Washington Update

Dear Friend,

On Tuesday, we began the Second Session of the 112th Congress.  It has been a distinct honor and a privilege to serve as your representative over the past year.  As we begin 2012, I look forward to continuing to make progress toward our three goals: growing the economy, working towards a balanced budget, and protecting freedoms.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to report to you on some of our accomplishments in 2011, in my one-year report below (which you can also find here).  I look forward to your feedback on what we’ve done so far, and will continue to keep you updated throughout this year.

2011: A Year in Review

Here are some of the notable actions I have taken during my first year representing the 20th Congressional District:

Focus on economic growth

• Voted for over 30 bipartisan bills to help small business owners and hard-working families.  These include protecting them from tax increases, rolling back duplicative and onerous regulations, and promoting American energy independence to drive down costs to help create jobs and enable families to keep more of their money.
• Worked with Sen. Gillibrand to include $50 million in the National Defense Authorization Act for nanotechnology research and to study the necessity of creating a federal center focused on nano research, which would allow UAlbany to compete for the funding and designation.
• Hosted a broadband symposium to bring together local officials, providers, and consumers to find ways to expand access to broadband for un-served areas, and sponsored a bipartisan, fully offset amendment that was signed into law that saved the rural broadband loan program.
• Advocated for House Leadership to bring to a vote a ‘paid for’ infrastructure bill funding roads, bridges, and other transportation projects.
• Voted for a proposal to reform our tax code to ensure everyone pays their fair share by eliminating unnecessary tax loopholes so that we can lower overall rates.
• Voted to repeal and defund the President’s health care law and begin work on new solutions.
• Served as a co-chair of the bipartisan Hurricane Irene Recovery Coalition to help Upstate communities rebuild. This effort resulted in FEMA aid, federal assistance for farmers, and money for towns and counties to rebuild infrastructure and help small businesses recover.

Restoring fiscal responsibility

• Voted for a budget which encourages growth, works toward a balanced budget, and allows us to pay off our debt, while protecting important programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
• Voted for every Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations Bill that cut spending.  Discretionary spending was cut in both the 2011 and 2012 Appropriations Bills – the first time since World War II spending was lowered two years in a row.
• Voted ‘yes’ on “Cut, Cap, and Balance,” which would have immediately cut spending, enforced caps on future spending, and sent to the states a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.
• Voted ‘yes’ on the Balanced Budget Amendment.

Protecting our freedoms and cherished way of life

• Introduced the War Powers Reform Act, to change the way our country goes to war to restore the legislative-executive branch balance and provide the American people with a voice in the process through their elected Representatives.
• Began the process of defense reform and improving our effectiveness in the war against Al Qaeda through authoring amendments to both the Defense Authorization and Intelligence Authorization to study consolidation and reorganization, both of which became law.
• Voted ‘no’ on the Patriot Act extension, due to provisions infringing on 4th Amendment rights.
• Voted ‘yes’ on the Right to Carry Act, protecting gun owners’ rights across state lines.
• Ensured proper funding levels to support our troops and veterans.