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AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko cheered news today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will release new practice guidelines that scale back the so-called “x-waiver” and allow practitioners to more easily prescribe buprenorphine—a proven effective opioid addiction treatment—to patients. Tonko has long fought to remove this outdated barrier and expand access… Read more »

AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced a slate of Capital Region transportation projects that he is submitting to the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee in a bid to secure federal funding for the projects. Proposals selected by the committee may be eligible for funding under the surface transportation authorization legislation that is expected to be… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) today introduced the Star Rating for Biosimilars Act, bipartisan legislation that directs the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to evaluate Medicare plans based on whether or not cost-saving biosimilars are available to enrollees. Biosimilar drugs are clinically equivalent forms of biologic… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko reintroduced his Fort McClellan Health Registry Act today, legislation that establishes a health registry tracking links between service at Fort McClellan and the severe life-long health problems plaguing many of the veterans who served there. In the past, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has not accepted any link between adverse health effects… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko (D-NY), U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congressman John Katko (R-NY) are calling on the Biden administration to invest in U.S. semiconductor production by funding provisions in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act that were signed into law as part of the FY21… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Representatives Paul D. Tonko announced today that applications are now being accepted for funeral assistance for New Yorkers who have lost a relative to COVID-19. Tonko helped establish this program as part of the American Rescue Plan recently passed by Congress and signed into law. “No amount of money can heal the loss of a loved one,” Congressman Tonko said. “While we… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, led the subcommittee in a legislative hearing on facilitating the nation’s clean energy transition and promoting environmental justice to protect vulnerable communities. The 11 bills examined during the hearing included Tonko’s Climate Leadership and Environmental… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and John Garamendi (D-CA) and U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) reintroduced the “Made in America Act” to strengthen “Buy America” requirements for all major federally funded infrastructure projects to support American businesses, manufacturers, and workers. The “Made in America Act” identifies federal programs that… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko made a strong case for Congress to advance two key pieces of addiction treatment legislation today during a Congressional hearing in the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health confronting the nation’s opioid epidemic. Tonko’s bills include the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which removes pointless barriers preventing medical… Read more »

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko stood with a bipartisan group of lawmakers today to introduce a comprehensive new bill to help families across the country dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. The Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act would help the 95% of individuals with dementia that have one or more other chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart… Read more »