NY-27

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today released the following statement on Governor Cuomo’s decision to ban fracking.

“Governor Cuomo has just denied the people of New York a tremendous economic opportunity in order to appease far-left environmentalists for his own political gain,” Congressman Collins said. “The Governor continues to hide behind Albany bureaucrats and controversial scientific studies to stand against hardworking New Yorkers who deserve the job opportunities and economic growth fracking has clearly produced in other states, including neighboring Pennsylvania. This is a sad day for the future of the economy in Upstate New York.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today released the following statement after passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY 2015.

“This legislation is a tremendous win for Western New York,” Congressman Collins said. “It holds the line on discretionary spending, ensuring continued deficit reduction, while fully funding vital government programs. In politics it is crucial not to let perfect be the enemy of good, and although people on both sides have their concerns, I'm proud of what this accomplishes for Western New York.”

Here are highlights from the bill that directly affect Western New Yorkers.

· Provides $122 million for the improvement and expansion of the VA Medical Facility in Canandaigua;

· Provides $68 million for OMEGA at the University of Rochester to expand its nuclear fusion laser lab facility;

· Increases funding for the National Institutes of Health grant programs that help fund research centers like the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo;

· Eliminates funding for the Race to the Top Initiative, reducing the incentive for States to continue the implementation of the Common Core Standards;

· Blocks the EPA from applying the Clean Water Act to certain farm ponds and irrigation ditches;

· Allows more flexibility to school districts implementing new whole grain nutrition standards in school lunches;

· Cuts EPA funding for the fifth consecutive year and brings staffing to the lowest level since 1989;

· Cuts IRS funding by $345.6 million and bans the agency from targeting organizations seeking tax-exempt status based on their ideological beliefs;

· Provides $300 million to improve and restore the Great Lakes;

· Increases funding for the Harbor Maintenance Trust fund by $100 million.

Statement from Rep. Chris Collins:

“Achieving energy independence is vital for our nation’s economic growth and national security,” Congressman Collins said. “For the past six years, the President’s Administration has hidden behind political motives to delay a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline. While the Obama Administration and Senate Democrats have delayed, the American people have missed out on the thousands of jobs and lower energy costs that would be created by approval of the pipeline.

“As November’s elections results prove, Americans want economic growth and jobs now, and House Republicans are taking a major step towards those goals. It is time for the President and Senate Democrats to put aside their punitive political agenda and harness our nation’s energy potential.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins tonight released the following statement announcing his successful reelection as New York’s 27th District Congressional Representative.

“I am honored and humbled to again be elected by the hardworking people of New York’s 27th District,” Congressman Collins said.

“Voters across America made a clear choice today about the direction in which they want our country to move. Here in the 27th District of New York, like many places across our country, people have chosen to be represented by individuals who believe that job creation and economic growth should be spurred by the private sector, that big government is not good government, and that elected leaders should stand behind the principles they campaign on.

“I look forward to building on this nationwide momentum. My focus will remain on the issues that my constituents care about such as ensuring our veterans have the resources they deserve, fighting to reduce burdensome government regulations that negatively impact our farmers and small business owners, protecting Medicare benefits for our seniors, and reducing taxes to keep more money in individual’s pockets.

“I want to thank our hundreds of volunteers, our donors and most of all the voters. I would not be here without their strong support. Additionally, I want to thank my opponent, Jim O’Donnell for his service to our community and wish him the best going forward.”

Rep. Chris Collins was honored today by the American Farm Bureau for his efforts on behalf of the agriculture community, not only in Genesee County and New York, but throughout the United States.

Collins spearheaded an effort to get the EPA to back off waterway rule changes that farmers -- and others -- say will drive up the cost of business, if not put them out of business.

It's a top legislative priority of the Farm Bureau, said New York bureau President Dean Norton, to convince the EPA to "ditch the rule," which he says would change the definition of navigable waterways to include small ditches and puddles, which are common on farms.

Norton presented Collins with an award from the Farm Bureau at a gathering at Post Farms in Elba.

Jeff Post thanked Collins for taking up the cause.

"If you look across the back of our farm, which we've been farming for 100 years, we have a lot of ground that would fall into the rule to be permitted," Post said. "It would have a large impact on a small producer like us."

At the urging of Norton, Collins took up the cause with the goal of getting 100 members of Congress to sign a letter urging the EPA to ditch the rule. Collins had 100 signers in a week. In another week, Norton said, he had 200. Eventually, 240 members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats signed the letter.

"This goes to show you just how flawed the rule is," Norton said. "Then when you have other organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce coming out and saying, 'ditch the rule,' and when you have the small business administration telling their partner agency, 'you need to rewrite this thing, it's really flawed,' it tells you it is flawed."

Collins also said the fact the letter would garner such bipartisan support shows how seriously off track the EPA has gotten on the proposed rule change.

"I was able to get majority of Congress, which is very hard to do today, Republicans and Democrats alike, over 240 members, to send a letter to the administrator to the EPA asking, demanding, that they withdraw the rule and start over," Collins said. "There was too much ambiguity, too much worry in a rule that was out for comment."

In a hearing, Collins said, a deputy at the EPA "effectively admitted" that the proposed rule is flawed. The official said the comment period, which has been extended again, to Nov. 15, is designed to give the EPA information to fix any flaws in the rule.

"They said, we can fix it after the comments are done," Collins said. "My comment to them was, 'we don't trust you. No one trusts you. The public doesn't trust you. Farmers don't trust you. Congress doesn't trust you not to overreach yet again.' "

Collins, left, Post and Norton.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $675,699 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for three local airports. Akron Airport received $222,402 for runway repairs. Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport received $150,726 for removal of existing on-airport obstructions to a runway. And Le Roy Airport received $302,571 to upgrade its lighting and beacon systems.

“Supporting local governments by maintaining, repairing and building critical infrastructure is a beneficial use of federal tax dollars,” Congressman Collins said. “Providing these local airports the necessary funding for a variety of improvements will allow for more efficient and safer airport operations. Continued investment in local infrastructure is necessary to ensure that valuable economic assets like local airports can continue to grow and successfully operate.”

“Le Roy Airport is a ‘state-of-the-art’ ‘reliever airport’ for the Greater Rochester International Airport,” said Raymond Detor Jr., president of Le Roy Aviation Services, Inc. “Le Roy Airport will be accepting a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and New York State Department of Transportation to upgrade taxiway lighting, wind direction indicators, Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPIP), and various other lighting upgrades.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local government pursuing a federal grant.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) released the following statement after the President’s address laying out his strategy to eliminate the ISIS threat.

“It is clear, we cannot allow for the same mistakes that have gotten us into this situation,” Congressman Collins said. “The current events in Iraq and Syria prove the absence of American leadership enables and emboldens our enemies, and puts our country and citizens at risk. I fully support actions to eliminate the threat posed by ISIS and protect our citizens at home and abroad.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) released the following statement today on the passage of H.R. 5078, the Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act, which would prevent the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers from implementing the proposed rule that would redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act.

“Redefining the scope of ‘waters of the United States’ is a dangerous expansion of government authority,” Congressman Collins said. “I have heard from many farmers and small business owners in my district who believe the EPA and Army Corp of Engineers rule will have a devastating effect on their productivity and ability to stay in business. In May, I led a bipartisan letter with Rep. Schrader of Oregon, signed by a majority of the House, asking the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw this overreaching rule. The passage of today’s legislation will ensure that this rule is withdrawn and our farmers and small business owners will be protected.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (R-NY-27) visited Graham Corporation in Batavia to see firsthand the skilled jobs and business that the production of Navy aircraft carriers brings to the region. Graham Corporation builds and supplies main condensers and air ejectors for Navy aircraft carriers.

Graham Corporation is part of a vital defense industrial base consisting of more than 2,000 small, mid-sized, and large businesses from 43 states that provides parts and services for Navy aircraft carriers.

During his tour, Congressman Collins met with the employees at Graham Corporation to discuss the unique skills they contribute to the industrial base that supplies parts to the Navy aircraft carrier program.

“It was an honor meeting the employees at Graham and learning about their vital work constructing components for our Navy’s aircraft carriers,” Congressman Collins said. “Local businesses like Graham are essential to maintaining economic growth and good-paying job opportunities here in Western New York, while ensuring our nation’s national security. It was great to see firsthand how the skilled work happening here in Batavia contributes to our Navy’s strength around the world.”

“Building new carriers every five years and undertaking maintenance on a regular schedule preserves the fleet at its required operational level of 11 carriers and keeps the industrial base sustainable and strong. Today we got the opportunity to talk with Congressman Collins about why it is so critical to our local jobs and businesses and our national security,” said Ken Salphine, manager of Marine & Nuclear Products at Graham Corporation.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $135,000 in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Genesee County Airport. Specifically, the grant will fund the design phase to remove obstructions in a portion of the airport’s runway.

“Supporting local governments with the cost of maintaining, repairing and building critical infrastructure is an appropriate use of federal tax dollars,” Congressman Collins said. “Local taxpayers send too much of their hard-earned money to Washington, and it is only proper that we get a share of it back to assist with projects that are important to our local communities.”

The Congressman’s office remains available to assist any local governments pursuing a federal grant.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced $118,137 in federal funding for three local fire companies. The local fire companies are the Depew Fire Department, the Bergen Fire Department, and the Upper Mountain Fire Company. The grants were allocated through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which is designed to help first responders improve their capability to respond to fires and emergencies of all types.

“Providing the necessary funding for our first responders is an excellent use of federal resources,” Congressman Chris Collins said. “Our local heroes need the proper resources to do their jobs and protect our communities. Many small fire companies are unable to purchase necessary equipment upgrades due to financial limitations. This funding will provide new breathing apparatus, nozzles and hoses, equipment to prepare for chemical fires and hydraulic rescue tools creating more efficient and effective first responders. I am proud I was able to help secure this money.”

Specifically, the funding will be used to purchase a new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) filling station for Bergen Fire Department. Depew Fire Company will use the funds to replace aging hoses and nozzles, some of which have not been upgraded since the 1960s, and purchase foam educators to better prepare for chemical fires. Upper Mountain Fire Company will purchase hydraulic rescue tools.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator, Honorable Robert W. Perciasepe, at a Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on the EPA’s overreaching rule proposal entitled “Definition of the ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water Act.”

“The problem is the public doesn't trust the EPA, farmers don't trust the EPA not to overreach, Congress doesn't trust the EPA,” said Congressman Collins during today’s hearing.

“Deputy Administrator Perciasepe and the EPA fail to recognize that their agency’s overreach is causing real harm for farmers and stalling business development across our country,” Congressman Collins said. “When I visit with farmers in my district, the heavy burdens under the Clean Water Act come up each and every time. When the bureaucrats at the EPA decide to call a divot in the ground that fills with rain a ‘navigable waterway’ under the CWA, we know our federal government has run amuck. The fact that the EPA and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are now looking to formally broaden the definition of ‘navigable waters’ is an insult to hard working farmers all across this country.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (formerly Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.).

“The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a victory for our First Amendment rights and the free exercise of religious beliefs,” Congressman Collins said. “Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate is an intrusion on the religious freedoms of private employers, and was decided to be what many of us expected: unconstitutional. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., case is another example of this Administration’s hubris and extreme overreach into every corner of our lives.”

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today is blasting a proposal by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that will significantly hurt the local cheese industry. The FDA is contemplating banning cheese makers from the centuries-old practice of aging cheese on wooden boards. This process is commonplace among artisan cheese makers operating across New York’s 27th Congressional District.

“This is just the latest example of a federal government hell-bent on regulating everything it can get its hands on,” Congressman Collins said. “The process of aging cheese on wood boards is older than the federal government itself. Once again, the bureaucrats in Washington who are totally out of touch with the real world are arbitrarily introducing new rules and regulations that will hurt local economies, cost people their jobs, and stall business growth.”

Approximately 15 to 20 percent of the cheese made by Yancey's Fancy in Pembroke, NY, (Genesee County) is aged on wooden boards. The company recently announced a major expansion aimed at increasing production of the very cheeses aged through the process targeted by the FDA. The company currently employs 120 people.

“The proposal that FDA has made to ban the use of wood for curing cheese will negatively impact our plans to grow the natural side of our specialty cheese business,” said Brian Bailey, VP of Operations for Yancey's Fancy. “My understanding is that the rule was going forward without any discussion with the cheese industry, and apparently without any consideration to the impact that such a ruling would have.

"There is a far greater tonnage of cheese imported into the United States that is cured on wood than what is made in the United States, yet I haven’t heard of any ruling to address that issue either. There is plenty of science that supports wood as a safe material for curing cheese but I’ve seen no evidence to date that science has been considered...Producing safe, quality food is as much our mission and goal as it is FDA’s. Our existence depends on it.”

Congressman Collins is sending a letter to the FDA encouraging them to abandon this proposal immediately. A significant amount of cheese imported from abroad is aged on wood boards and currently not subject to FDA’s scrutiny of this particular aging process. In reacting to the proposal, American cheese makers said the FDA was not acting on sound science or law.

Press release:

"For too long, Western New York's veterans have been denied the honor of being laid to rest among their fellow heroes right here in our community," Congressman Chris Collins said. "Today's announcement of a veterans’ cemetery in Pembroke finally rights that wrong. This location will allow veterans from all around our region to be properly and locally honored for their service to this country."

Background: The VA has selected a 132-acre parcel on Indian Falls Road in the Town of Pembroke (Genesee County) as home for the long-anticipated Western New York Veterans’ Cemetery. Currently, the closest veterans’ cemetery is located in Bath, approximately 100 miles away.  

Press release from Sen. Charles Schumer's office after the jump:

Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected a site for the long-awaited Western New York Veterans’ Cemetery. The cemetery will be located on a 132-acre parcel at 1232 Indian Falls Road in the Town of Pembroke, Genesee County, just north of the Pembroke Thruway exit.

This veterans’ cemetery will be the first and only of its kind in the Buffalo-Rochester area, and will save thousands of military families from having to travel upward of 100 miles to visit their loved ones at what is now the closest veterans’ cemetery in Bath.

Schumer, along with various veterans groups, have led the charge to bring this much-needed veterans’ cemetery to Western New York. They've argued that a lack of a national veterans’ cemetery within a 75-mile radius of Buffalo and Rochester meant that it is long past time to establish a national veterans’ cemetery at a closer location for the hundreds of thousands of veterans living in the region.

The site is located approximately 30 miles from Buffalo and 48 miles from Rochester. The cemetery will provide a fitting burial option to approximately 96,000 currently underserved veterans and family members living in Western New York.

Schumer said this site selection is great news for the many thousands of deserving veterans living in Buffalo, Rochester, and beyond. With this new cemetery in Pembroke, these veterans and family members will be able to have a proper military burial near their homes in Western New York, and their families will be able to pay their respects without having to travel over 100 miles – something that can be a tremendous burden for many families.

“I am pleased that after four years of hard work, we finally have a site in place," the Senator said. "After serving our country so valiantly, and for so many years, it is only appropriate that we develop a national shrine, on a beautiful piece of land right in our backyard, for our veterans’ final resting place.”

Schumer has long argued that it is critical for a veterans’ cemetery location to be located in Western New York. He has pushed the VA as well as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to decide on a site and conduct the necessary environmental reviews as quickly as possible. Half of New York’s veterans are 65 years of age or older, and it’s well overdue to plan for their future and to ensure that they are treated with the honor they deserve.

Schumer has heard from local veterans groups that veterans in Western New York desperately want to be buried in a national shrine, but don’t want to force their families to travel far away to visit, at potentially great hardship. Some veterans have reported that families are delaying interring the cremated remains of their loved ones, with the intention of making this new cemetery their loved one's final resting place.

Today, more than 22 million veterans are eligible for the honor of burial in a national cemetery. Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children, may also be eligible for burial in a VA National Cemetery. Those who die on active duty may be buried in one, too.

Schumer joined with Western New York vets for years in calling for the VA to locate the first federal veterans’ cemetery in the region. Around 2009-2010, the VA updated its burial policy, which changed the threshold of veterans required to construct a new national cemetery to 80,000 veterans within 75 miles of a proposed site.

With this new policy, the region was more than qualified, with 96,000-plus veterans in Western New York who live beyond 75 miles from the nearest available national cemetery -- in Bath. Moreover, a total of nearly 300,000 veterans across Western New York could be served by this cemetery. Schumer has fought from the start to push the VA to move forward in finding a site for this cemetery, and he has pushed the process through a variety of roadblocks.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) helped the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Genesee County regain its tax-exempt status, something it should have never had revoked in the first place. The CCE of Genesee County contacted Congressman Collins’ office after it was notified by the IRS that its tax-exempt status was being revoked without an explanation.

After months of back and forth, Collins’ office determined that the IRS mistakenly placed CCE of Genesee County on an "Auto-Revocation" list. The issue has now been resolved and the agency’s tax-exempt status has been restored.

“On behalf of CCE Genesee, I am extremely thankful and grateful for the persistent and timely support, and active intervention with the IRS in resolving the erroneous revocation of our tax-exempt status,” said Beverly Mancuso, executive director of CCE Genesee. “Attempts to resolve this were unsuccessful until I reached out to Congressman Collins’ office. I am extremely relieved to have this matter successfully addressed and behind us, hopefully once and for all. I cannot even imagine how much time and effort was required on the part of the Congressman’s office, but our association is more than thankful.”

“Unfortunately, the IRS is an example of big government bureaucracy at its worst, and I am grateful my office was able to help Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County get out of a mess it never should have been in,” Collins said. “Our office is always available to constituents and local agencies who are having a trouble navigating the federal government to get an answer or resolve a problem.”

Press release:

"The internet has revolutionized the way we live and obtain information largely because it has been readily accessible and free from unnecessary government regulation. Today's ruling by the FCC paves the way for Internet 'fast lanes' which will create one Internet for the haves and one Internet for the have-nots. I am hopeful there will be enough public and Congressional backlash to block this proposal to help ensure that the Internet remains easily accessible and a tool to build economic opportunity."

Congressman Chris Collins met with some of the 81 students from the 27th District who submitted original works of art in the annual House of Representatives art contest. The reception was held at Genesee Community College in the lobby of the Genesee Center for Arts. Above, Collins with Melanie Perkins, of Warsaw, and below, Makennah Aquino, of Batavia.

The winners are:

• First place: Hailey Kilian from Iroquois HS
• Second place: Jacob Weed from Kendall HS
• Honorable mentions: Siena Pullinzi from Batavia HS and Alphonso Butlak from Lake Shore HS.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today announced the availability of approximately $1.4 million in grant funding to support Specialty Crop programs in New York. The funding is a part of the Farm Bill passed by Congress earlier this year.

“Specialty Crop farming is a large part of the agricultural community in New York’s 27th Congressional District,” said Congressman Collins, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. “This grant program will help our fruit and vegetable farmers, along with their partners, develop new ways to bring products to the market, helping farms grow and increase profits.”

The federal block grant funding provided through the Farm Bill is allocated directed to each state. Congressman Collins encourages interested applicants to apply directly to the New York State Department of Agriculture. Grant applications are due in early May.

A proposed rule change by the EPA regarding "navigable waters" could have a serious impact on agriculture and local taxpayers, Chris Collins said today during a press conference at Stein Farms in Le Roy.

He was joined by Dean Norton, president of the New York Farm Bureau, Dale Stein, owner of Stein Farms, and County Legislator Shelly Stein.

Norton said farmers have been fighting the proposed rule changes for years; and years ago even won a court case on what Congress intended when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress was very specific at that time on what navigable water was," Norton said. "If you can run a canoe down it, if you can have commerce effected on that water, then it's navigable. A pothole is not navigable. A pond is not navigable. The puddle out there in the drive way is not navigable."

The proposed rule change -- being pushed by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers -- would redefine "navigable water" as any body of water that stands for at least four days and could eventually drain into a navigable waterway.

"If Dale Stein wanted to regrade his driveway to make it level and get rid of the puddles, he would have to call the Army Corps of Engineers and get a permit," Collins said. "That would probably cost him $250."

Norton said the EPA is using a scientific study to back its position that hasn't even been peer reviewed.

If the proposed rule changes go through, then any agriculture work affecting what the EPA has classified as navigable waters would have to be approved and reviewed, at great cost and delay to farmers.

The same rules would apply to cities, villages, towns and counties.

"(The rule change) is also going to effect everyone who is a taxpayer and I think they're (the Administration) going to find they're on the wrong side of the issue," Norton said.

Dale Stein said he's already going through a similar issue with land the farm leases from another property owner. Because some government official signed the wrong piece of paperwork 29 years ago, Stein is unable to open some irrigation ditches needed to properly, in an environmentally sound manner, farm the land.

"Now we're in the process of trying to get through all that so we can farm it correctly," Stein said. "It's just another giant bureaucracy to try and get the proper permit, and if somebody makes a mistake along the line, our children 30 years from now could be paying for it."

The proposed rule change could put farmers out of business, Shelly Stein said.

"Should the EPA be successful in gaining this rule change to classify each temporary puddle as navigable water, our daily farm operation activity would stop," she said.

The good news is public pressure works, Collins said.

He's already received bipartisan support for a letter he's drafted to the EPA and the Corps of Engineers opposing the rule change. More than 160 members of Congress have signed on and he believes, with public support, more will follow.

"There's no doubt that when you can raise the awareness on any issue, the chances of stopping the absurdity of it dead in its tracks is improved," Collins said. "I've got at least a level of optimism that we an get them to re-look at this rule."