Politics

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

In Process & Product, Final State Budget Misses The Mark

May 7, 2023 Contributor
After a month-long delay that featured six emergency extenders, secretive meetings and several backdoor deals, the recently passed state budget amounted to another missed opportunity. At a time when inflation remains problematic and the state’s sky-high cost of living has driven hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers away, we needed a budget focused on relieving the enormous fiscal pressure facing New York families. Unfortunately, the record-setting spending plan that was just passed completely ignores that reality.

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US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand Demands IRS Address Backlog, Issue Overdue Tax Refunds To Small Businesses

May 5, 2023 Contributor
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to demand that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) address its backlog and issue overdue Employee Retention Credit (ERC) refunds to small businesses and nonprofits that have filed for them. The ERC was established in 2020 to provide tax relief to businesses that retained their employees during the pandemic. The IRS currently has as many as 1 millionunprocessed ERC claims, meaning that many struggling small New York businesses have yet to receive the money they are owed. 

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US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand Pushes For Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill To Enhance Banking Access For Legal Cannabis Businesses

May 4, 2023 Contributor
This week, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing for the bipartisan, bicameral Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act to ensure that legal cannabis businesses have access to critical banking and financial services. Most state legal medicinal or recreational cannabis businesses are denied access to traditional and secure banking systems and financial services because banks fear they may be prosecuted under federal law given the ongoing federal restrictions on cannabis.

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No Picture
The Governor

GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES FY 2024 BUDGET INVESTMENTS IN ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, AND CLEAN ENERGY

May 3, 2023 Contributor
ALBANY, NY – Advancing Building Decarbonization with Zero Emission New Construction $400 Million Investment to Promote Energy Affordability Advances Affordable Cap-and-Invest Program to Accelerate Climate Action and Create Jobs New York Power Authority to Expand […]
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand Presses DOD To Investigate Rotary-Wing Aircraft Accidents; Push Comes In Wake Of Helicopter Crashes

May 2, 2023 Contributor
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting a review of all rotary-wing aviation accidents that resulted in a loss of life and/or the loss of aircraft. The letter noted recent helicopter accidents in Alaska and Kentucky that resulted in the deaths of multiple soldiers, as well as the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter in 2021 that resulted in the deaths of three officers from the New York Army National Guard.

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US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Gillibrand Pushes To Provide Accessible, Affordable Housing For Older Americans And People Living With Disabilities

April 30, 2023 Contributor
This week, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, is pushing for a bill to address the housing affordability and accessibility crisis in the United States. The Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act would increase investment in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and ensure that developers are building more accessible housing units that are designed for older adults and people with disabilities. The bill would also help ensure that new units are located within communities where residents can walk or move around easily in wheelchairs. This bill is led by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

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Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay

Senate And Assembly Republicans: No Budget With “Messages Of Necessity”

April 27, 2023 Contributor
Members of the state Senate and Assembly Republican Conferences today urged Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislative Majorities not to use so-called “messages of necessity” to bypass the constitutionally-required three-day aging process once budget bills are introduced. This critically-important “aging” provision of the state constitution helps to ensure that the public, the press, and all interested parties have the opportunity to review the budget bills before they are enacted into law.

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US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand Announces Legislation To Accelerate FDA Approval Of Drugs To Treat Life-Threatening Illnesses

April 26, 2023 Contributor
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to announce her bipartisan legislation to expedite provisional FDA approval of drugs intended to treat ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other life-threatening diseases. The standard FDA approval process takes many years to get drugs to market, but patients with rapidly progressing illnesses often don’t have many years to wait. Gillibrand’s Promising Pathway Act would accelerate the FDA’s approval process and help get promising treatments to those who need them. 

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