Congressman Chris Lee has returned from a fact-finding trip to Afghanistan. WBTA interviewed him this morning and Dan Fischer has posted an extended audio file on WBTA1490.com (mp3).

Tune into WBTA's Main and Center tomorrow to hear Lee talk about the health care being considered in the House of  Representatives.

Press release:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) issued the following statement today after signing a discharge petition to amend the House rules to require that legislation be posted on the Internet for at least 72 hours before a vote on the House floor. More than 170 Members of Congress have signed on to this petition, which are used to force a vote on legislation that has been blocked by the majority leadership. Lee said:

“Western New York taxpayers deserve the ability to weigh in on these important and complicated pieces of legislation which are being rushed through Congress.

“As we saw with the ‘cap and trade’ national energy tax legislation and the enormous ‘stimulus’ spending bill, leaders in Congress have denied the American public the right to full transparency in the legislative process.

“This bill will allow Members of Congress, the American public and the press 72 hours to actually read the huge bills that are often introduced in the dead of night. This common-sense reform is long past due."

Who are the richest legislators in Washington?  Roll Call has a list.

Our own Chris Lee makes the list at No. 33.

Lee's net worth is $7.4 million, according to Roll Call, which includes a trust fund and $1 million in a personal account.

(via GLOW Democrats blog)

With dairy prices at a 30-year low, Genesee County dairy farmers may find some relief in new USDA price supports.

The government is essentially agreeing to pay above-market prices for some dairy products as part of the Dairy Product Price Support Program. In this 60-year-old program, the government buys dry milk, butter, and cheese and stores these products until they can be sold on the open market or donated to domestic or international charitable programs.

From a Rep. Chris Lee press release:

The increase, announced this morning by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, will raise the price paid for nonfat dry milk from $0.80 per pound to $0.92 per pound, the price paid for cheddar blocks from $1.13 per pound to $1.31 per pound, and the price of cheddar barrels from $1.10 per pound to $1.28 per pound. Temporarily raising the price of these dairy products increases the price that dairy farmers receive for their milk.

The price increase will be in effect for three months. It is expected to boost dairy revenue by $243 million.

Congressional members with a shared interest in the fate of dairy farmers have revived a caucus to work together on those concerns, and Rep. Chris Lee has been selected as a co-chair of the committee.

Other representatives from New York are Democrats Paul Tonko and Louise Slaughter.

Caucuses are officially sanctioned groups of lawmakers who join together to promote a common cause. Here's a complete list of such groups.

With dairy prices at historical lows, and production costs remaining high, dairy farmers have been looking to Washington for assistance and support.

The new caucus gives congressional members with a shared interest in dairy farming a means to study dairy farming issues and come up with recommendations that could conceivably lead to legislation or other assistance.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R, C, I – Batavia) announced his second annual Patriot Trip for veterans to tour Washington, D.C.  This special trip is scheduled for Sept. 24-27 and is being jointly hosted by Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26).

“Last year’s trip was a very special and memorable trip for me on many levels: as a representative, as a veteran and as the son of a veteran," Hawley said. "I was thrilled to be able to share the experience with so many veterans from our region and am even more excited for this year’s expanded trip. I would like to thank Congressman Lee for his support and assistance in the planning of this trip."

The trip, dubbed Patriot Trip II, will include round-trip private-coach transportation from Western New York to Washington, D.C. and accommodations at the Crossroads Hotel on Quantico Marine Base.

It also includes tours of the nation’s Capitol and Arlington Cemetery, as well as visits to a number of monuments and memorials, including World War II, Korean, Vietnam, FDR, Jefferson and Iwo Jima, among other tours and visits. Additionally, the trip includes admission to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian Museum and Quantico Marine Military Museum.

“Any time our veterans take the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital, it’s an important event,” said Congressman Lee. “It’s not uncommon to see vets at our war memorials surrounded by grateful tourists and fellow citizens. I hope all local veterans will seek to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Assemblyman Hawley continues to do great work on behalf of our local veterans, and I look forward to working with him to ensure this trip is a success.”

While many veterans were sent a mailer with the trip’s original dates, due to military personnel commitments at the hotel, the trip’s dates have been changed to Sept. 24-27.  Assemblyman Hawley, who's also Ranking Member of the Assembly Veterans’ Affairs Committee, would like to encourage all veterans within the 139th Assembly District who did not receive the mailing, to call his office and ask to be put on the mailing list.

For more information about the trip and its details, pricing, or to sign-up for the trip or mailing list, please call Assemblyman Hawley’s District Office at (585) 589-5780.

The backlog of unprocessed disability claims at the Veterans Administration now exceeds one million and the pile grows daily.  Veterans are waiting months to have benefits administered.

Congressman Chris Lee is taking up the cause of veterans waiting for claims to be processed.

“The VA’s backlog of unfinished disability claims is clearly unacceptable and unsustainable. With the VA drowning in red tape, our veterans are forced to go to extreme lengths in order to make ends meet while waiting on benefits they have earned,” Lee said in a statement released this week. “Whether it’s hiring and training more processors or updating technological capabilities, the VA needs to have a detailed plan in place to tackle this problem and expedite its implementation.”

Full press release following the jump:

Rep. Chris Lee is increasingly showing himself as a Republican of an independent mind.

While his party and conservative pundits step up partisan bashing of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, even calling her a racist, Lee told WBTA this morning that he supports her nomination.

LISTEN

UPDATE: Lee was in town to talk with local veterans.  Full press release about the visit after the jump.

The Buffalo News reviewed the first few months of Rep. Chris Lee's term as a U.S. Congressman and Buffalo Pundit, blogger Alan Bedenko, who, shall we say, leans Democrat, says Lee actually is doing an OK job, even if Bedenko doesn't always agree on policy.

I was wrong about Lee. The guy really seems to care about his constituents, and he’s taken an interest in the issues that matter.

Lee is building bridges with his Democratic colleagues, especially those also representing Western New York Districts, according to the News.

There are a couple of places in Genesee County where you can go to get a passport, such as the post office or the County Clerk's office, so Rep. Chris Lee's indefatigable push to get a regional passport office in Western New York seemed a little over done.

Yesterday, I e-mailed County Clerk Don Read and asked him to clarify the urgent need for such an office.

Read explained that normal processing through his office can take 4 to 6 weeks, and eight weeks during peak periods. There is a process for expedited processing, but these options are either inconvenient or expensive.

June 1, The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative takes effect and it will require passports or passport cards for people traveling to and from Canada.

Read said the change in travel requirements will catch more people by surprise as unexpected trips arrive.  A passport office in WNY will make urgent acquisitions of passports easier.

"Many people are preparing for this by obtaining one of the acceptable documents, but there will be many whose travel to Canada will not be anticipated or routine," Read said. "These are the cases where a Passport Agency in Western New York will be extremely valuable and will provide our area with the same type of service which already exists in other areas across the norther border and also the southern border.  The Niagara Frontier is one of the busiest access points to Canada."

Lee's and Rep. Brian Higgin's constant attention to this issue seems to have paid off. On Friday, Lee put out a press release stating that the State Department has agreed to open a passport agency office in the Buffalo-Niagrara Falls region.

In a joint statement, the lawmakers applauded the State Department’s decision, while cautioning that it was not yet official:“The State Department has informed us of its intention to open a passport office in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region. This is great news for Western New Yorkers, who currently have to travel to New York City or Detroit to acquire a passport in short order, all while living just miles from one of the nation’s busiest border crossings. Of course, this is just the beginning of a process, but we are confident that at the end of the day, Western New Yorkers will have access to this one-stop shop for passports. In the meantime, we will continue to work with federal, state, and local officials to ensure the implementation of the next phase of WHTI goes as smoothly as possible for local residents and businesses.”

Rep. Chris Lee (R-26) is asking the government to step in and help save dealerships -- or at least the jobs they represent -- that have been slated for closure by Chrysler and General Motors.

In a statement, Lee said " the rapid and potentially disorderly elimination of thousands" of dealerships could put 150,000 people out of work.

Lee is asking the Treasury Administration's Auto Task Force to instead implement a plan that would allow for "market forces " to consolidate dealerships.

According to Lee's statement, "More than 60 members of congress, both Republicans and Democrats from districts all over the country, signed on in support of the letter.
 

Full press release after the jump.

Rep. Chris Lee issued a statement today expressing support for bi-partisan legislation that supporters say will fix problems with currency exchange with China and help protect WNY jobs.

Lee called Chinese trade practices illegal.

The legislation is aimed at stopping Chinese manipulation of currency exchange, which may be leading to the yuan being undervalued by as much as 40 percent.

Full press release after the jump:

City Paper's Jeremy Moule caught up with Congressman Chris Lee at a press conference and asked an unrelated question: What is his position on Time Warner's plan to tier broadband pricing.

Here's what Moule wrote about Lee's response:

Representative Chris Lee says that the federal government should get involved with Time Warner's broadband rate change only as a last resort.

He's looking into Time Warner's proposal and is aware that there's broad concern over it. Public officials should make sure "consumers are protected and that they pay a fair rate," he said after an unrelated press conference this afternoon.

The company has agreed to hold a public session on the plan, which would implement tiered, usage-based rates. Ideally, it would be able to develop fair-rate plans, said Lee, Monroe County's lone Republican Congressional representative.

Lee had called the press conference to support his push for a passport office in Western New York.

Rep Chris Lee says he wants to help small businesses. His latest effort, announced in a press release today, is a tax break for start-up costs.  He co-sponsored the legislation with a Democratic congressman from Maryland.

Apparently, a small business can currently only write up $5,000 of its start up costs for tax purposes. Lee's proposal would bump the limit to $20,000.

That sounds good as far as it goes, but at a time when credit is tight for small business start-ups, is it really going to provide the needed stimulus for entrepreneurs? Just asking.

Click on "read more" to view the full press release.

Press Release:

AMHERST – Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) was joined by community leaders at the Amherst Main Library today to unveil major legislation to protect students from sexual abuse in schools.

Lee and others were spurred to act after a national investigation conducted by the Associated Press uncovered thousands of cases in which incidents of sexual misconduct by school employees were not reported to the public.

From a Press Release:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) today called for passage of legislation he has co-sponsored that protects workers’ rights and guarantees a secret ballot in workplace elections. The lawmaker commented on the same day legislation was offered in Congress creating a “card check” system that would effectively strip workers of their right to a secret ballot when determining whether to form a union.

“When an American citizen steps into the voting booth, they are protected by the right to a secret ballot. Elections in the workplace should be held to the same sacred standard,” Congressman Lee said. “Voices from across the political spectrum have opposed this ‘card check’ legislation for one simple reason: the secret ballot and workers’ rights should always be protected.”

Appearing yesterday on CNBC, Warren Buffett stated his opposition to “card check” legislation because the right to a secret ballot is “pretty important.” Also opposing “card check” is former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. George McGovern (D-SD), who told the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill last fall, “I believe in the secret ballot as a very important part of our democracy.”

Congressman Lee is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 1176, the Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2009, which protects the right of workers to have secret ballot elections when determining whether to form a union.

Following the news that the prospects of funding for a high-speed passenger rail line between Albany and Buffalo seem good, I sent an e-mail to Congressman Chris Lee's office asking for a fuller statement about the project.

I asked specifically if Lee would work to ensure Batavia had a train station along the route.

Spokeswoman Andrea Bozek wrote back, "Chris is certainly reviewing Batavia's infrastructural capacity as part of this effort."

She also sent along this statement from Congressman Lee:

High-speed rail presents a great opportunity for advancing the long-term economic development of Western New York. Yesterday (ed. now day before yesterday), we had an excellent meeting between members of the upstate congressional delegation and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. We came to a consensus on the need to move this project forward with the goal to use the existing rail corridor and hit initial top speeds of 110 miles per hour. That will cut two hours off of current travel times. Transportation experts who have analyzed the plan believe the first segment of service can be open in two-to-three years, with its full opening in three-to-five years. The delegation will continue to closely work with the Secretary and New York state transportation officials as the planning turns to stops along the corridor.

The FAA's Aviaition Improvement Program has awarded $2.1 million in federal funding for the LeRoy Airport so that it may complete its runway extension project, Rep. Chris Lee announced today.

From the press release:

The airport intends to use the grant to complete its runway extension project, which will take roughly three months and will occur in two phases. The eastern end of the runway and parallel taxiway will be extended from 2,640 to 3,855 ft., the runway will be sealcoated, and the runway and taxiway will be restriped.

“Improving transportation links in Western New York creates jobs and promote economic growth. I am pleased to see that LeRoy Airport has been recognized for its potential to grow and become a more integral part of the community and the region,” Congressman Lee said.

Raymond S. Detor Jr., president of LeRoy Aviation Services, commented on the grant announcement: “We appreciate Congressman Lee’s support for our efforts to ensure LeRoy has a state-of-the-airport that creates local jobs and meets the needs of the region. Through this grant, our airport will be better able to accommodate the aircraft it was designed for and provide support for Rochester International Airport.”

AIP grants are awarded competitively based on strict eligibility requirements, including an obligation to maintain the airport in a safe and serviceable condition, mitigate hazards to airspace, and use revenue properly. Funds for the program are drawn largely from a trust fund supported by user fees and fuel taxes.

You can visit the airport's Web site for more information on the facility which "is a designated general aviation reliever airport for the The Greater Rochester International Airport."

From the Office of Rep. Chris Lee:

Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) today appeared at the Rochester Federal Building to announce that he has sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) calling for action on bipartisan legislation to stop the automatic pay raise members of Congress are scheduled to receive next year. The lawmaker says foregoing the pay increase would help make Washington more accountable to Western New York taxpayers.

“After a month in Congress, I have seen firsthand the critical need for openness and accountability in Washington,” Congressman Lee said. “During these tough economic times, when workers are foregoing wage increases to keep their jobs, Congress should not grant itself a pay raise. Washington should do more with less, just as Western New Yorkers always have.”
 
On his first day in office, Congressman Lee became a co-sponsor of H.R. 156, the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act, which would block the pay raise Members of Congress are scheduled to automatically receive next year. H.R. 156, which is sponsored by Congressman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), has gained more than 100 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors, and is endorsed by leading taxpayer and government watchdog groups. The legislation is currently pending in the House Administration and Oversight & Government Reform committees. (Click HERE to read statements from leading taxpayer and government watchdog groups on the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act.)

Congressman Lee added, “Before Congress, my experience was solely in the private sector. When tough times came, we fought to save jobs and did not accept pay raises. This is an opportunity for Washington to set a similar example for public officials in every level of government.”

Click here to download the letter Lee sent to House Speaker Pelosi.

From the office of Rep. Chris Lee:

In a speech today on the House floor, Congressman Chris Lee (NY-26) read a message from a small business owner in Wyoming County to demonstrate the need for action on a swift, effective, and fiscally responsible recovery plan that creates jobs in Western New York: