Dear Neighbor,

Thanks for subscribing to the Riley Report, our newsletter that keeps you up to date on our office’s work on behalf of Upstate New York. Here’s what we’ve been up to over the last week:

I’m excited to announce that my team will be hitting the road for mobile office hours in Chenango, Columbia, Greene, and Tompkins counties this month.

Whether you’re a veteran navigating VA benefits, a senior with questions about Social Security, or a family resolving a passport issue, my team and I are here to help.

If you need help getting answers from a federal agency or have questions about how we can assist you, I encourage you to stop by.

Billionaires and big corporations have too much power in Washington as it is. The last thing we need is the wealthiest man in the world screwing around with the benefits our seniors have earned, the early childhood programs working families need, and the apprenticeships our workers are doing to get into the Middle Class. Of course the government should be more efficient–but handing over the keys to an unelected billionaire with no oversight is not the way to make that happen.

That’s why in Congress, I’m fighting back. This week I sponsored two pieces of legislation to hold Elon Musk and DOGE accountable to you — because the government should work for working people. Watch my explainer video HERE. 

Dairy farmers are the backbone of our rural communities and local economy. But for too long, Upstate New York’s dairy farmers have been getting the short end of the stick while big corporations rake in record profits. Enough is enough.

I was proud to back three bipartisan measures – the Dairy Farm Resiliency Act (H.R. 294), the Fair Milk Pricing for Farmers Act (H.R. 295), and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. These bills will strengthen dairy farm resiliency, ensure fair milk pricing, and expand milk choices for children in schools.

We held our first hearing on the House Science & Technology Committee, focused on what we need to do to keep the U.S. ahead of global competitors like China in cutting-edge research and technology.

We need to bring good manufacturing jobs back to Upstate New York, so I used my time at the hearing to ask witnesses how we can undo the damage caused by decades of bad trade deals. And I don’t think a college degree should be the price of admission to the Middle Class, so I asked about using Pell Grants for apprenticeships and CTE diplomas. You can watch my questioning HERE. 

My favorite (and the most important) part of this job is listening to constituents. This week, I had a chance to meet with so many people who are doing great work across Upstate New York. If you’re in town and would like to meet with my staff or me, please submit a scheduling request on our website.

I met with representatives from Cornell and Ithaca College to talk about increasing opportunities for students from all backgrounds to get a world class education.

I met with administrators from public schools across Upstate New York to learn about ways Congress can support our teachers and students, including through farm-to-table school lunch programs.

I met with leaders of Federally Qualified Health Centers in Hudson, Monticello, and Binghamton. We talked about the importance of improving access to healthcare services in our rural communities and ongoing efforts to fight the opioid epidemic.

I met with members of SEIU to get an update on their contract negotiations and our work together to improve access to healthcare across Upstate New York.

Protect American Energy Production Act: I'm always going to fight as hard as I can to protect the planet we're leaving to my kids. I voted against this bill because it threatens to overturn Upstate New York's environmental protections--which are especially important for the Finger Lakes, Catskills, and Hudson Valley--by sending a message that the public can't stop fracking in their community even if they wanted to. (The bill passed 226-188.)

HALT Fentanyl Act: Upstate New York has been hit hard by the fentanyl crisis, and it seems like just about everyone I've talked with knows someone who has been affected by it. I voted in favor of this bipartisan bill to crack down on the fentanyl trafficking that is killing too many of our neighbors. The bill makes fentanyl a Schedule I controlled substance because it is so deadly and addictive, and the bill improves research into fentanyl analogs, which are synthetic copy cats of fentanyl. (The bill passed 312-108.)

It's an honor to represent you in Congress. To stay up to date with the work I’m doing, follow along on my official social media pages at @RepRileyNY on X, Facebook, and Instagram. And if there’s anything my team or I can do to help you, please do not hesitate to reach out.