{"id":99016,"date":"2019-01-29T13:25:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T18:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=99016"},"modified":"2019-01-29T11:03:53","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T16:03:53","slug":"%ef%bb%bfnews-from-our-representatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=99016","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffNews from our representatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: The following are arranged in the order received.<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Salka stands with tip credit workers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assemblyman John Salka (R,C.Ref-Brookfield) is pictured at a press conference held at the state capitol Jan. 22, 2019, to show support for tip credit workers. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Assemblyman John Salka (R,C,Ref-Brookfield) showed his support\nfor tip credit workers at a press conference calling on the governor to not meddle\nin the industry\u2019s functioning. The workers want to save the tip credit and continue\ntheir way of life to provide for their families and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salka said Gov. Andrew\u2019s Cuomo\u2019s proposal would remove the ability\nfor hardworking New Yorkers to earn a tip and would instead raise their minimum\nwage; he said Cuomo’s initiative is de-incentivizing hard work and the ability for\nindividuals\u2019 personal strengths and character from earning them more income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was immensely proud to stand alongside so many hard-working\npeople standing up for their livelihood,\u201d Salka said. \u201cThere are so many people\nwho rely on tip wages and have that fact worked into their budgets. Albany should\nnot be reaching down from on high and changing their industry and business for some\nmisguided attempt at fixing a problem that doesn\u2019t exist. I support them and echo\ntheir call to save the tip wage credit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assemblyman John Salka\nrepresents New York\u2019s 121st Assembly District, encompassing all of Madison County\nand portions of Oneida and Otsego counties.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller honors Sauquoit Valley\u2019s Presidential Scholar Nominee<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Assemblyman Brian Miller (R,I,C,Ref-New Hartford) said he was\nvery pleased to honor Sauquiot Valley Central High School\u2019s Austin Bullock, a senior\nwho was nominated for the Presidential Scholars Program, which is one of the nation\u2019s\nhighest honors for graduating high school students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 25 students from New York state were nominated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am so pleased that Austin Bullock, a student at Sauquoit Valley\nCentral High School, has been nominated as a Presidential Scholar by the state Education\nDepartment,\u201d said Miller. \u201cThis recognition is one of our nation\u2019s highest honors\nfor high school students. I recommended Austin for this award because of his outstanding\ncharacter and his commitment to his education, his community and his own personal\ngrowth. We are so proud that one of our local students is shining bright as an example\nfor other students throughout our region and the state to follow. Congratulations,\nAustin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program honors a maximum of only 161 students annually. Austin\nBullock was recommended by the assemblyman and state Department of Education. Bullock\nwas chosen because of his work ethic, attitude and character, as well as for his\nexcellent grades. He previously earned the Xerox Award for Innovation and Information\nTechnology, state Attorney General Triple C Award, and was named a Rotary Student\nof the Month. In addition to being a dedicated student named to the National Honor\nSociety, Bullock is well-rounded with school and community involvement, including\nas the captain of the varsity football team, member of the wrestling and track teams,\nis a member of the student council, is a volunteer firefighter and participant of\nthe Boys State and U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spring, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars\nwill select semifinalists, and finalists will be announced in May. For more information\non the program, visit www2.ed.gov\/programs\/psp\/about.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assemblyman Miller represents\nthe 101st District consisting of parts of Delaware, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego,\nSullivan and Ulster counties. For more information, visit Assemblyman Miller\u2019s Official Website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gillibrand, Senate colleagues reintroduce legislation to expand access to\naffordable child care for working families<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced the reintroduction\nof the Right Start Child Care and Education Act, legislation that would make child\ncare more affordable and accessible for families across New York state and the nation.\nThis legislation would reform the nation\u2019s federal tax code to increase the outdated\ndollar limits on child care expenses for families, make the child care tax credit\nfully refundable, create a tax credit for educated child care professionals and\nincrease support for businesses that provide child care benefits for employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve traveled throughout New York, one concern I keep hearing\nfrom families all across our state is the extremely high cost of child care,\u201d Gillibrand\nsaid. \u201cCongress needs to be doing more to support working families, and the Right\nStart Child Care and Education Act would make child care more affordable for families\nacross New York and the rest of the country. It is a commonsense solution to a problem\nthat many of our families are facing, and I urge my colleagues to move quickly and\npass this bill into law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gillibrand is an original cosponsor of the Right Start Child\nCare and Education Act. This legislation is sponsored by Senator Jeanne Shaheen\n(D-NH) and is also cosponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Amy Klobuchar\n(D-MN). The full text of the legislation is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the tragic deaths of two children held in CBP custody, Gillibrand,\nSenate colleagues call for investigation into conditions of detained migrant children<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the tragic deaths of two children held in custody by\nCustoms and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined\nU.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 20 Senate colleagues\nto call on the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the conditions\nof all children detained by CBP. The senators are calling for this investigation\nin order to help prevent future tragedies like the deaths of Jakelin Caal and Felipe\nAlonzo-Gomez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere remain significant questions regarding the chronology\nof events and the care and services that were provided to these children,\u201d the\nsenators wrote. \u201cWe believe it is imperative that your office open an investigation\nnot only into the circumstances of these two tragedies, but into the broader conditions\nof children being detained by CBP. Unless we truly understand what happened in these\ntragedies, we cannot fix what went wrong and put the correct policies in place so\nthat it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, the senators outlined several questions for GAO\nto investigate in order to further understand the conditions in which detained migrant\nchildren are being held while under CBP custody, including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n