Congressman Paul Tonko announced today that Shaker High School Junior Margaret Murnane is the winner of the 2015 Congressional Art Competition for the 20th Congressional District of New York. Her piece, entitled "Family Ties," was judged to be the best out of 48 unique entries from 18 different schools in the Capital Region. The artwork was displayed during a reception Friday evening at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy. Next week, the piece will be shipped to Washington, D.C. to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year. Read more »
Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) released the following statement in response to the announcement made by U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx and Canada's Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt, detailing the DOT's final rule on transport of volatile chemicals via rail throughout North America. Read more »
Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) signed a discharge petition to force the House to vote on legislation that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, a vital institution that creates American jobs and empowers American manufacturers to access and compete in foreign markets. Only 25 legislative days remain until Republicans' refusal to act shutters the Export-Import Bank on June 30. Read more »
This week, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced the Keeping Social Security Solvent Act (H.R. 2078), which would improve benefits and increase the viability of Social Security by removing the current income cap of $118,500 at which individuals pay into the program. Read more »
Today, Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and Charlie Rangel (D-NY) introduced the MEND Act. This legislation would protect hospital based-nursing programs across the United States as they face conflicting regulatory requirements from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and their accreditation bodies. Read more »
As the nation marks Equal Pay Day, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) said today that more needs to be done to close the wage gap that still exists between women and men – including passage of the critical Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1619). Equal Pay Day symbolizes when, more than three months into the year, women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year. Read more »
Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which would help close the wage gap between women and men working the same jobs. On average, women make just 78 cents for every dollar made by a man nationwide. Read more »
This week, Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), and 35 of their House Democratic colleagues asked Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ranking Member David Price (D-NC) to support funding that ensures safe transportation of energy products, including the shipment of Bakken crude oil. Read more »
Today, Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) joined Representatives Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) and Chris Collins (R-NY) in introducing the bipartisan Manufacturing Universities Act. The bill would establish a Manufacturing Universities program within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. Colleges and universities with existing engineering programs would be eligible to apply for the Manufacturing University designation, which would include up to $5 million annually for four years to improve engineering programs with an emphasis on manufacturing, increase the number of joint projects with manufacturing firms, and support students who participate in cooperative education and apprenticeships with manufacturers. Read more »
Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) released the following statement in response to a clean, long-term bill providing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 30, 2015. The measure passed on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 257-167. Read more »
