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WGXC Congressional Report: 20191023
Oct 21, 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 4.1 percent of the time. Since Democrats took over the House of Representatives Tonko also votes with Trump's positions two percent of the time. In the previous Congressional session, Tonko voted with Trump 22.6 percent of the time.
• Patsy Nicosia reports at the Times Journal that the gun owners of the Shooters Committee On Political Education could not find much common ground with Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat, when he spoke to them at the Middleburgh Rod & Gun Club last week. Larry Bradt of Carlisle said, about the Republican president and Democrats in Congress that, “They’ve wanted to impeach him since day one just because they don’t like him.” Delgado replied, “We’ve passed hundreds of bills in the House and a few have even seen the light of day.... But you’re right, sir. Both sides do a lot of posturing. I’m doing my part to find common ground.” They did not believe Delgado when he cited polls that show 90 percent of U.S. citizens support universal background checks. “When you say I’m lying, I respectfully disagree,” he said. “We can have the discussion that my ideas aren’t appropriate or that I don’t have your understanding, but I’m not here to lie to you." Richard Sherman of Schoharie asked, “Why is it, when someone commits a crime with a gun, you want to make it difficult for all of us?” Delgado said he is not in favor of taking away non-military grade guns from citizens qualified to have them. “No one’s here to disavow the Second Amendment,” he said, noting his father-in-law is a member of the National Rifle Association. Read more about this story at the Times Journal.
• Chris McKenna is reporting at The Fray U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado raised $636,000 in the third quarter of 2019, and had more than $1.5 million in his campaign account as of Sept. 30. His fundraising efforts have provided a giant lead for the freshman Democrat as he prepared for a re-election bid in 2020. Donald Trump won the 19th Congressional District by seven points in 2016, and the GOP has targeted Delgado, hoping to take back the seat next year. One of Delgado's potential Republican challengers, Anthony German raised $50,000 during the quarter. Ola Hawatmeh reported raising $5,000, and Michael Roth reported no income. U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a fourth-term Democrat from the 18th Congressional District, raised $268,000 in the third quarter and reported an available balance of $425,000. Chele Farley, the Republican planning to challenge Maloney next year, raised $150,000 in donations and reported a $52,000 in-kind contribution from herself to her campaign, giving Farley's campaign $239,000 on hand. Read the full story at The Fray.
• All four Hudson Valley Congressional representatives voted together Oct. 16 to condemn Donald Trump's decision to let Turkey invade Syria and attack Kurdish forces who have helped fight ISIS terrorists there. Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrats Paul Tonko, Antonio Delgado, and Sean Maloney all voted for "Opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria." The bill passed 354-60. Tom Reed, from Western New York, was the only state representative to vote against the measure.
• Stephen Williams reports for the Daily Gazette that one of the two Ukrainian associates of Rudy Guiliani indicted last week for campaign finance violations gave money to former Rep. John Faso during the 2018 election campaign. Igor Fruman gave $2,445 to 21 House Republicans including Faso, who lost his 19th Congressional District seat after one term to Democrat Antonio Delgado last year. Fruman made the donations under the name "Furman," and altering his name is one of the reasons for his indictment. Faso, a Republican from Kinderhook, said Tuesday he knew about the donation, but never met Fruman or his partner, Lev Parnas. The donation came through a joint Republican fundraising committee called Protect the House. "I've taken steps to either refund or donate the contribution to charity," Faso said, sounding like he already took action, but then said, "I will likely donate it to charity." Two other New York Republicans, John Katko and Claudia Tenney, also received $2,445 campaign contributions. Faso said he will not run for Congress in 2020. Read more about this story in the Daily Gazette.
• MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado said October 16, as the opioid epidemic continues to devastate the country, more should be done in the area of prevention. The Rhinebeck Democrat said nationwide lawsuits against prescription manufacturers who pushed their opioid medications are a good beginning. At the same time he said those who legitimately need painkillers should not be prevented from using them. “We talk a lot about treatment,” he said. “We talk a lot about decriminalizing addiction but not enough emphasis is put on prevention and how we can get out in front of the problem, whether that is through more educational tools, whether that is through funding prevention centers, we should be not just reactive, but more proactive in our approach.” Delgado said he would like to see more emphasis placed on drug courts and decriminalization. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.
• Paul Tonko does list any public events this week on his website. Antonio Delgado lists public appearances on his website only if his staff organizes the events. He has none listed this week.
• Patsy Nicosia reports at the Times Journal that the gun owners of the Shooters Committee On Political Education could not find much common ground with Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat, when he spoke to them at the Middleburgh Rod & Gun Club last week. Larry Bradt of Carlisle said, about the Republican president and Democrats in Congress that, “They’ve wanted to impeach him since day one just because they don’t like him.” Delgado replied, “We’ve passed hundreds of bills in the House and a few have even seen the light of day.... But you’re right, sir. Both sides do a lot of posturing. I’m doing my part to find common ground.” They did not believe Delgado when he cited polls that show 90 percent of U.S. citizens support universal background checks. “When you say I’m lying, I respectfully disagree,” he said. “We can have the discussion that my ideas aren’t appropriate or that I don’t have your understanding, but I’m not here to lie to you." Richard Sherman of Schoharie asked, “Why is it, when someone commits a crime with a gun, you want to make it difficult for all of us?” Delgado said he is not in favor of taking away non-military grade guns from citizens qualified to have them. “No one’s here to disavow the Second Amendment,” he said, noting his father-in-law is a member of the National Rifle Association. Read more about this story at the Times Journal.
• Chris McKenna is reporting at The Fray U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado raised $636,000 in the third quarter of 2019, and had more than $1.5 million in his campaign account as of Sept. 30. His fundraising efforts have provided a giant lead for the freshman Democrat as he prepared for a re-election bid in 2020. Donald Trump won the 19th Congressional District by seven points in 2016, and the GOP has targeted Delgado, hoping to take back the seat next year. One of Delgado's potential Republican challengers, Anthony German raised $50,000 during the quarter. Ola Hawatmeh reported raising $5,000, and Michael Roth reported no income. U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a fourth-term Democrat from the 18th Congressional District, raised $268,000 in the third quarter and reported an available balance of $425,000. Chele Farley, the Republican planning to challenge Maloney next year, raised $150,000 in donations and reported a $52,000 in-kind contribution from herself to her campaign, giving Farley's campaign $239,000 on hand. Read the full story at The Fray.
• All four Hudson Valley Congressional representatives voted together Oct. 16 to condemn Donald Trump's decision to let Turkey invade Syria and attack Kurdish forces who have helped fight ISIS terrorists there. Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrats Paul Tonko, Antonio Delgado, and Sean Maloney all voted for "Opposing the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria." The bill passed 354-60. Tom Reed, from Western New York, was the only state representative to vote against the measure.
• Stephen Williams reports for the Daily Gazette that one of the two Ukrainian associates of Rudy Guiliani indicted last week for campaign finance violations gave money to former Rep. John Faso during the 2018 election campaign. Igor Fruman gave $2,445 to 21 House Republicans including Faso, who lost his 19th Congressional District seat after one term to Democrat Antonio Delgado last year. Fruman made the donations under the name "Furman," and altering his name is one of the reasons for his indictment. Faso, a Republican from Kinderhook, said Tuesday he knew about the donation, but never met Fruman or his partner, Lev Parnas. The donation came through a joint Republican fundraising committee called Protect the House. "I've taken steps to either refund or donate the contribution to charity," Faso said, sounding like he already took action, but then said, "I will likely donate it to charity." Two other New York Republicans, John Katko and Claudia Tenney, also received $2,445 campaign contributions. Faso said he will not run for Congress in 2020. Read more about this story in the Daily Gazette.
• MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado said October 16, as the opioid epidemic continues to devastate the country, more should be done in the area of prevention. The Rhinebeck Democrat said nationwide lawsuits against prescription manufacturers who pushed their opioid medications are a good beginning. At the same time he said those who legitimately need painkillers should not be prevented from using them. “We talk a lot about treatment,” he said. “We talk a lot about decriminalizing addiction but not enough emphasis is put on prevention and how we can get out in front of the problem, whether that is through more educational tools, whether that is through funding prevention centers, we should be not just reactive, but more proactive in our approach.” Delgado said he would like to see more emphasis placed on drug courts and decriminalization. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.
• Paul Tonko does list any public events this week on his website. Antonio Delgado lists public appearances on his website only if his staff organizes the events. He has none listed this week.