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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… Read more »

CAPITAL REGION – On the 10th annual Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day, Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20) urged taxpayers to check their eligibility to take advantage of the EITC. In New York’s 20th Congressional District, almost 50,000 individuals saved more than $105 million using the credit in tax year 2013. Taxpayers can check their EITC eligibility with the IRS’s EITC Assistant. Read more »

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… Read more »

For four months, House Republican Leadership shuttered the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that supports American exports and levels the playing field for U.S. manufacturers overseas. This ‘politics-over-people’ move led by the extreme wing of the House GOP caucus has already put hard working Americans out of work, including more than 200 in Schenectady, New York, in the district I… Read more »

After careful consideration and many meetings with local and national stakeholders including President Obama, members of the Cabinet, national security officials who have served both Republican and Democratic administrations, scientists and local faith and civic groups, I agree with the majority of Americans — that the Iran deal is an important step forward in dealing with a regime that… Read more »