Chris McKenna is reporting for The Fray on U.S. Rep. John Faso's farewell conference call with reporters Thu., Dec. 6. During the call, Faso spoke about his efforts to combat from Washington two practices in New York he believes contribute to the state’s high costs and the departure of businesses and people, which results from those practices. The outgoing Congressman said the state's longstanding Scaffold Law drives up construction costs statewide by making property owners and contractors assume full responsibility for any injuries their workers suffer in falls. He also cited the state's requirement to make counties assume some of the state's Medicaid expenses. During his brief tenure, the Kinderhook Republican sponsored a bill that would have forced New York to assume all Medicaid costs, and he also sponsored a bill that would have preempted the 133-year-old Scaffold Law by prohibiting federal funding for projects that use the state's “absolute liability” standard for falls at construction sites. Faso said he does not know yet what he will do after leaving Congress. He dismissed as fictitious a recent report that he may seek to replace Ed Cox as chairman of the state Republican Party. Read the full story at The Fray.