West Hudson Valley News

Binghamton, NY – U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (NY-19) penned an op-ed published in the Press & Sun Bulletin / PressConnects.com. The op-ed details Rep. Molinaro’s takeaways from his Eleven County Town Hall Tour, in which he held a town hall in each county in New York’s 19th Congressional District.

Press & Sun Bulletin / PressConnects.com

These are the priorities Upstate NY wants addressed in Congress 

By Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19)

Earlier this year, I announced my eleven-county town hall tour, with a town hall in each of the eleven counties I represent in New York’s 19th Congressional District.

After meeting with hundreds of New Yorkers, hearing concerns, answering questions, and gaining different insights and perspectives – I wanted to share what I learned.

First, while there’s significant diversity in New York’s 19th Congressional District, many of our communities share similar concerns. Second, Upstate New Yorkers want to see less partisanship in Congress and more bipartisan solutions. Third, even when we disagree, we can do so respectfully, and still learn something from one another.

New York’s 19th Congressional District includes eleven counties, thousands of square miles, and at least four distinct regions: the Southern Tier, Central New York, the Catskills, and the Hudson Valley.

Still, no matter which community I was in, there were several issues that kept coming up.

• People are sick and tired of crumbling and inefficient infrastructure systems.
• Everyone seems to know someone - friend, family member, or neighbor - who is suffering from a substance use or mental health disorder.
• Vulnerable populations aren’t getting the support and care they deserve.
• Rising inflation is still pressing down on so many families, farmers, and small businesses.
  
  

Maybe most surprisingly, I found that attendees at my town halls generally agreed on the approach needed to fix these issues.

No one came to my town halls telling me I need to start partisan fights with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. No, most town hall attendees recommended I work with governing-minded leaders to move bipartisan solutions forward.

We didn’t just agree on approaches to governing. We found agreement on specific policies like protecting Social Security and Medicare. Retirees and soon to be retirees depend on these programs and have paid into them their entire lives. They should not be subjected to cuts.

Like me, many also saw a need to empower local small businesses and farmers. And deliver investments for our healthcare system as well as roads, bridges, and water infrastructure.

Of course, during these meetings, everyone didn’t always agree. In fact, many people held drastically different viewpoints from my own and disagreed passionately.

That’s okay. Even in these moments of difference, I listened and took away valuable feedback.

My job is to represent and advocate for all people in New York’s 19th Congressional District. While we may disagree, we can still have respectful and productive conversations and learn from one another.

Despite what cable news would have you believe, most Americans and most of the people I represent in Upstate New York do not live on the political fringes. This town hall tour made that clear. People want commonsense solutions to the issues they face.

To put it more simply: when the roof leaks – it leaks on Republicans and Democrats. Government’s job is to just fix the roof.

With this eleven-county town hall tour, I was proud to listen and learn from the people I represent. Now it’s time to put this feedback to work. It is a great honor to represent New York’s 19th Congressional District in Congress, and as always, my promise is to work with anyone who is honest and earnest about solving the issues facing our community.

Original source can be found here.