Weekly Update: Remembering 9/11; Announcing Over $3.2 Million for North Country Communities; Visiting Tupper Lake to Highlight Broadband Funding; Volunteering at Seniors Food Drive Thru

Weekly Update

For the most up-to-date resources and information on COVID-19, visit my website here.

Remembering September 11th, 2001

Today, the North Country comes together to remember the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. Our local Upstate first responders, law enforcement, veterans, and community answered the call to support our fellow NY’ers and fellow Americans on that fateful day. I joined Hudson Falls American Legion Post 574 at this morning’s 9/11 Tribute to the Fallen Heroes event to participate in a candle lighting and flag placing. Post 574 unveiled a beautiful new 9/11 memorial and held a very moving ceremony that I was honored to participate in. May we never forget September 11th, 2001, and may God bless America.

Announcing Over $3.2 Million Grant for the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board

Yesterday, I announced that Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (RPB) will receive over $3.2 million in U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant funding. The funds will be coming from the EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance program, which provides a wide-range of financial assistance to communities and regions, including access to capital for businesses, as they respond to and recover from the financial impact of COVID-19. This award will be used by the Lake Champlain-Lake George RPB to assist in economic development projects within the five-county area they serve: Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington, in addition to Lewis, St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties. I was joined by other local elected officials, Department of Commerce officials, and local stakeholders for yesterday’s announcement in Lake George. Our local communities and the businesses that support them have felt the severe economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and today’s announcement is a significant step in the right direction as we help them recover and rebuild. I am proud to announce this $3.2 million EDA grant to support the important work that the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board does in fostering economic development and supporting small businesses in the North Country. Our local businesses have gone above and beyond these past few months to meet the needs of their communities, and with this new federal funding, the Regional Planning Board will be able to reach more of them and provide financial assistance. I was proud to vote in favor of the CARES Act, which provided this funding to the EDA, and I will continue to be a vocal advocate for programs and legislation that assist our North Country small businesses. Read more here.

Visiting Tupper Lake To Highlight Northern Border Regional Commission Broadband Grant 

On Wednesday, I visited Tupper Lake to present a $200,000 Northern Border Regional Commission grant to support broadband buildout. I am proud to work with local and regional leaders to deliver this important funding to the Tupper Lake community.

Volunteering at the Saratoga County Office of the Aging Seniors Food Drive Thru

Yesterday, I handed out meals to Saratoga County seniors along with local elected officials Senator Jim Tedisco, Senator Daphne Jordan, Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, and the Saratoga County Sheriff, Michael Zurlo. It was great to interact with our seniors and I thank the Saratoga County Office of the Aging for coordinating this important event.

Recognizing Two Fort Drum Soldiers and Five Local Nurses Who Volunteered to Conduct COVID-19 Testing at Fort Drum

I am recognizing two Fort Drum Soldiers and five local nurses who volunteered to conduct COVID-19 testing at the Bowe Clinic on Fort Drum. I called them yesterday to thank them for their excellent work.

• CPT Michelle Napper – Officer in Charge (OIC)
• SSG Cory Smith – Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC)
• RN Fulgencio (Paul) Solar
• LPN Leanna Wormwood
• LPN Jennifer Pledger
• LPN Mary Paul
• LPN Nicole Loehr

I am deeply inspired by these outstanding soldiers and each of these five nurses: Fulgencio (Paul) Solar, Leanna Wormwood, Jennifer Pledger, Mary Paul, and Nicole Loehr. Your courage and sacrifice exemplify the best of the North Country. Thank you for your service to our Fort Drum soldiers during the COVID-19 pandemic – I’m honored to represent all of you in Congress. Our doctors and nurses who volunteered their services during a global pandemic are true heroes among us. Read more here.

Announcing Community Development Block Grants from CARES Act Funding for Glens Falls, Watertown

This week, I announced three Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) through CARES Act funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Glens Falls, and Watertown. 

• Glens Falls will receive $162,525
• Watertown will receive $280,910

This funding comes from the third tranche of $500 billion in CARES Act funding allocated for supplemental CDBG grants to respond to COVID-19 and alleviate economic hardship for low-income individuals and families. These grants are allocated to areas with families at risk for eviction. These Community Development Block Grants for three NY-21 towns are critical for families in my district. I was proud to work with my bipartisan colleagues to secure this supplemental funding in the CARES Act when we passed it in the House. I will continue to work on the federal level and advocate for our region as we can continue to recover and rebuild from COVID-19. Read more here.

Receiving the NFIB “Guardian of Small Business” Award

On Wednesday, I was awarded the “Guardian of Small Business” Award by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) for my work in Congress to support small businesses and promote local entrepreneurship. This is the second year in a row that I have received this award. I visited Loreman’s Embroidery, Engraving, and Screen Printing in Keeseville on Wednesday, where I received this award. Small businesses are truly the backbone of our North Country communities and economies, and I am proud to be their number one advocate in Congress. Growing up in a small business family, I know firsthand the importance that small businesses have in our communities, and I have fiercely advocated for policies and programs to support them. The COVID-19 pandemic presented real challenges for our local businesses and I am proud to have worked in a bipartisan manner to deliver results for them as they overcame those challenges and continued to provide for the communities who rely on them. I am honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award, and I thank the NFIB for highlighting my work on behalf of the families and individuals in my district who work tirelessly to generate jobs, revenue, and opportunity for their communities. Read more here.

Cosponsoring Bill to Support Agricultural Fairs

I am cosponsoring the bipartisan Agricultural Fair Rescue Act, legislation that would provide $500 million in grants to agricultural fairs. This funding would be directed to state departments of agriculture to be disbursed to local, county, and state fairs who are facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation is supported by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, among other groups. During my time in Congress, I have had the opportunity to visit all of our county fairs, which are important events for our North Country communities. The county fair offers our farmers, youth involved in agriculture, and local organizations a chance to highlight the diverse and robust agriculture that the North Country has to offer and the importance of their industry. I am proud to be a supporter of this legislation that will help our county fairs recover from the financial losses that they have suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I look forward to catching up with our farmers and exhibitors at next year’s county fairs. Read more here. 

In Case You Missed It: Op-ed: Why We Need CHIPS for America Act to Support Expansion of GlobalFoundries Operations

In case you missed it, myself and Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10) wrote a joint op-ed for the Saratogian expressing support for the CHIPS for America Act, bipartisan legislation they introduced in the House. This bill is essential in encouraging the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, like GlobalFoundries, to expand their operations in the United States.

The Saratogian:

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dangers of America’s reliance on foreign supply chains for critical products and industries. It has likewise reinforced what many in the United States have recognized for years: American reliance on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for critical technologies is both an economic and national security threat. PRC threats to withhold critical medical equipment from certain countries during a global pandemic they created should be the final wake-up call for the United States and our allies that dependence on the PRC in critical industries, including the semiconductor chip industry, is untenable. Semiconductors are the brains of many universal technologies we use daily such as smartphones and coffee pots, as well as machinery that is essential to national security, like F-35 jets. While semiconductors were invented in the United States, and are often still designed here, semiconductors are primarily manufactured overseas. With the bulk of this supply chain an ocean away, and in proximity to a hostile government, the U.S. is in a vulnerable economic and national security situation. The combination of a growing dependency on, and threats from, the PRC necessitate America taking bold action to better secure this critical supply chain. It is critical that the United States strengthens our industrial base for the domestic manufacturing of semiconductors. That is why we introduced the bipartisan CHIPS for America Act — to restore American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, secure this vital supply chain, grow well-paying jobs, and ensure our technological long-term national security and economic competitiveness. This bill is essential in encouraging the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, like GlobalFoundries, to expand their operations in the United States. Even before we started taking concrete steps on this issue in Congress, GlobalFoundries had plans in the works to expand their U.S. operations, and in June the company secured 66 acres in Saratoga County, New York to add to their $13 billion manufacturing facility in Malta, New York. At that facility, GlobalFoundries already employs nearly 3,000 New Yorkers with high-paying, high-skilled jobs — we should do everything we can to encourage the creation of more similar jobs in Upstate New York. Read the full op-ed here.

Encouraging Census Participation

Important Census Update: The Census Bureau will begin emailing households in low-responding areas to encourage them to respond to the 2020 Census. These emails supplement a final campaign reminding people to respond to the 2020 Census on their own, as census takers begin asking households to respond to the census. The email messages will come from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov. Read more here.

How to ID a Census Taker: Check their badge. All Census Bureau employees will present an official ID badge. It will include their name, their photograph, a Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. If you are unsure, you can contact the U.S. Census Bureau.

If you have not already, be sure to fill out your 2020 Census. The census determines how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into our communities, including NY-21, which will directly fund our police departments, firefighters, schools and more. In mid-April, the Census Bureau began mailing the paper questionnaire to homes that have not yet responded online or by phone. If you receive mail through a P.O. Box, the Census Bureau will not be able to send you a response form, as they require your physical address to count you at the place where you live. Only a complete street address will help the Bureau accurately count you in the right place. If you cannot receive mail at your home, a Census Bureau worker may deliver a questionnaire, leave information about responding, or interview you. You can complete the census online at my2020census.gov. You can also call the Census Bureau at (844)-330-2020. The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to keep all of your reported information confidential. Visit my website here for more information.

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