House Passed Bills I Introduced That Senate Should Pass Before End of Year

Statement

Since taking office in January 2015, I have been working tirelessly to advance my New Era of American Strength agenda to protect America's security at home and abroad, help grow our economy, support our veterans and first responders, improve the quality of education, repair our nation's infrastructure, improve healthcare in America, and safeguard our environment.

In Congress, I have always been willing to work with absolutely anyone to secure victories for our community, state and nation. Immediately upon entering office, I leveraged my position as a freshman in the House, working closely with leadership and colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to secure a number of important victories for our district. Just a few include getting a five year, fully-funded transportation bill, including my Safe Bridges Act, passed and signed into law. My legislative proposal to allow states to opt-out of Common Core without penalty from the federal government was also passed and signed into law. Securing a partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Peconic Bay Medical Center, there is now a new veterans health care clinic in Manorville for East End veterans. I also helped lead the effort to permanently reauthorize the Zadroga Act for our 9/11 first responders and secure a new law to make permanent 20 tax provisions for families and businesses on Long Island. Furthermore, my office was able to successfully resolve over 4,400 cases in favor of NY-1 constituents.

All of these are important victories that I am proud to have been able to secure thus far, but there is still so much more work ahead. I've introduced a number of other bills that have now passed the House, and the Senate must now act to pass all of these bills listed below before the end of the year:

Three Bills for Our Nation's Veterans (H.R. 2460, H.R. 1569, H.R. 1187) -- Supporting our veterans, and ensuring they receive the treatment and benefits that they earned and deserve, must always be a top priority. That is why I introduced three bipartisan pieces of legislation to care for our veterans, including H.R. 2460, which would provide Adult Day Health Care for disabled veterans at no cost, H.R. 1569, to require the VA to pay accrued benefits to the estate of deceased veterans, and H.R. 1187, to eliminate the loan limit that the VA can guarantee for a veteran.
The Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act (H.R. 4314) -- There is a critical need for improved border security to prevent the free movement of terrorists internationally. With the rise of terrorism across the world, I introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4314, to establish international security standards and close security gaps, guarantee that U.S. resources are utilized in the most efficient way possible in the areas where they are needed most, and put in place a monitoring system to screen for infectious diseases to contain and prevent any potential outbreaks.
Two Proposals to Save Plum Island (H.R. 1887, Amendment to H.R. 5485) -- One of my highest local priorities has been safeguarding our environment, which includes protecting one of our local treasures, Plum Island. Rather than allow the federal government to sell Plum Island to the highest bidder, I introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 1887, to stop the sale and development of the island, almost all of which is completely undeveloped. I also introduced a bipartisan amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2017 (H.R. 5485), which prohibits any of the funding within the appropriations bill to be used to market or sell Plum Island. We can and should pursue a better direction for Plum Island that would allow for continued research, public access and permanent preservation of the island, while ensuring good paying research jobs are on the island.
Allowing Striped Bass Fishing Off the Coast of Montauk (H.R. 3070) -- One of the pressing issues faced by Long Island fishermen is the urgent need to clarify the boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ, between Montauk Point and Block Island. The unique geography of our region means that making the 15 mile journey by boat from Montauk Point to Block Island requires passing through a small strip of waters considered to be part of the EEZ. My legislation, H.R. 3070, will provide regulatory relief and more certainty to our region's fishermen, while restoring local control to a critical fishery that must be properly managed and preserved for future generations.
While all of these proposals passed the House with bipartisan support, the Senate must take up these essential important pieces of legislation before the end of the year.

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