<!--Don Glynn--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Don Glynn</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:don.glynn@niagara-gazette.com">don.glynn@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Citing the record for her first year in office, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, said Wednesday that she intends to continue her fight to ensure that New York state receive its fair share in funds from Washington.
“Right now, for every dollar the state sends to the federal government, we get back 79 cents,” Gillibrand told some 20 reporters in a 45-minute conference call from her Washington office.
Gillibrand was appointed by Gov. David Paterson to fill the Senate seat left vacant in 2009 when President Obama named Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state.
In 2010, Gillibrand, seeking to serve the remaining two years of Clinton’s term, is expected to face a primary race from Harold E. Ford Jr., a former Tennessee congressman, and from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, in the November election.
Meanwhile, Gillibrand has been carrying her own message to the 62 counties across the state.
“I’ve helped secure more than $306 million in federal funding and $18 billion, with an additional $13 billion expected, from President Obama’s Economic Recovery Plan for programs in New York,” Gillibrand said.
Despite the difficult times, she added, “We’re laying the foundation to rebuild our economy, creating new and good-paying jobs to protect New York taxpayers.”
Gillibrand has introduced legislation to provide businesses with a tax cut worth 15 percent of the cost of a new job. Under he bill, small businesses would receive an additional 5 percent, enabling them to deduct 20 percent of their increased payroll costs.
Other reasons she lists for voters to re-elect her this year:
• With unemployment among young veterans in the state approaching 17 percent, she has been making a personal pitch to New York businesses to hire veterans and receive a tax break from the federal government in return.
• Her Small Business Lending Enhancement Act would spur small business growth and create jobs by increasing access to loans from credit unions. While credit unions are required to limit member business lending to 12.25 percent of the credit union’s total assets, Gillibrand’s bill would raise that cap to 25 percent of the union’s total assets, and increase the minimum business loan subject to the cap from $50,000 to $250,000.
• As a member of the Senate and Public Works Committee, she has a lead role on the Water Infrastructure Financing Act, helping to secure $20 billion nationwide for the Clean Water Revolving Fund.
• The senator has introduced bipartisan legislation to expand and make permanent federal property tax relief for New Yorkers who do not itemize their federal tax deductions. The current tax code favors those who itemize, because it allows taxpayers to take advantage of property tax deductions that are unavailable to non-itemizing taxpayers.
• With the U.S. needing an additional 23,000 math and science teachers in secondary schools by 2015, Gillibrand introduced the National Stem Education Tax Incentive for Teachers Act that would provide STEM teachers working in low-income schools a tax credit to cover 10 percent of their undergraduate tuition, up to $1,000 each year. STEM teachers in schools serving children with disabilities could deduct up to $1,500 each year.
• Addressing child obesity, Gillibrand is pushing legislation to expand USDA authority to regulate all food served in schools, including vending machines.
Reporter Don Glynn was among 24 news reporters participating in Sen. Gillibrand’s telephone conference.
