Today marks Congressman Scott Murphy’s (NY-20) first anniversary serving the residents of the 20th Congressional District of New York.  Since being sworn in on April 29, 2009, he has focused his efforts on job creation, improving the economy, and easing the tax burden on middle class families.  He has travelled to all 137 towns in the district and taken major steps to crack down on Wall Street, reform our broken health care system, make college more affordable, and create an environment conducive to economic growth.  To mark his first anniversary in office, Murphy released a report detailing his work for constituents and the following statement:

“While I had an extremely productive first year, I have only just begun the work needed to renew Upstate New York’s economy,” said Rep. Murphy.  “I want to thank the people of the 20th District for working with me this past year, my visits to all the towns in the district were, by far, the highlight of my year.  I look forward to continuing to work together to build on the foundation we have established to make our region a leader in the global economy.  We’ve got a lot of work left to do.  I will continue to fight to use my background as a small businessman to make Upstate New York a welcoming home for businesses and families.”

Since taking office, Congressman Murphy has released his plan to Renew Upstate New York’s economy.  He is now travelling around the district to continue to work with private industry and the people of the 20th District to build upon that plan to get our economy moving again.

Below are some of Congressman Murphy’s accomplishments during his first year in office:  

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Murphy has focused his efforts on legislation that will renew the Upstate New York economy by creating new jobs, leveling the playing field for small businesses, creating a new clean energy economy, and increasing access for rural farmers and residents. 

Below are some of the bills that Murphy has introduced or co-sponsored in the House:

• The America Recruits Act would create a new program within the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide forgivable loans for up to $10,000 for each new high-tech or manufacturing job moved from a foreign country to a high unemployment area in the US.  These incentives will spur innovation and job growth at home, and increase American competitiveness in the global market.

• The Making Work Pay Tax Credit Extension Act would extend a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns for one additional year through 2011. Under the provision, taxpayers will receive a refundable tax credit of 6.2 percent of earned income up to $400 for working individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns in 2009 and 2010.  The credit phases out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $150,000 for married couples filing jointly and $75,000 for other workers and fully phases out taxpayers with gross income in excess of $190,000 for married workers and $95,000 for other workers.  

• The Dairy Relief and Market Stabilization Act would provide immediate relief to dairy farmers, while also stabilizing the dairy market.  The legislation has two provisions.  The first would have doubled the payment rate from 45 percent to 90 percent for the period beginning on March 1, 2009 through November 30, 2009.  Second, the bill would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a herd retirement initiative in coordination with a third party organization to reduce the dairy herd size by the number of cows necessary to balance dairy supply with current demand.  

• The Business Checking Fairness Act would simply repeal an outdated law that prevents small business owners from earning interest on business checking accounts.  The bill has 25 co-sponsors and was included as an amendment to H.R. 4173, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which passed the House on December 11, 2009 by a vote of 223 to 202.

• The Rural Broadband Initiative Act would work to streamline government programs to ensure programs designed to promote rural broadband development actually deliver results.  The legislation would eliminate bureaucratic red tape and empower a new Under Secretary – head of the Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives – to centralize authority and funding to develop a comprehensive strategy to bring broadband Internet access to all of rural America.  This will build upon and allow for better performance of our existing programs to spur broadband development, and it will enable the use of the newest and best technologies to make sure we make the necessary investments to encourage economic success in our rural communities.  The bill would provide authorization for the new Office for $20,000,000 a fiscal year for five years ($100M total).  

• The Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention and Control Act of 2009 would provide the Health and Human Services Secretary enhanced powers to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud.  The bill would create a tougher screening process for new enrollees prior to payment as well as remove bureaucratic red tape and grant the Secretary more authority to suspend reimbursements and launch investigations whenever there is reasonable suspicion of fraud.  

• The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act, would help identify, reduce, and eliminate improper payments, as well as recover lost funds.  According to the OMB, in FY 2009 federal agencies are estimated to have made nearly $98 billion in improper payments.

• Statutory PAY-GO, which would require Congress to offset the cost of any tax cut or increase in entitlement spending with savings from elsewhere in the budget. 

Congressman Murphy recognizes that our veterans and active service members represent the very best that our country has to offer.  Beyond supporting three major pieces of legislation that will benefit all veterans in Upstate New York, Congressman Murphy has made it a priority to help veterans receive the benefits and medical treatment that they need.

Since taking office in April 2009, Congressman Murphy has helped veterans access more than $1 million in retroactive benefits and increased monthly payments.  Much of this has been for veterans who have suffered from exposure to Agent Orange.  

Beyond helping veterans access increased benefits, Congressman Murphy has introduced or co-sponsored three major pieces of legislation to benefit veterans:

• Congressman Murphy introduced the Post-9/11 G.I. Education Fairness Act of 2009 which would expand the types of approved education programs in the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to include: Preparatory courses for tests that are required or used for admission to an institution of higher education or graduate school;  National tests for admission to or course credits at institutions of higher learning; Programs of apprenticeship or other on-job training for individuals who are not on active duty; Cooperative programs Training at non-college-degree institutions;  Correspondence training; Entrepreneurship training; Courses required to receive financial assistance from the Small Business Administration; Flight training offered by entities other than institutions of higher learning.

• The Agent Orange Equity Act would change the rules for veterans care to include treatment and coverage for any soldier who fought in the Vietnam War that may have been exposed to certain herbicide agents in Vietnam’s waterways, ports, harbors or airspace.  

• The Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act would require the Secretary of Defense to adopt a program of professional and confidential screenings for active armed forces members to detect mental health conditions for the purpose of reducing the incidence of suicide among such members and veterans, and to detect traumatic brain injuries.

The residents of the 20th District deserve representatives in Washington that are honest, accessible and accountable for their actions.  Since his first day in office, Congressman Murphy has been leading by example, working to restore openness and transparency in government.  

As part of this commitment, Murphy has traveled to all 137 towns in the district and held more than 100 public events in order to speak with constituents about local issues as well as what is happening in Washington, DC.  Additionally, Murphy started the innovative Congressional Field Office (CFO) program in which members of his staff travel to towns not near a district office to help with constituent casework issues.  

In order to ensure that constituents know what he is doing in Washington, DC, Murphy has posted all appropriations requests and his daily public schedule online as part of his “Sunlight Report.”  This information can be found at scottmurphy.house.gov/Transparency/.

Congressman Murphy has worked to make sure that the 20th District receives its fair share of federal funding to invest in growing a 21st century economy.  One of the legitimate responsibilities of government is funding infrastructure projects.  This is one of the reasons that Murphy has developed his Renew Upstate New York economic development plan, which focuses in part on targeted federal funding for community infrastructures, such as water systems and broadband internet access.  Upstate New York’s antiquated water and road infrastructure needs to be updated, and federal funding must play a part.  

Additionally, through the Economic Recovery Act, investments have been made that will spur innovation and get people back to work.  Since taking office in April 2009, Congressman Murphy has worked with local community leaders and federal agencies to secure funding for local projects and organizations.  This funding is broken down by county below:

• Columbia County - $34,894,270

• Delaware County - $20,408,780

• Dutchess County - $93,169,392

• Essex County - $45,961,633

• Greene County - $11,066,282

• Ostego County - $8,780,322

• Rensselaer County - $237,773,776.50

• Saratoga County - $53,826,508

• Warren County - $30,461,556

• Washington County - $22,083,977

• Multiple Counties - $7,512,000

• Total for All Ten Counties - $565,938,497 

In order to remain open, accessible and helpful to constituents, Congressman Murphy has opened four offices across the district and his staff holds regular Congressional Field Offices (CFOs) to assist constituents in accessing grants, veterans benefits and services from federal agencies.  For Murphy, ensuring that residents of Upstate New York have access to constituent services is a priority.  

Below are two constituent stories that are illustrative of the work that Congressman Murphy and his staff do on a daily basis:

• Chocolate Mill Café: The Chocolate Mill Café opened in the summer of 2009 in the heart of Glens Falls and has quickly become a well known business.  The business was featured in Success Magazine in September 2009.  Mr. Vollkommer attended the Small Business Workshop held in Clifton Park in May 2009.  Murphy and his staff worked with Frank and Jessica Vollkommer to apply for SBA funding and access the funds that have allowed them to become a fixture of the Glens Falls Community.  

• Veteran Bob Hug: Bob Hug, of Averill Park, was one of those brave vets who were mistakenly denied benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Due to Agent Orange exposure he lost his voice box to laryngeal cancer while in the service of his country.  He filed for disability in October of 2006, but the VA denied his claim without fully reviewing his file.  Congressman Murphy became aware of Mr. Hug’s situation and immediately contacted the VA to have his case reevaluated. With the Congressman’s assistance, Mr. Hug received a proper review that determined he was 100 percent disabled and was entitled to more than $80,000 in retroactive benefits as well as $2,800 a month going forward. In his endeavor to serve all veterans, Congressman Murphy has cosponsored the Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009.  This legislation will ensure that all veterans of the Vietnam combat theater who suffer from Agent Orange exposure are entitled to disability benefits.