November 7, 2021
PLATTSBURGH – While Democrats rejoiced over approval of the federal infrastructure package, North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik railed against it.
Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) said she voted against what she called the Democrats’ so-called “infrastructure” package, claiming that it would “prioritize large, Democrat cities over rural America as part of Democrats’ radical agenda to impose the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.”
‘FAILS TO MEET NEEDS’
“Democrats have made their priorities clear, and their so-called ‘infrastructure’ plan fails to meet the needs for rural America,” Stefanik said in a statement.
“This Far-Left plan prioritizes Green New Deal policies over traditional infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. These radical policies show Democrats’ priorities are for large, Democrat cities, not for the hardworking people of the North Country,” she said.
“Democrats’ out-of-control spending is to blame for the highest inflation rates in 30 years and the most expensive Thanksgiving in the history of the holiday, but they are still trying to spend trillions more of taxpayer dollars. I have worked with my colleagues to deliver critical, targeted results on broadband and infrastructure for the North Country, but House Democrats have failed in this effort.”
RURAL BROADBAND
The bill received support from 13 Republican Congress members, including four from New York. Six Democrats voted against it.
Stefanik said she is currently pushing to preempt New York’s state fee on fiber optic broadband distribution, which she says is dis-incentivizing rural broadband buildout in the North Country.
Yet North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Garry Douglas, in his statements following the passage of the bill, said the legislation would represent “an historic federal commitment to closing broadband gaps” and praised the federal support.
BROADBAND EFFORTS
In March,Stefanik cosponsored the BOOST Act to increase internet access for homeowners in rural areas.
Last year, Stefanik said she worked with the Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai to allow New York to be eligible for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to expand broadband to the North Country.
Additionally, she worked to expand the Northern Border Regional Commission grant program to make it more accessible and able to support more critical development projects for the North Country, a news release said.
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