Assemblyman Brian Miller (R,I,C,Ref-New Hartford) said he was very pleased to honor Sauquiot Valley Central High School’s Austin Bullock, a senior who was nominated for the Presidential Scholars Program, which is one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating high school students.
Only 25 students from New York state were nominated.
“I am so pleased that Austin Bullock, a student at Sauquoit Valley Central High School, has been nominated as a Presidential Scholar by the state Education Department,” said Miller. “This recognition is one of our nation’s highest honors for high school students. I recommended Austin for this award because of his outstanding character and his commitment to his education, his community and his own personal growth. We are so proud that one of our local students is shining bright as an example for other students throughout our region and the state to follow. Congratulations, Austin.”
The program honors a maximum of only 161 students annually. Austin Bullock was recommended by the assemblyman and state Department of Education. Bullock was chosen because of his work ethic, attitude and character, as well as for his excellent grades. He previously earned the Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology, state Attorney General Triple C Award, and was named a Rotary Student of the Month. In addition to being a dedicated student named to the National Honor Society, Bullock is well-rounded with school and community involvement, including as the captain of the varsity football team, member of the wrestling and track teams, is a member of the student council, is a volunteer firefighter and participant of the Boys State and U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar.
This spring, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars will select semifinalists, and finalists will be announced in May. For more information on the program, visit www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/about.html.
Assemblyman Miller represents the 101st District consisting of parts of Delaware, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Sullivan and Ulster counties. For more information, visit Assemblyman Miller’s Official Website.
Gillibrand, Senate colleagues reintroduce legislation to expand access to affordable child care for working families
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced the reintroduction of the Right Start Child Care and Education Act, legislation that would make child care more affordable and accessible for families across New York state and the nation. This legislation would reform the nation’s federal tax code to increase the outdated dollar limits on child care expenses for families, make the child care tax credit fully refundable, create a tax credit for educated child care professionals and increase support for businesses that provide child care benefits for employees.
“As I’ve traveled throughout New York, one concern I keep hearing from families all across our state is the extremely high cost of child care,” Gillibrand said. “Congress needs to be doing more to support working families, and the Right Start Child Care and Education Act would make child care more affordable for families across New York and the rest of the country. It is a commonsense solution to a problem that many of our families are facing, and I urge my colleagues to move quickly and pass this bill into law.”
Gillibrand is an original cosponsor of the Right Start Child Care and Education Act. This legislation is sponsored by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and is also cosponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The full text of the legislation is available here.
Following the tragic deaths of two children held in CBP custody, Gillibrand, Senate colleagues call for investigation into conditions of detained migrant children
Following the tragic deaths of two children held in custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 20 Senate colleagues to call on the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the conditions of all children detained by CBP. The senators are calling for this investigation in order to help prevent future tragedies like the deaths of Jakelin Caal and Felipe Alonzo-Gomez.
“There remain significant questions regarding the chronology of events and the care and services that were provided to these children,” the senators wrote. “We believe it is imperative that your office open an investigation not only into the circumstances of these two tragedies, but into the broader conditions of children being detained by CBP. Unless we truly understand what happened in these tragedies, we cannot fix what went wrong and put the correct policies in place so that it never happens again.”
Specifically, the senators outlined several questions for GAO to investigate in order to further understand the conditions in which detained migrant children are being held while under CBP custody, including the following:
- Is there sufficient food, water, blankets, cots and medical attention available at every CBP facility, including ports of entry, border stations and forward operating bases? How are they made available? And how does CBP oversee this to make sure that each office is in full compliance at all times?
- CBP has indicated that they provide health screenings for all children and migrants. Please describe what that screening entails, including who performs the screening and the medical training of the individuals performing the screening, and how the results of all screenings (even those in which no medical issues are raised) are recorded and preserved.
- Please provide information on the medical training CBP staff receive and whether CBP employees are trained to look for signs of medical distress in migrants. What is the percentage of agents who receive this training and what is done to make sure staff are allocated to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of trained agents for every Port or Border Patrol Sector to cover all shifts throughout the week?
- Until this past December, no child had died in Border Patrol custody for more than a decade. Please evaluate how conditions under which children are held have changed in the last two years. Please specify which, if any, other policies may have contributed to causing these tragedies. In addition, please provide information on the number of children who have become sick or injured, were hospitalized, and/or died while in CBP custody over the last fifteen years.
- In the case of Jakelin Caal, CBP failed to report her death to Congress within twenty-four hours. Please evaluate what caused this failure and how compliance with reporting requirements can be improved.
This letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tina Smith (D-MN).
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Restore upstate infrastructure and upstate hope
Assemblyman John Salka (R,C,Ref-Brookfield) is pictured at the Assembly Minority Task Force on Critical Infrastructure and Transportation press conference Monday, Jan. 28, 2019.
Assemblyman John Salka (R,C,Ref-Brookfield) reported on the Assembly Minority Task Force on Critical Infrastructure and Transportation; the task force’s goal was to create a discussion between local leaders, professionals and state representatives on the state’s infrastructure needs.
“I am a strong advocate for improving our local infrastructure and modernizing our transportation systems,” Salka said. “The task force has done an amazing job of bringing the voices who know the most about the needs of our state together and the findings are troubling. Everyone who drives around my district knows we have trouble maintaining our roads, and the story is the same all throughout New York. The task force’s recommendations would start giving upstate its fair share of funding, money that is long-needed and much overdue.”
The task force’s recommendations after months of investigation and traveling around the state are varied but focus primarily on fixing the disparity of funding between downstate and upstate. An increase of CHIPS funding, $100 million over five years and a companion CHIPS program to offer financial aid to local governments monitoring their water supply, among others, would help alleviate the burden placed on towns and villages and bring back the funding upstate deserves.
The plan’s further proposals are:
- Ensure funding parity between the upcoming NYSDOT and MTA Five-Year Capital Programs;
- Increase CHIPS base aid by $100 million/year for five years and tie to CPI to account for inflation and increasing material costs;
- Enact legislation mandating that all funding for the DHBTF is to be used only for capital infrastructure, not for state operations or debt service payments;
- Expand support for the Clean Water Investment Act to ensure long-term commitment to water, sewer infrastructure;
- Establish a companion for the existing CHIPS program, offering financial assistance to local governments for drinking, storm and sewer water infrastructure, called the Water Infrastructure Investment Program;
- Continue, strengthen and improve PAVE-NY, EWR and BRIDGE NY in NYSDOT 2020-24 Capital Program to help municipalities plan for improvements;
- Establish a CHIPS-like formula for culverts based on the length of culverts within the municipality;
- Require NYSDOT release a report each year detailing the condition of state-owned roads and bridges;
- Direct NYSDOT to develop a 20- to 30-year long-term transportation plan; and
- Require NYSDOT to submit its capital plan for approval.
Assemblyman John Salka represents New York’s 121st Assembly District, encompassing all of Madison County and portions of Oneida and Otsego counties.
State Attorney General Letitia James issues statement on passage of the Child Victims Act
In response to today’s passage of the Child Victims Act in the state Legislature, Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement:
“It is unconscionable that any individual would get away with sexually abusing a child. For far too long, too many New Yorkers have dealt with the long-term physical and psychological pain of this abuse — pain that has only been magnified by the lack of recourse and accountability. That begins to change with the passage of the Child Victims Act, which will finally provide survivors with the justice they have long deserved and will serve as a loud and clear message that child abuse will never be tolerated here.”
Miller votes for justice for child victims
Assemblyman Brian Miller (R,I,C,Ref-New Hartford) issued the following statement following passage of the Child Victims Act:
As a father, elected representative and man of faith, I voted today in support of the Child Victims Act because I believe this measure will help provide justice and closure to those who were victimized as children. It is unspeakable to commit a crime against a child, and I am pleased anyone who has suffered now has the opportunity for due process in our courts so that they may begin to heal.
Assemblyman Miller represents the 101st District consisting of parts of Delaware, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Sullivan and Ulster counties. For more information, visit Assemblyman Miller’s Official Website.