June 5, 2021
Dear Friends,
This week I had the opportunity to travel across our Capital Region and visit some of the projects and organizations that are working to deliver critical services and help our communities grow and prosper.
I was especially eager to visit several projects that I’m working to get included directly in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. More than a month ago, I submitted this slate of 10 worthy community development projects spanning our region to be reviewed by the House Committee on Appropriations in a bid to bring direct federal dollars to our region through the committee’s new Community Project Funding (CPF) process.
The final selection process for these projects is going to be extremely competitive and only a handful of projects from across the country are expected to be accepted by the Appropriations Committee. That’s why I am fighting every step of the way to ensure our slate of local projects is as competitive as possible, giving us our best chance to secure federal dollars that will help to ignite our region’s recovery, invest in critical services and spark new growth and development.
This week, I toured all 10 of my finalist project sites to gain a deeper understanding of their operations, their potential impact and the spirit of service driving them forward. My experience this week has been invaluable as I turn back to the work of getting these local initiatives added directly into the FY2022 federal budget.
Here are the projects I’ve submitted, sorted by county:
Albany County
- Cohoes Municipal Floating Solar Demonstration Site: The City of Cohoes is proposing a municipally owned Floating Solar demonstration project to be installed on its water reservoir that would generate 100% of municipal facilities’ energy demand. This visionary project could help communities across the nation build resource efficient clean energy systems that drive down costs for consumers.
- Albany County Sheriff’s Homeless Improvement Program (SHIP): This smart, compassionate project would increase capacity to house residents in need of housing, jobs, mental health services, medical services, and substance abuse counseling.
- UAlbany RNA Institute Technology Package: Funding to support this project would better equip our region and state to address COVID, along with helping advance new treatments for many other diseases including Myotonic dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease and more.
- Town of Westerlo Broadband Expansion Project: This vital project would support extensions of broadband internet routes along public roads and connections to houses, resulting in more than 900 unserved households, farms, and businesses receiving broadband access.
Montgomery County
- Amsterdam Community Center Project: This project would transform currently vacant space into a community service center for residents to increase activities and visitation to the downtown area.
- Amsterdam Pedestrian Connector and Station Design: Funding for this project would bring more opportunity to develop along the waterfront, bolster revenues of local businesses and will greatly benefit the people of the City of Amsterdam and the surrounding region.
Rensselaer County
Saratoga County
- City of Mechanicville Water Reliability Project: This water infrastructure project would replace miles of old water mains currently serving thousands of residents and businesses within Mechanicville as well as the towns of Stillwater, Schaghticoke and Halfmoon.
Schenectady County
- Hometown Health Dental Clinic: With the closing of the Ellis Hospital, Hometown health will nearly double the number of patients served to an estimated 19,000 Capital Region residents. Their Dental Clinic expansion would enable them to better handle this influx and continue to serve our region with affordable, quality care.
- Rotterdam Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project: This project would bring this treatment plant to modern standards and ensure our communities can rest easy knowing the water coming out of their pipes is safe and clean.
Every one of these projects—and dozens more that my team and I considered—would greatly benefit countless individuals and families across our Capital Region and beyond. Seeing the work and dedication of the folks supporting and advancing these projects will help fill my voice in Washington. Stay tuned as I continue to push for them to get the federal support they deserve.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind here is some information from the IRS that may be of interest to you:
- Taxpayers living and working outside of the United States that they must file their 2020 federal income tax return by Tuesday, June 15. This deadline applies to both U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad, including those with dual citizenship.
- An income tax filing requirement generally applies even if a taxpayer qualifies for tax benefits, such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or the Foreign Tax Credit, which substantially reduce or eliminate U.S. tax liability. These tax benefits are only available if an eligible taxpayer files a U.S. income tax return.
- A taxpayer qualifies for the special June 15 filing deadline if both their tax home and abode are outside the United States and Puerto Rico. Those serving in the military outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico on the regular due date of their tax return also qualify for the extension to June 15. IRS recommends attaching a statement if one of these two situations apply.
- In addition, certain taxpayers may also have to complete and attach to their return Form 8938, Statement of Foreign Financial Assets. Generally, U.S. citizens, resident aliens and certain nonresident aliens must report specified foreign financial assets on this form if the aggregate value of those assets exceeds certain thresholds. See the instructions for this form for details.
- Members of the military qualify for an additional extension of at least 180 days to file and pay taxes if either of the following situations apply:
- They serve in a combat zone or they have qualifying service outside of a combat zone; or
- They serve on deployment outside the United States away from their permanent duty station while participating in a contingency operation.