WGXC-90.7 FM
Audio Feature: WGXC Congressional Report 20190722
Jul 22, 2019 12:01 am
This is WGXC's Congressional Report, tracking the votes, words, and actions of Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck representing the 19th Congressional District, and Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam from the 20th Congressional District. The Fivethirtyeight.com website reports that, so far, the first-term Congressperson Delgado votes with Donald Trump's positions 2.5 percent of the time, up from zero percent last week. Delgado voted last week to table articles of impeachment against Trump, changing his score. Since Democrats took over the House of Representatives Tonko also votes with Trump's positions zero percent of the time. In the previous Congressional session, Tonko voted with Trump 22.6 percent of the time. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report (5:55).
• David Lombardo is reporting for Capitol Confidential U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado is sitting on a sizable war chest with 16 months to go before his reelection campaign. During the past three months, the Rhinebeck Democrat received more than $640,000 in contributions, bringing his total in the bank to $1.09 million, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission. Nearly 88 percent of Delgado’s contributions in the second quarter came from individual contributors; approximately 12 percent came from political committees. He spent more than a quarter of a million dollars during the quarter, as well. So far, no Republican candidate has declared their intention to unseat the freshman lawmaker in the 19th Congressional District. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.
• Both Reps. Antonio Delgado and Paul Tonko voted July 16 to condemn President Trump’s racist comments this past weekend directed at four Members of Congress. The measure passed 240-to-187, with just four Republicans and one independent voting with all Democrats in the majority. Independent Representative Justin Amash, who until calling for Trump's impeachment recently was a Republican, voted to condemn the president, as did current Republicans Will Hurd, Susan Brooks, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Fred Upton. The President Tweeted July 14 that four women-of-color Democrats should "go back" to their countries because of a political disagreement. Three of the women were born in America. “Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show ‘weakness’ and fall into their trap.” The New York Times reports that this was the first condemnation of a president in the U.S. House since William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913. Taft was accused of attempting to influence a Senate election, but the Senate cut out the phrase “ought to be severely condemned” in that case, and passed a watered-down condemnation. Read more about this story at The New York Times.
• On July 17 Rep. Antonio Delgado voted against impeaching the president, while Rep. Paul Tonko voted in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings. The vote was actually to table "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, of high misdemeanors" with 137 Democrats voting with Republicans to not move impeachment further. The 95 Democrats voting not to table the impeachment measure was higher than the 85 House members most trackers had previously cited in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings. The same day, Delgado and Tonko both voted for, "Recommending that the House of Representatives find William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States, and Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce, In Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with Subpoenas Duly Issued by the Committee on Oversight and Reform." That passed 230-198, with all Republicans voting against, four Democrats voting against, and one independent voting in favor of the resolution.
• Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that 16 days after about 100 people protested conditions at border facilities where migrants are held, and Rep. Antonio Delgado's lack of response to the issue, the first-term Congressperson announced a border tour. Protesters at his office in Kingston July 2 wanted four specific things from Delgado: an immediate visit to a detention center, work to close the centers, rejecting any additional federal funding for family detention and deportation, and help reuniting families. On July 19 he'll fulfill their first request as he heads to the Rio Grand Valley in Texas to examine the conditions in government facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border. “I share in the outrage and frustration at the reports we’ve seen of facilities at our southern border, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to see, hear and feel these conditions first-hand,” Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, said in a prepared statement. “I plan to use this visit as an opportunity to provide much-needed oversight and probe CBP and HHS officials to ensure these facilities maintain the safe and sanitary conditions required by our laws." Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.
• Tonko does not list any local events on his website next week. Tonko never lists any events on his website. This week Delgado's website lists the town hall meetings he held July 20 in Dutchess County, and July 22 in Catskill at Subversive Malting and Brewing.
• David Lombardo is reporting for Capitol Confidential U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado is sitting on a sizable war chest with 16 months to go before his reelection campaign. During the past three months, the Rhinebeck Democrat received more than $640,000 in contributions, bringing his total in the bank to $1.09 million, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission. Nearly 88 percent of Delgado’s contributions in the second quarter came from individual contributors; approximately 12 percent came from political committees. He spent more than a quarter of a million dollars during the quarter, as well. So far, no Republican candidate has declared their intention to unseat the freshman lawmaker in the 19th Congressional District. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.
• Both Reps. Antonio Delgado and Paul Tonko voted July 16 to condemn President Trump’s racist comments this past weekend directed at four Members of Congress. The measure passed 240-to-187, with just four Republicans and one independent voting with all Democrats in the majority. Independent Representative Justin Amash, who until calling for Trump's impeachment recently was a Republican, voted to condemn the president, as did current Republicans Will Hurd, Susan Brooks, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Fred Upton. The President Tweeted July 14 that four women-of-color Democrats should "go back" to their countries because of a political disagreement. Three of the women were born in America. “Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show ‘weakness’ and fall into their trap.” The New York Times reports that this was the first condemnation of a president in the U.S. House since William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913. Taft was accused of attempting to influence a Senate election, but the Senate cut out the phrase “ought to be severely condemned” in that case, and passed a watered-down condemnation. Read more about this story at The New York Times.
• On July 17 Rep. Antonio Delgado voted against impeaching the president, while Rep. Paul Tonko voted in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings. The vote was actually to table "Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, of high misdemeanors" with 137 Democrats voting with Republicans to not move impeachment further. The 95 Democrats voting not to table the impeachment measure was higher than the 85 House members most trackers had previously cited in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings. The same day, Delgado and Tonko both voted for, "Recommending that the House of Representatives find William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States, and Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce, In Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with Subpoenas Duly Issued by the Committee on Oversight and Reform." That passed 230-198, with all Republicans voting against, four Democrats voting against, and one independent voting in favor of the resolution.
• Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that 16 days after about 100 people protested conditions at border facilities where migrants are held, and Rep. Antonio Delgado's lack of response to the issue, the first-term Congressperson announced a border tour. Protesters at his office in Kingston July 2 wanted four specific things from Delgado: an immediate visit to a detention center, work to close the centers, rejecting any additional federal funding for family detention and deportation, and help reuniting families. On July 19 he'll fulfill their first request as he heads to the Rio Grand Valley in Texas to examine the conditions in government facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border. “I share in the outrage and frustration at the reports we’ve seen of facilities at our southern border, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to see, hear and feel these conditions first-hand,” Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, said in a prepared statement. “I plan to use this visit as an opportunity to provide much-needed oversight and probe CBP and HHS officials to ensure these facilities maintain the safe and sanitary conditions required by our laws." Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.
• Tonko does not list any local events on his website next week. Tonko never lists any events on his website. This week Delgado's website lists the town hall meetings he held July 20 in Dutchess County, and July 22 in Catskill at Subversive Malting and Brewing.