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Audio Feature: This week in News for Rep. John Faso: 20170619

Jun 17, 2017 2:33 am
Here's the week in the news for Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), the District 19 Congressman for the WGXC listening area. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report.

Richard Moody reported in The Daily Mail the billion-dollar cuts to education and key programs proposed by the Trump administration are worrying local school officials. The president's current budget proposal would slash federal support to education by $9.2 billion. But representatives in Washington, including U.S. Rep. John Faso say the plan will not pass as is. "Historically, the president proposes cuts to domestic spending but what [Trump] proposes goes beyond what is wise. Most of what the president proposes to cut will not pass," Faso said. He said the reduction in funding for Title I is unlike to go through. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides financial assistance to districts and schools with a high percentages of children from low-income families. The program is intended to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Districts throughout Greene and Columbia counties greatly rely on Title I funding. "I like that Trump wants to balance the budget in 10 years. That is fiscally responsible," Faso said. "But he is focusing his cuts on only 17 percent of the budget and that’s really what the issue is."

• Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement after four people were shot June 14 during baseball practice for an annual charity game in Alexandria, Va. “Mary Fran and I are praying for the victims of today’s shooting, including Majority Whip [Steve] Scalise, congressional staff, and the brave men and women of the Capitol Police. Thank you to our law enforcement and first responders who rushed to save lives,” the statement read. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also released a statement: “I am praying for the recovery of Representative Steve Scalise, the staff, and the Capitol Police who were wounded at the horrific scene this morning. God bless the police and first responders for their bravery and for taking quick action to ensure that this tragedy wasn’t worse. Our first responders put their lives on the line for us every day. They are true heroes, and in this moment of darkness, they once again displayed what is best about our country. I hope the outcome of this tragedy will be unity, where we put our partisan differences aside and recognize that we are all here for a common purpose."

James Nani reports at The Fray that there may be 16 months before the 19th District Congressional election, but already there are seven candidates and one endorsement. The VoteVets PAC, a Washington D.C.-based political action committee, endorsed Democrat Patrick Ryan to take on Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook). Nani scanned federal elections records and reports, "VoteVets spent $11.4 million in the 2016 election cycle. According to OpenSecrets.org, about $9.9 million of that was spent on media buys, generally supporting Democratic or opposing Republican candidates. One of its biggest donors last cycle was Majority Forward, a nonprofit that a Politico story characterized as 'a nonprofit affiliated with Democrats’ biggest Senate super PAC.'" Rick Hegdahl, veterans outreach coordinator for VoteVets, said of Ryan, “It’s important that people in the district know that Pat has never forgotten where he came from. After serving in Iraq, he went right to work, trying to better protect the men and women still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, he’s back in his Hudson Valley home, serving his community. That says a lot about the kind of extraordinary servant that Pat is, and that he will be, as a Congressman,” Hegdahl said. Actually, Ryan currently lives in Brooklyn but says he’s searching for a home in Gardiner, Accord, or Kingston, where he graduated high school. Read the full story at The Fray.

• The Fivethirtyeight.com website says Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) votes with the president's positions 91.2 percent of the time, but Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that now Faso and Donald Trump are at odds over the healthcare plan currently being secretly negotiated in a U.S. Senate chamber behind closed doors. Faso, so far, voted for a version of the bill, and even offered up his own amendment to the proposed new healthcare law. Faso has publicly stated that he believes the new healthcare plan, “lowers premiums, reduces taxes, and puts patients in charge of their own healthcare decisions instead of Washington.” The President, who at championed the bill when it passed the U.S. House, then said June 13 that the bill was “mean” during a meeting with Senate GOP leaders. Faso declined to be interviewed on the matter, but issued a statement: “I have no comment as the remark is reported anonymously and I have no basis to know whether it was said at all.” The Associated Press reported the president's remarks, which were independently confirmed by Fox News, The New York Times, CNN, ABC, and The Hill. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

• In a May 10 letter to the editor in The Daily Mail, Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) wrote, "Paid phone advocates have generated calls into our offices from both inside and outside the congressional district." Former District 19 Congressperson John Hall, talking with WGXC, said June 14 that paid protesters are not calling the Congressperson. Click here to download or play Hall's comment. Hear the full interview with the pop singer with the band Orleans, and former Congressperson Hall, who performs June 16 at a fundraiser in Hudson for Triform Camphill. Faso's press representative did not get back to WGXC with a comment for this story.
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