April 2, 2022
Dear Friends,
As I conclude another busy week here in Washington fighting for the communities and working families of the Capital Region, I want to share a few updates on the work I’ve been doing alongside my colleagues to Build a Better America through significant investments in public health and infrastructure.
Battling the disease of addiction
The addiction epidemic has touched every community in our nation, and with more than 100,000 Americans lost last year, taking urgent action to support those struggling is more vital than ever. For years, I’ve fought to address this crisis with key legislation like my Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act. And just this week I led a group of my colleagues to introduce bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the critical Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant for an additional five years, ensuring sustained investment in programs that support communities and families fighting addiction here in the Capital Region and nationwide.
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced that the Subcommittee on Health will consider this vital legislation at a hearing next week. This reauthorization underscores our continuing commitment to ensuring we provide hope and a path forward for our neighbors and loved ones who need it most. I will do all I can to ensure this bipartisan legislation moves swiftly to bring relief and resources for our communities.
Investing in American infrastructure
Since its advance in November 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has continued to deliver for our communities. This week, I was proud to highlight more than $289 million headed to New York families as part of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Thanks to these funds New Yorkers will be able to reduce their home energy bills through cost-effective, energy efficient retrofit investments. Even before the recent price hike caused by Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, utility bills strained the budgets of too many Americans. With this investment, households—particularly those in low-income and disadvantaged communities—will save hundreds on their energy bills each year.
In addition to key weatherization investments, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also provided $11.7 billion for states to improve drinking water and $15 billion to replace lead service lines. I chaired a hearing in the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee this week to highlight these investments to repair our nation’s crumbling water infrastructure. Critically, our bill works to remove the estimated 10 million lead pipelines still in service across the country. While I am proud of our progress on this critical issue, there is still more work to be done to ensure every child has access to clean water.
Addressing the skyrocketing cost of insulin
On Thursday, I was proud to cast my vote in support of the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which will cap families’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month. Right now, millions of Americans who rely on insulin are struggling to keep up with costs for this lifesaving drug. Americans pay more than ten times more for insulin than patients in many of our peer nations, and pharmaceutical companies often charge families up to 30 times the cost of production for a vial of insulin. 1 in 4 Americans who rely on insulin have cut back or skipped doses due to rapidly rising costs—putting themselves at grave health risk.
This bill will require Medicare and private insurers to cover insulin on their plans, all while capping out-of-pocket costs. I’m proud of this critical effort to ensure access to life-saving medication for the over 7 million Americans who rely on insulin, and I am eager to build on this legislation with more action to lower prescription drug costs for American families.
I remain honored by the opportunity to be your voice in Washington and to fight for our Capital Region communities. I’m proud of our efforts in Congress to deliver for our working families, and while I’m encouraged by our continued progress, I recognize that our work is far from finished. I am ready to continue my work in Washington to bring home critical federal investments and to help Build a Better America.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- I am pleased to announce that our office’s Community Project Funding request process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 is now open.
- Community Project Funding opportunities are requests that can result in federal funding for a single organization or project.
- Community Project Funding is only available to local and state governments and eligible non-profit organizations.
- Non-profit entities as described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are the only non-profits that are eligible. For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.
- This year, I was proud to secure nearly $15 million in funding for ten diverse projects in our district, ranging from clean energy initiatives and broadband internet expansion to water infrastructure upgrades and public health projects, as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding process.
- Want to see your project funded next? For more information on eligibility and the application process or to submit a proposal, please visit my website: https://tonko.house.gov/constituent-services/community-project-funding.htm
- My office will be hosting a webinar on how to apply for this game-changing federal funding. Stay tuned to my social media pages and our website for more information on this event!
- The deadline for submission of all completed applications is Friday, April 15th at 6:00 PM.
- Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (518) 465-0700 with any questions.