• Week in Review
• National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
• Reminder: Congressional Art Competition Deadline May 5
• Legislative Corner
• Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Applications Due May 19
• Congressman Faso in the News

Faso Issues Statement on Continuing Resolution

With my support and on a bipartisan basis, the House passed a temporary continuing resolution to fund the government. It is expected that next week we will pass appropriations that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year and prevent a government shutdown. I am continuing my Budget Committee work to address next year’s budget and the long-term fiscal deficits which imperil US financial stability in the future.

Agriculture Advisory Committee

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I recently held my first Agriculture Advisory Committee meeting, a round table discussion with farmers and representatives of the agricultural industry. During the meeting we discussed matters of great importance to family farms including immigration, trade, and the 2018 Farm Bill.

FULL VIDEO: Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress

In case you missed it, I spoke with Representative Sean Patrick Maloney at Marist College about bipartisan solutions to some of our nation’s biggest challenges. The Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress “Across the Aisle” discussion was also an opportunity to take questions from our audience on topics such as healthcare, the environment, and infrastructure. Watch the full video here or click the image above.

Participate in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Help our communities safely dispose of unwanted medications and controlled substances. Add your zip code to find the closest collection site to visit this Saturday at DEA.gov.

Don’t forget! Interested participants must submit their artwork to one of Congressman Faso’s district offices by Friday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. These high school students may submit one original entry per participant no larger than 26 by 26 by 4 inches, including the frame. Paintings, drawings, watercolors, pastels, mixed media, collages, photography or prints may be submitted. For more information, including how to submit your artwork, click here.

Opposing Canada’s Unfair Dairy Regulations

This week, along with a bipartisan group of my colleagues, I sent a letter to President Trump urging the administration to hold Canada to its trade commitments for milk and other dairy products. In 2016 the US dairy industry exported approximately 15 percent of its milk production, worth roughly $5 billion. To our NAFTA partners alone, the United States exported $1.2 billion of dairy products to Mexico and $631 million to Canada. These exports help the dairy sector maintain roughly 150,000 U.S. jobs in farming and manufacturing. The regulations may violate Canada’s existing trade agreements with the United States by effectively discouraging U.S. dairy exports to Canada. It’s unfair, and I spoke out and stood up for New York dairy farmers.

Standing Up for Kids and Dairy Farmers

I also communicated an urgent request in a letter to newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue calling on the department to change the ban on certain kinds of milk in schools. USDA’s National School Lunch Program meal patterns and nutrition standards were required to align with the department’s 2010 dietary guidelines. This resulted in participating schools being prohibited from offering 1%, 2% and 3.5% (whole) flavored fluid milk products to school-lunch recipients. The fat-free-only rule for flavored milk was an arbitrary designation unrelated to established dietary science and hurts our already suffering dairy industry. It should be reversed at the earliest opportunity. In fact, recently published research in the Journal of Nutrition finds that people who consume full-fat dairy products such as whole milk are less likely to be afflicted with so-called "metabolic syndrome," a set of related risk factors predicting heart disease and diabetes.

Protecting Transportation Infrastructure After Disasters

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a Subcommittee hearing on mitigating damage and recovering quickly from disasters this week. I had the opportunity to pose questions to the panel of witnesses regarding ways to incentivize municipalities to obtain insurance so that they are not burdened with the costs of uninsured losses on structures. I also asked the panel how we can encourage localities to modernize their building codes. While we cannot predict which storms will cause severe damage, we can work toward building a 21^st century infrastructure that will mitigate damage and allow local governments to recover in an expeditious manner. Watch the full video here or click the image above.

I want to inform you that the grant application cycle for the FP&S Grants has begun. The grant cycle will run through May 19, 2017.  If you intend to apply during this cycle and would like a letter of support, please contact my Kinderhook office at 518-610-8133 and ask for Alex Bellizzi or email Alex at Alex.Bellizzi@mail.house.gov

This week I spoke with Fred Dicker on Talk 1300 AM about funding the government, tax reform, and healthcare. Listen here or click the image above.

In addition I spoke with Susan Arbetter on the Capitol Pressroom about the President’s proposed tax plan and how Congress will be tackling much-needed tax reform. Listen here or click the image above.