“These first-responders and essential workers have kept our communities going under challenging circumstances, and they need to know we have their backs. Our legislation delivers that assurance and puts our region and nation on a more solid footing to weather this storm.” Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced this afternoon that The Heroes Act—new COVID-19 crisis relief legislation that has now been introduced in the House—delivers an estimated $1.3 billion in crisis-response aid to New York’s Capital Region and a combined $49.5 billion to New York State overall. Under the bill:· Local governments in Albany County receive a combined $341.5 million in FY2020 and $170.7 million in FY2021; TOTAL: $512.29 million Local governments in Schenectady County re... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko has sent a stinging letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai detailing the agency’s chronic failures to correctly map and support New York households with limited broadband access. The letter includes testimonials from dozens of teachers, students, parents and small business owners across NY-20 who are struggling as a result of being unable to access broadband internet, and, in particular, whose hardships have become exacerbated ... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko highlighted research institutions in the Capital Region that have joined in the federal response to combat COVID-19 during a recent bipartisan roundtable held by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The committee examined agencies and authorities within its jurisdiction that could advance science and technology-based solutions to better identify, understand, track, treat and contain COVID-19 and other emergent infectious diseases. “Resear... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Representatives Paul D. Tonko celebrated news today that an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant has been awarded to Montgomery County totaling $300,000 that will be used towards cleanup and economic redevelopment of local brownfield sites. “Not only do unaddressed brownfields negatively impact our regional economy, they often pose a threat to our environmental and public health,” Congressman Tonko said. “Facilitating the assessment, cleanup and revitalization of these sites protects t... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced this morning that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will award grants to support seven public housing authorities in the Capital Region affected by the COVID-19 pandemic totaling $1,959,663. “Every American deserves access to safe, affordable housing,” Congressman Tonko said. “These grants funded through the CARES Act will allow public housing authorities across our Capital Region to provide essential resources for the ma... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Representatives Paul D. Tonko and Jerrold Nadler led a bipartisan letter from Members of the New York Congressional delegation to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) requesting that any future COVID-19 response legislation address the needs and priorities of America's cultural sites, many of which call New York home. "Museums, zoos, theaters, and other cultural institutions employ more than 480,000 New Yorkers, generate $120 billion in economic act... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James E. Clyburn, House Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Democratic Rural Broadband Task Force, and Congressman Frank Pallone, Chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee, along with 10 members of the Rural Broadband Task Force and Energy & Commerce Committee, today announced the House Democratic Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet. This plan—an updated and expanded version of the broadband provisions of House Democrats’ Moving Ame... Read more

Washington, DC—United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA-04), along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); and Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA-06), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), John Katko (R-NY-24) and 68 of their Senate and House colleagues, sent a letter to Congressional leadership requesting emergency funding for mental health disorder and addiction treatment providers as the nation grapples with the coronav... Read more

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko introduced legislation today in the House of Representatives that would fund research to study the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on the mental health of Americans, and more specifically, health care providers. “Every one of us has felt the burden of this crisis. Our frontline workers have been coping with many weeks of exposure to the physical and emotional devastation caused by this pandemic. We have all heard stories of nurses returning home from a sh... Read more