January 11, 2025

Dear Friends,

As your representative in Congress, my primary concern and greatest responsibility is to tackle the issues that matter most to you and your loved ones.

As we enter the 119^th Congress, I’m more committed than ever to delivering meaningful results that strengthen our communities, support working families, and move us toward a brighter future for all Americans. That’s why last week, I sent out a survey so I could hear directly from you about your top priorities for the upcoming year in Congress. After receiving thousands of thoughtful responses, I’m immensely grateful for the input each and every one of you have provided.

The top three issues I heard about from Capital Region residents this year were getting big money out of politics, defending and expanding Medicare and Social Security, and tackling the climate crisis. My Democratic colleagues and I share those priorities, and we’re already working hard to address them.

• In December, we stood up to Elon Musk and the rest of Donald Trump’s band of billionaire benefactors — rejecting their calls to plunge our federal government into a devastating shutdown and preserving the essential services that American families rely on.
• We’ve fought to strengthen Medicare through measures like the Inflation Reduction Act, which is working to lower the cost of insulin and dozens of other lifesaving prescription drugs for Medicare enrollees.
• Our Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law by President Biden just this week, represents the first successful effort in decades to expand Social Security — bringing hundreds of dollars per month in additional benefits to millions of Americans.
• And as unprecedented wildfires sweep through Southern California, we’re keeping a laser focus on addressing the climate crisis that has exacerbated these horrifying natural disasters— including through legislation I’ve introduced like the Climate Pollution Standard and Community Investment Act and the Offshore Energy Modernization Act.

As we move forward into 2025, know that your top concerns will always be my top priorities in the halls of Congress.

Even as these important issues continue to guide my work in Washington, I’ll also remain focused on bringing federal resources home to address our Capital Region’s unique needs and opportunities. Over the past several years, I’ve been proud to secure millions of dollars in critical investments that are already making a real difference for our families and our communities. This week, I was thrilled to celebrate the results of one such investment.

Yesterday, I joined Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple Sr. to announce the opening of a new wing for the Albany County Sheriff’s Homeless Improvement Program (SHIP) — an expansion made possible by a $500,000 federal grant I secured through the Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding (CPF) process. The SHIP program, which has served nearly 500 individuals since its launch in 2020, provides a safe space for those most in need to access food, shelter, job opportunities, mental health and addiction services, and much more. With this significant federal investment, SHIP will be able to double its transitional housing capacity, increase staffing, and provide enhanced services that will bolster its efforts to better the lives of vulnerable individuals across Albany County.

The Community Project Funding process provides a unique opportunity to deliver direct support to our region by allotting federal dollars to a wide variety of vital local initiatives. Following several years of successful efforts that have brought tens of millions of dollars into our communities, I’ve been fighting to secure the inclusion of a new slate of 15 worthy local projects — ranging from municipal park and sidewalk improvements to the acquisition of cutting-edge laboratory equipment for our region’s colleges and universities — in the final Fiscal Year 2025 federal budget. My Democratic colleagues and I are urging Republicans to join us at the table to negotiate a commonsense, bipartisan budget agreement that ensures these projects and others like them across the nation receive the full funding they deserve.

Throughout my time in public office, I’ve kept a firm commitment to tackling the issues that matter most to the people I represent. As we enter a new year filled with challenges and possibilities, rest assured that commitment has not wavered. In 2025, my focus will remain where it has always been — on advocating for the people and communities of our beloved Capital Region.

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:

• Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a series of major actions to protect consumers from illegal credit card practices and help people save money on interest and fees.
• Some credit card issuers use aggressive sales tactics for retailer credit cards, which often have significantly higher interest rates.
• Many of these issuers also offer points and rewards that are hard to redeem or are consistently devalued by rewards policy changes.
• To combat these practices, the CFPB is taking action to crack down on deceptive credit card rewards program schemes and predatory retail credit card programs.
• Additionally, the CFPB recently announced the launch of their Explore Credit Cards tool to help consumers find the best credit card rates across both rewards cards and traditional cards.
  • You can use this tool to search for cards based on your goals, from paying less interest to making a big purchase or building credit.
• You can find more information on the CFPB’s recent actions by clicking HERE.