Press Republican - Stefanik Has Busy Month of May

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By Jo LoTemplio

May was perhaps Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's busiest month on the job so far, as she offered her first pieces of legislation, traveled the 21st District extensively and found herself facing a potential opponent.

The freshman Republican congresswoman from Willsboro in Essex County, who took office in January, punctuated the month by introducing her first piece of legislation on May 21, the Common Sense Waiver Act.

The law would give local governments the authority to protect citizens and keep communities safe, she said, by working to ensure that Environmental Protection Agency regulations don't hinder the removal of unsafe buildings.

The legislation was spurred, in part, by a crumbling building in Malone that is in danger of falling into the Salmon River.

As part of the law, any applications for EPA waivers that are not approved or disapproved within 90 days will be deemed approved.

"This would make a difference because a lot of times municipalities don't hear from the EPA at all," Stefanik said in an interview with the Press-Republican this week.

She is working on getting co-sponsors and bipartisan support for the bill and moving it forward for a vote.

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