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Stop letting sports betting industry cash in on predatory advertising

| Posted in Opinion Pieces
rep. tonko press 2

This weekend, as more than 100 million Americans tune in to watch the Super Bowl, they’ll see dozens of slickly produced, entertaining advertisements. Unfortunately, those watching will also be subjected to something more sinister — the latest predatory ad blitz from the multi-billion-dollar sports betting industry. Companies like FanDuel, DraftKings and others have invested tens of…

The long-lasting potential of the Inflation Reduction Act

| Posted in Opinion Pieces
Rep. Paul Tonko

Before the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was considered our nation’s greatest legislative achievement to deploy clean energy. In the past decade, policymakers have learned much from the ARRA experience, and those lessons were incorporated into IRA, putting this new legislative accomplishment on a path to transform our…

UAlbany and CNSE should merge

| Posted in Opinion Pieces
Captiol class cropped

I was energized to hear Gov. Kathy Hochul lay out a vision in her State of the State for sweeping investment in the State University of New York that will be good for my constituents and an all of New York.   Specifically, Hochul’s proposal to reunite UAlbany and the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering is one we can all get behind. As an engineer, former state…

Heritage Areas face looming cliff – our bill protects these cherished sites

| Posted in Opinion Pieces
hudson waterway

If you recently visited a local historic site, shopped at a small business, or attended a community event, your local National Heritage Area may have made that experience possible. Heritage Areas connect us with the diverse history of our regions while fueling hundreds of local economies across the nation. Despite their economic, environmental, and cultural value, without urgent action,…

Senators, let nominee be heard

| Posted in Opinion Pieces
Tags: Judiciary

Senate Republicans, by refusing to do their jobs and work to fill our current Supreme Court vacancy, have shown a fair-weather, bandwagon love for the Constitution.

Grid Reliability: What Congress Can Learn From New York

| Posted in Opinion Pieces

On a hot day in August 2003, a stretched transmission line tripped after dipping into an overgrown tree in Ohio. Soon after, multiple transmission lines nearby also tripped beginning what would become the second largest blackout at that time in history, impacting eight Northeastern states and Southern Canada. Since this massive blackout, power generation in the United States has changed…

Putting a Face on Addiction: The Urgent Need to Address Our Nation’s Heroin Epidemic

| Posted in Opinion Pieces

In recent years, we have witnessed the increasing pain and suffering inflicted by heroin and opioid addiction in communities in our districts and across the country. We, like many of our constituents, have seen firsthand how this tragic epidemic has affected our own friends and loved ones, and by sharing their stories we hope to put a face to the addiction crisis. The statistics…

Time is now for increased climate focus at home and abroad

| Posted in Opinion Pieces

For years Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee have asked for a hearing on the effects of climate change. And for years, that simple request – that we have an honest discussion before the oldest standing committee in the House about a problem faced the world over – has been denied. So, last month, we held our own forum on climate change. Unfortunately, only Democratic members…

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