome Country with such passion for so many years. As a Life Skills Coach, she invested her time and energy in nurturing the children of Binghamton while also championing local issues. She embodied strength and consistency and was a role model to many of the children under her care. She was a no-nonsense kind of woman who could clearly see the issues that needed to be addressed.
I’m sad to say that we lost Majeedah this past year. This week I honored her on the House Floor. She lived an amazing life and set an example of what it means to serve for the rest of us. Thank you, Majeedah, for all that you did for our community. You will be missed, but your legacy is still with us.
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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. 1619, the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act. This bill would take private lands into federal trust for the purpose of the Catawba Nation building a casino. This federal action would undermine the impacted communities, depriving them of local control and tax revenue. There are alternative remedies the tribe could have taken without undermining local sovereignty, such as a direct agreement with their state and local communities. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 361-55 with 3 members voting present.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 2758, the Lumbee Recognition Act. This legislation would bypass the normal Office of Federal Acknowledgement review process at the Department of Interior, to fully recognize the tribe and pave the way for them to request a federal trust to build a casino on. Bypassing this long-established channel would allow the tribe to avoid an assessment by experts, historians, and genealogists in order to review their documentation and historical tie to the land. It is essential that we uphold this essential oversight function and ensure all recognition petitions are properly reviewed. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 357-59 with 1 member voting present.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 1975, the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2021. The bill would take private lands into federal trust for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County. This federal action would undermine the impacted communities, depriving them of local control and tax revenue. The Pala Band of Mission Indians already privately own this land and there is no reason they cannot use and benefit from it under its current status. This legislation passed the House by a vote of 397-25.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5221, the Urban Indian Health Confer Act. This bill would promote good governance, requiring the Indian Health Service and others to consult with urban Indian organizations while carrying out the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and other laws relating to Indian health care. This bill passed the House by a vote of 406-17.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3616, the Bear River National Heritage Area Study Act. This bill directs the Department of Interior to study the creation of a National Heritage Area around the Bear River in Utah, north of Salt Lake City. This bill passed the House by a vote of 399-23.
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I voted “Yes” on S. 108. This would authorize the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s investment fund to purchase, lease, and sell commercial real estate properties to create profit for the tribe and its members. This bill passed the House by a vote of 425-2.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 4881, Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act. This would take private lands into federal trust for the purpose of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona building a casino. This federal action would undermine the impacted communities, depriving them of local control and tax revenue. There are alternative remedies the tribe could have taken without undermining local sovereignty, such as a direct agreement with their state and local communities. This bill passed the House by a vote of 375-45 with 1 member voting present.
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I voted “Yes” H.R. 2088, Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act. This bill would include the Sequoyah Museum, the Chota Memorial, and the Tanasi Memorial in Tennessee into the existing land trust of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. These lands host important cultural institutions and historical sites for the tribe, and they will be banned from allowing gambling. In addition, the Tennessee Valley Authority and community will still maintain the full right to carry out local river control and hydropower production works for the common good. This bill passed the House by a vote of 407-16.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3469, the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2021. This bill would authorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Boots to Business program for the next five years. The Boots to Business program, which started out as a pilot, advises veterans and their dependents about business ownership and best practices for organizing and operating a business as well as raising capital. This bill passed the House by a vote of 418-2.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4256 the Investing in Main Street Act of 2021. This bill would increase access to capital and private equity for small businesses through the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program by increasing the amount of capital and surplus a financial institution or federal savings association can invest in an SBIC from 5% to 15%. This bill passed the House by a vote of 413-10.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3462, the SBA Cyber Awareness Act. This bill would require the SBA to produce an annual report on its information technology (IT) and cybersecurity infrastructure. The report would need to include a strategy on increasing cybersecurity infrastructure, an account of equipment manufactured by Chinese companies, and an account of cybersecurity incidents at the SBA within the past two years. This bill passed the House by a vote of 423-0.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4481, the Small Business 7(a) Loan Agent Transparency Act. The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program is a federal program that leverages the private sector and community banks to expand capital to small businesses. The SBA can currently track loans originating from lenders, but it cannot do the same for loans originating from loan brokers. I cosponsored this legislation to fix this shortcoming. This bill passed the House by a vote of 407-9.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4531, the 7(a) Loan Agent Oversight Act. This bill would order the Office of Credit Risk Management to create an annual report including essential metrics about the success and shortcomings of the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) Loan program for small businesses. This bill passed the House by a vote of 411-9.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4515, the Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2021. I cosponsored this bipartisan legislation to direct the Small Business Administration to require Small Business Development Centers to have trained and certified staff to provide cybersecurity counseling. This bill passed the House by a vote of 407-16.
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I voted “Yes” on the S. 1064, the RENACER Act. This bill condemns Nicaraguan President Ortega for his gross human rights violations, recognizes the rights of the Nicaraguan people to determine their future, and urges the US to waive sanctions against Nicaragua only if the regime takes steps identified in the Nicaragua Investment Conditionality Act to hold free and fair elections. This bill passed by a vote of 387-35.
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I voted “Yes” on H.Res. 760. The resolution expresses solidarity with Cuban citizens demonstrating peacefully for fundamental freedoms, condemning the Cuban regime's acts of repression, and calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 382-40.
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I voted “No” on H.R. 3992, the Protect Older Job Applicants Act (POJA) of 2021. Any discrimination in the workplace is unacceptable and discrimination against older workers is already illegal under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Thanks to these protections older Americans are experiencing greater opportunities in the workplace, with the employment of workers over 65 tripling over the past three decades. However, this legislation would radically expand the definition of discrimination, including neutral policies that happen to inadvertently benefit a certain group. This bill passed the House by a vote of 224-200.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act. This bill would allow entities to receive funding for hazard mitigation, including the acquisition of property or relocation of structures for projects where planning or construction began before a grant was awarded. This bill passed the House by a vote of 409-16.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1339, the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act. This bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to establish an interagency working group consisting of individuals from nine federal agencies to examine policies around the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry. This bill passed the House by a vote of 383-41.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3193, the E-Bridge Act, to authorize the Department of Commerce (DOC) to award grants to public-private partnerships and certain consortiums for carrying out high-speed broadband expansion. As a rural district lacking adequate broadband access and choice, this will help many residents of the 22nd District. This bill passed the House by a vote of 410-16.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3709, the Preliminary Damage Assessment Improvement Act of 2021. Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) are conducted so FEMA can determine the magnitude of damage and impact of disasters. This bill passed the House by a vote of 402-11.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 2220, to allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to negotiate discounted purchase options if buying a federal property proves to be cheaper than entering a long-term lease. This bill passed the House by a vote of 416-4.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 390, to redesignate the Federal Building located in Memphis, Tennessee as the "Odell Horton Federal Building". This bill passed the House by a vote of 422-2 with 1 member voting present.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4679, to designate a Federal building in Washington, DC, as the “Norman Yoshio Mineta Federal Building”. This bill passed the House by a vote of 409-14 with 1 member voting present.
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I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4660, to designate the Federal building and United States Courthouse in Wheeling, WV, as the “Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse”. This bill passed the House by a vote of 416-4 with 1 member voting present.
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I voted “No” on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684, a $1.2 trillion Green New Deal inspired spending bonanza also misleadingly named the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This legislation ignores core national infrastructure needs, and instead authorizes massive spending for carelessly crafted programs that will force out private infrastructure investment and promote the far left’s climate and social agendas. This bill unfortunately passed the House by a vote of 228-206.
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Veterans Events Announced for November |
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This week, my staff will be hosting mobile office hours with special guests from local veterans service organizations in Cortland and Madison counties. If you or a family member are having an issue with the Department of Veterans Affairs or another federal agency, please call my Utica office at 315-732-0713 or Binghamton Office at 607-242-0200 to schedule an appointment.
If you can't make one of the times below, call my office to schedule a meeting for another time that is convenient for you.
Cortland County
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
11:00AM – 1:00PM
Cortland Veterans Service Agency
60 Central Avenue
Cortland, NY 13037
Madison County
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
10:00AM – 12:00PM
Madison County Office Building, #204
138 North Court Street
Wampsville, NY 13163
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Law Enforcement and Agriculture Advisory Committees Convened This Week |
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I was honored to convene my Law Enforcement Advisory and Agriculture Advisory Committees this week. Both of these groups provide such valuable information and insight to me. They were both highly productive meetings that touched on issues ranging from bail reform to taxes on farmers in Biden's Build Back Better plan.
I am already working on several new legislative ideas as a result of these very productive meetings. I’d like to thank everyone who shared their thoughts with me during these discussions and I’m looking forward to many more.
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Congrats to National Pipe & Plastics |
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National Pipe & Plastics has set up shop at the sight of the old Endicott Johnson Shoe Company building. NPP held an open house recently to share their story and showcase their new office, which was designed by Delta Engineers in Endicott. I'm grateful this historic site will live on and wish NPP nothing but the best for the future. By pursuing smart, commonsense business policies, we can see more success stories like this and revitalize the Upstate economy. |
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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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