Congressman Paul Tonko to Saratoga Chamber members: Energy, foreign policies need change

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Congressman Paul Tonko met with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce for a breakfast at Saratoga National on Thursday morning to discuss what he is doing to improve the local economy.

By PAUL POST
ppost@saratogian.com
Twitter.com/paulvpost

Congressman Paul Tonko met with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce for a breakfast at Saratoga National on Thursday morning to discuss what he is doing to improve the local economy. Photo Erica Miller

SARATOGA SPRINGS ? Capital investment, retooling industry with advanced manufacturing and workforce training are keys to continued economic recovery, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko said Thursday.

Improved energy efficiencies and increased renewable power generation, such as wind and solar, also would reduce America?s dependence on foreign energy, which represents a national security threat, he said.

Tonko, D-Amsterdam, was elected to his third term in Congress last fall and was recently named to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

?We?re getting hit hard at the pump,? he said. ?It?s out of our control. We?re spending hundreds of billions of American consumer energy dollars that?s being invested in foreign budgets, and they?re using these American dollars to train their troops to kill our sons and daughters. It?s immoral, and it ought to stop.

?It?s time to bring the troops home and go forward with nation building at home.?

Tonko addressed more than 100 area business people gathered at a Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce event at Saratoga National Golf Course.

A former state Assemblyman, Tonko was also president and chief executive officer of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority before running for Congress. Energy policy is what prompted him to seek national office, he said.

His 20th district, which includes southern Saratoga County and Saratoga Springs, is one of the country?s leading hotbeds for high-tech industrial growth. To supply its energy demands, old transmission infrastructure must be replaced with super-conductive cable that can carry up to 10 times more electricity than existing lines, he said.

Deregulating the industry caused more problems than it solved, he said.

?Our system was designed to be a monopoly, to serve a region,? he said. ?The system now is asked to wheel electrons from region to region, state to state, country to country because of our importing of power from Canada. Our system is aged. It requires research. That research requires jobs.? Continued...

In a related matter, Tonko criticized proposed across-the-board ? so-called ?sequestration? ? federal budget cuts that are slated to kick in beginning next Friday, March 1, unless Congress and President Obama agree to a different deal.

Defense spending alone, a major contributor to Saratoga County?s economy, would be slashed $46 billion. The navy?s West Milton nuclear facility employs hundreds of people.

Also, Espey Manufacturing, in Saratoga Springs, relies heavily on military contracts and many Saratoga County residents are tied to the Air National Guard?s 109th Airlift Wing, at Stratton Air Base in Scotia.

Tonko said spending cuts should be priority-driven.

?Are you going to cut trips to the theater the same as trips to the grocery store?? he said. ?It?s mindless. It?s a lack-of-courage type of approach to the budget cutting we have to do. We?re going to hurt this economy with sequestration.?

Unlike recent predecessors, Tonko does not have a district office in Saratoga Springs, which be blamed on budget uncertainties.

However, his mobile office visited Malta last month and he?s planning a series of ?town hall? type meeting to garner public feedback including one from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at Saratoga Springs City Center.

In late April, he and U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, are planning a business-oriented meeting in Saratoga Springs. Owens represents northern Saratoga County.

Also, Tonko will be at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library on Friday, March 22.

His district director, Sean Shortell, originally from Saratoga Springs, is a 2002 Saratoga Catholic Central High School graduate.

Source: http://saratogian.com/articles/2013/02/21/news/doc5126527b7cf41793708693.txt

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