{"id":59899,"date":"2015-01-08T10:00:19","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=59899"},"modified":"2015-01-07T20:28:27","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T01:28:27","slug":"hanna-sworn-in-issues-2014-year-end-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=59899","title":{"rendered":"Hanna Sworn In, Issues 2014 Year-End Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Hanna-for-web.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-41286\" src=\"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Hanna-for-web.jpg\" alt=\"Hanna for web\" width=\"226\" height=\"216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Hanna-for-web.jpg 226w, https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Hanna-for-web-150x143.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><\/a>(Jan. 8, 2015)\u00a0U.S. Representative Richard Hanna was sworn in Jan. 6 to serve a third term in Congress. He issued a year-end report as part of his ongoing commitment to transparency and accessibility to the citizens of upstate New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are making good progress both in the hall of Congress and across upstate New York to support families, businesses, farmers and veterans in the 22nd Congressional District,\u201d Hanna said.\u00a0\u201cI look forward to continuing to be the most responsive office on Capitol Hill in 2015 and to serving each person in the district to improve their lives as best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among some of Rep. Hanna\u2019s accomplishments in 2014:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Won\u00a0one of the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s six unmanned aircraft system national test sites, which is headquartered at the Griffiss Airport in Rome.<\/li>\n<li>Secured\u00a0approval of a wetland permit for the site being developed by Mohawk Valley Economic Development Growth Enterprises (EDGE) to attract the chip fabrication industry to Marcy.<\/li>\n<li>Prohibited\u00a0a base realignment or closure (BRAC) round from being carried out,\u00a0acquired\u00a0full funding for Rome Lab and\u00a0led\u00a0efforts to protect the DFAS workforce.<\/li>\n<li>Supported\u00a0contracts awards for Lockheed Martin\u2019s Owego facility this year to help build a new fleet of Presidential helicopters and a new generation of combat rescue helicopters.<\/li>\n<li>Announced\u00a0a $15 million contract for Remington Arms to provide 16,000 R4 carbine rifles made in Ilion to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.<\/li>\n<li>Expanded\u00a0the U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program to serve New York-based Chobani Greek yogurt in school lunches in seven states.<\/li>\n<li>Blocked\u00a0new onerous \u201cHours of Service\u201d rules for truck that had a negative impact on the trucking industry, small businesses and consumers in upstate New York. Rep. Hanna had introduced legislation to roll back the new hours of service rules shortly after they took effect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Year-End Report<\/p>\n<p>The yearlong look back provides an update and sampling of Hanna\u2019s work on issues important to a broad cross section of constituents in the 22nd Congressional District. The report covers constituent services, legislative work, local successes and district outreach, among other areas of interest.<\/p>\n<p>By the Numbers<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Hanna responded to\u00a0more than 41,000 constituent letters, emails and faxes in 2014. Rep. Hanna places a priority on answering constituents\u2019 questions and concerns about pending federal legislation and policies.\u00a0Since taking office in\u00a02011, Rep. Hanna has answered more than 186,500 pieces of correspondence.<\/p>\n<p>Notable Constituent Service Successes<\/p>\n<p>Veterans Affairs Assistance\u00a0\u2013 Rep. Hanna helped\u00a0124 constituents\u00a0with Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense issues.\u00a0 Success stories include helping an Afghanistan war veteran, who had received the Bronze Star Medal with \u2018V\u2019 device and the Purple Heart Medal, to receive more than $22,000 in benefits that he was owed.<\/p>\n<p>Social Security\u00a0\u2013 Rep. Hanna helped more than\u00a0109 constituents\u00a0work through Social Security benefits difficulties.\u00a0 Success stories include helping a constituent receive approximately $12,000 that he was owed by Social Security and helping a family obtain SSI benefits for their infant child who has a rare disease and was in need of medical coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Medicare\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Rep. Hanna aided dozens of constituents in their quests to resolve Medicare claims in 2014.\u00a0 Notable successes include helping a constituent receive coverage of $8,000 in medical bills and helping a business be reinstated by Medicare to receive reimbursement payments. The business had been unable to treat patients with Medicare for three months due to a problem with the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Around the District<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Hanna supported 101 competitive grant and loan applications by local governments and organizations. Many of these applications were successful and below are just a few highlights:<\/p>\n<p>Hanna helped the\u00a0Greater Binghamton Airport\u00a0receive more than $1 million to improve its facility. The Tri-Cities Airport in\u00a0Broome County\u00a0received $1.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to rehabilitate its runway.<\/p>\n<p>Cortland County\u2019s\u00a0Chase Field received $225,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration to purchase important snow removal equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Evans Farmhouse Creamery in\u00a0Chenango County\u00a0received a $46,977 grant from the USDA Rural Development office to assist with business needs for its organic dairy product line.<\/p>\n<p>The Workforce Investment Board of\u00a0Herkimer, Madison and Oneida counties\u00a0won $3 million from the Department of Labor to offer high-tech training to job seekers and assistance finding employment.<\/p>\n<p>Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency in\u00a0Oneida County\u00a0received a $6.9 million grant from Health and Human Services for an Early Head Start Program.<\/p>\n<p>Northern\u00a0Oswego County\u00a0Health Services was awarded $254,945 in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to expand staffing to better serve its residents.<\/p>\n<p>The Upper Susquehanna Coalition and\u00a0Tioga County\u00a0Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded $300,000 from the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund to continue its watershed implementation plan that reduces nutrient and sediment loads into streams.<\/p>\n<p>Military Medal Awards<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Hanna was able to provide\u00a081 military medals to deserving veterans in the 22nd District.<\/p>\n<p>This included:<\/p>\n<p>33 Army medals<br \/>\n23 Navy medals<br \/>\n14 Marine Corps medals<br \/>\n11 Air Force\/Army Air Corps medals<\/p>\n<p>Of these medals, there were:<\/p>\n<p>3 Purple Hearts<br \/>\n1 Silver Star Medal<\/p>\n<p>The Purple Heart recipients were: Sergeant Ernest Weeks III, of New Hartford, an Army veteran of Afghanistan; Corporal DuBois Vandewater, Jr., of Marcy,\u00a0an Army veteran of Korea; Staff Sergeant Ernest Love, of Endicott, an Army veteran of World War II. Staff Sergeant Love also earned the Silver Star Medal, one of the highest honors a service member can earn.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Jan. 8, 2015)\u00a0U.S. Representative Richard Hanna was sworn in Jan. 6 to serve a third term in Congress. He issued a year-end report as part of his ongoing commitment to transparency and accessibility to the citizens of upstate New York. \u201cWe are making good progress both in the hall of Congress and across upstate New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}