At the President’s State of the Union address, I was truly privileged have Teresa Woolson as my guest. Teresa, an Oswego County mother who lost her son, Victor, to synthetic drugs in August 2012, created the Victor Orlando Woolson (V.O.W.) Foundation in his honor.  Since then, she has worked tirelessly on a local, state, and federal level to advocate for stronger policies to raise awareness about the dangers of opioid addiction and combat the rise of synthetic drugs.

Hours before the State of the Union began, Teresa and I met with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (OR-2) to tell Victor’s story and highlight the importance of the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues (SITSA) Act, legislation I’ve introduced in the fight against the heroin and synthetic drug epidemic. This bill modernizes the Controlled Substances Act and outlaws 13 synthetic fentanyls that have been identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as an immediate threat to public health.

Following my advocacy with Representative Slaughter, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted aid requests previously denied for Cayuga and Monroe Counties.

 After persistently high water levels and unprecedented flooding in communities along the Lake Ontario shoreline in 2017, Governor Cuomo officially requested that a major disaster declaration be issued for New York.  In December 2017, while many other counties in New York State were granted aid, Cayuga and Monroe counties were denied federal assistance.  Responding immediately, Representative Slaughter and I acted in a bipartisan manner in urging FEMA to reconsider any expedited appeal submitted by the Governor in order to protect and rebuild shoreline communities in Cayuga and Monroe Counties. 

Following the President’s call for strengthened infrastructure during this week’s State of the Union address, I introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation in the House to modernize our nation’s water infrastructure systems.  The Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now Act (SRF WIN Act) modernizes federal investment in water infrastructure to leverage $1 billion into over $50 billion in new funds to complete thousands of vetted water and wastewater State Revolving Fund projects.  This legislation will build on and preserve the bipartisan Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (WIFIA), successful legislation that leveraged millions of dollars of investment into local water systems.  My legislation combines the best aspects of the State Revolving Funds with the leveraging power of WIFIA to more efficiently and affordably provide states with access to new funding to make the desperately needed investments in drinking and wastewater infrastructure. 

At Capitol dinner, Katko asks Tillerson for help with Lake Ontario water levels

Bipartisan group pushes infrastructure plan

Eye on NY: Why Rep. John Katko invited Oswego woman to attend State of the Union

CNY House Lawmakers Back New York’s Application for FAA UAS Pilot Program

• Dealing with Federal agencies
• Purchasing U.S. Flags
• Military Academy Nominations
• Tours and tickets for your visit to Washington, D.C.
• Internships

I wanted to let you know that the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, will soon replace Social Security Numbers with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier.  A new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier will replace the Health Insurance Claim Numbers, but not change Medicare benefits in any way, only how billings and claims are filed.