May 30, 2026

Dear Friends,

Making healthcare accessible and affordable for every American has been one of the guiding lights driving my work in Congress, and I’ve continued to push back against the Trump administration’s callous and painful cuts to everything from Medicaid and Medicare, to research for pioneering new treatments, and more. Virtually every aspect of our broken health care system is in dire need of support, including the too often overlooked issue of mental illness.

One in five Americans are impacted by mental health disorders, and — even for those covered under health insurance — studies show that people are nearly four times as likely to have to go out-of-network and pay higher fees for mental health care as opposed to physical health care.

The push to improve behavioral health, which encompasses both mental health and addiction, has been a priority of mine since well before my time in Congress. Earlier this week, I joined advocates to mark 20 years since the enactment of the bill that started me down this path toward addressing mental health care. That legislation, known as Timothy’s Law, was one of the first mental health parity laws passed in our nation.

The law was named in honor of a boy named Timothy O’Clair, who I first met when I served in the New York State Assembly. Timothy lived in Schenectady, played Little League, and had a smile and a spirit that burned incredibly bright. He also suffered from significant mental health challenges, and although his family did all they could to provide him with the care he needed, insurance companies denied coverage for that treatment. These companies didn’t know the Timothy we knew. Where we all saw an extraordinary child in a fight for his own life, the insurance companies saw expenses in a ledger book. Without proper coverage and access to care, Timothy completed suicide in 2001. He was 12 years old.

Timothy’s memory has never left me. His spirit inspired me to write and advance Timothy’s Law in the New York State Legislature, which required parity in insurance plans between mental health and general health benefits. With that enactment, we made insurers recognize the fact that mental health and physical health are both equally deserving of care.

In the richest nation in the world, no one should have to struggle without access to the care they need. Recently, I was pleased to take important steps on several priorities I champion that would benefit the health and wellbeing of American families.

One of those priorities — which was advanced last week out of a key House Committee — is my School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes the SBHC grant program. SBHCs currently help to deliver comprehensive primary health care services to more than 6 million children across the country. I’m continually impressed by the work of these health centers in our own Capital Region, including Whitney Young Health and Hometown Health, which operate multiple school-based health centers in Albany, Watervliet, and Schenectady. These services offer a lifeline for children and families who may not be able to access care in other settings — especially for services like mental and behavioral health, where there can still be stigma associated with seeking care.

Despite the seemingly endless inaction and gridlock in Congress, my bill received unanimous support from committee Democrats and Republicans. It now allows this bill to head to the House floor for a vote, where I’m hopeful we can get it passed to ensure these centers can continue to provide accessible, critical health care to our communities.

I know these actions are far from being enough to give families the support they need and making health care affordable. That’s why I’m pushing to end Trump’s reckless war with Iran — now past the 3-month mark — so we can direct those dollars where we always should have: toward our communities and lowering costs. That’s why I’m fighting to restore Medicaid coverage and drive investments in the research that will help us develop the treatments and medicine of the future.

The road to repair our broken health care system will be a long one, but I won’t stop in the fight for a government that recognizes the pain people are feeling right now, and, most importantly, for a government that does something to ease that pain and bring support and hope to families.

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 governments and agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:

• The deadline for a vehicle tax credit is approaching; make sure you don’t miss out if you qualify!
• If your school district purchased an electric school bus charger in the last year, or if you plan to install one soon, you may qualify for the 30C tax credit for Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property.
• The 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Property Tax Credit expires June 30, 2026.
• This tax credit is available to tax-exempt entities through the recently established IRS system of elective payment. To qualify, chargers must be placed in service by that deadline of June 30, 2026.