August 13, 2022
Dear Friends,
I was able to kick off my first official week of the 2022 August District Work Period with some huge wins for our Capital Region and nation. For this newsletter, I’ll share several of the major victories we achieved, from tackling inflation, to addressing climate change, to transforming our global competitiveness, and much more!
Driving semiconductor manufacturing, research & job growth
On Tuesday, I celebrated with my colleagues at the White House as President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. Our hard-fought legislation delivers investments to supercharge American manufacturing, strengthen domestic supply chains, support national security, and lower costs for Americans. Some key aspects of the bill include investing $52 billion to fund semiconductor chip manufacturing and drive forward critical research and development, as with my Micro Act.
It is difficult to overstate the impact this law will have on our nation and Capital Region in particular when it comes to economic growth and job development. In fact, we are already seeing the benefits with the recent announcement that Qualcomm will invest an additional $4.2 billion worth of chips from the GlobalFoundries facility in the Town of Malta. This agreement—bolstered by our CHIPS Act—will mean thousands of new, good-paying jobs for our region, and the benefits don’t stop there. Not only is our region home to one of America's major chip producers with GlobalFoundries, we also house state-of-the-art research facilities and educational institutions that will drive innovation in this field and train our next-generation of highly skilled chip manufacturers, as I’ve seen firsthand with Albany Nanotech, HVCC, SUNY Polytechnic, and others.
This bill honors and builds upon the pioneering spirit of innovation that our Capital Region has long represented, harkening back to the development of our mill towns when the Erie Canalway was first constructed. I, for one, look forward to seeing the continued, lasting benefits of this law on our communities.
Strengthening health and wellness for all
Following the historic signing of the CHIPS Act, I travelled back to our region to mark health week and highlight Democrats’ efforts to provide quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. This week, I:
- Hosted a press event to boost awareness of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline, a lifeline established by Congress that I successfully fought to fund as part of our Safer Communities Act. I was joined by representatives from Health and Human Services (HHS) and mental health officials to speak on the need for this lifeline to deliver immediate, compassionate care to our loved ones, neighbors, and strangers in crisis;
- Celebrated the signing of our Honoring our PACT Act into law. This legislation, which includes provisions from my Fort McClellan Health Registry Act, finally recognizes toxic exposure as a cost of war and does right by the millions of sick veterans currently struggling to access vital care and benefits;
- Attended a ribbon cutting ceremony at Whitney Young’s new Swinburne Health Center;
- Toured a long-term care (LTC) pharmacy in Albany and the Home of the Good Shepherd assisted living facility in Saratoga Springs; and
- Held a meeting with local hospital executives and administrators to hear their feedback on how he can best serve the healthcare needs of Capital Region residents.
In addition to these many events, I was also honored to take action this week to lower health care costs for millions of Americans, while at the same time fighting inflation and the climate crisis.
Fighting against inflation and the climate crisis in one fell swoop
I capped off this busy week by advancing legislation that will address the most pressing challenges of our time. On Friday, I voted in the House to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that lowers families’ kitchen table costs, creates millions of good-paying jobs, delivers the most significant action on climate in history, and dramatically reduces the deficit. Included in this bill are key provisions that:
- Cuts the cost of health care for millions by extending ACA subsidies, locking in lower health care premiums that save 13 million people an average of $800 a year
- Allows Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, preventing excessive price hikes, and capping out-of-pocket costs to $2,000
- Invests $370 billion over 10 years for electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy tax breaks, lowering families’ energy costs by hundreds of dollars each year and slashing greenhouse gas pollution by an estimated 40 percent by 2030
This merely scratches the surface for the investments this legislation will deliver. I look forward to seeing the President sign this bill into law and bringing us ever closer to a more healthy, more resilient, and more just nation.
Despite all these successes, our work is far from over. It is my greatest honor to fight for you in Washington as your representative, and I will not stop working towards a better, brighter future for our region and beyond.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to ensure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- With rampant flooding, droughts, wildfires and severe storms driven by Earth’s rapidly changing climate—delivering information on how to best keep yourselves and your families safe during this extreme weather is more critical than ever before.
- To keep you updated, I will be hosting an informational webinar on climate change and emergency preparedness this coming Thursday, August 18th, at 6:00PM.
- Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will give presentations, sharing updates, resources, and tips, as well as answering any questions you may have.
- The event will be streamed live on my Facebook page.
- If you do not have a Facebook account and would like a recording of the webinar, please reach out to my office at 518-465-0700 to request that video.
