Here's the week in the news for Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), the District 19 Congressman for the WGXC listening area. Fivethirtyeight.com currently reports Faso votes with Donald Trump's positions 87.8 percent of his votes. This week Congress is not in session, and Faso is visiting businesses and other institutions in the area. He's not, though, alerting anyone when he will be anywhere, so there is little access to the representative. Faso has yet to hold a traditional town hall meeting, and does not talk to the media often. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report.

• Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media U.S. Rep. John Faso was in Athens Mon., Jul. 31. The first-term congressman made a stop at Field Goods, a produce delivery business located in Athens, for a tour of the facility and conversation about the various labor issues facing farmers. Field Goods Founder and President Donna Williams hears most often from farmers that the difficulty finding skilled labor is limiting their ability to grow and expand. The minimum wage increase to nearly $15 per hour in two years was another concern raised by those in the meeting. “We really need to solve the immigrant labor question and to do it in a way that keeps these experienced farm workers here and encourages them to come back and also treats people fairly,” Faso said. According to Faso's online public schedule, he also visited the Salvation Army in Hudson, and the Lehigh Hanson Cement facility in Catskill on Monday. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

• Rick Karlin was in Hudson Aug. 1, reporting for the Albany Times Union about Governor Andrew Cuomo's anouncement of a $10 million grant for the city. He noticed that Cuomo, when speaking to the media and locals, took shots at Rep. John Faso, and his support for the bill in Congress that would cut taxes and healthcare for many Americans. "I am not going to stop talking about that healthcare bill," Cuomo said. In a press release July 28, Faso said, "I am working as part of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to initiate reforms which can fix problems with the individual insurance market.” Cuomo says he expects another attempt to pass a large tax cut by cutting the amount of healthcare available to Americans. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see Washington resurrect a healthcare bill," he said. "I wouldn’t be surprised to see Washington do anything, by the way. The past few months have been so bizarre — I think the only thing you can count on is more bizarreness." Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

• Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential Ulster County Executive Mike Hein announced Thu., Aug. 3, he will not seek the 19th Congressional District seat in 2018. Hein said in a statement there is no question that sweeping change must take place in Washington, and that he will also work diligently to ensure that a Democrat takes the seat next time around. Hein said he shares the “profound concern and frustration about the current direction of our country” that millions of Americans feel. He said the "divisive tone, irresponsible behavior and harmless policies" coming from Washington threaten to undermine the foundation of our democracy. Eight Democrats have already entered the field for 2018. The seat is currently held by Kinderhook Republican John Faso. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.