Dear Friends,

It is my greatest honor to represent you in Congress. As always, my mission is to advocate for the North Country’s priorities at the highest levels of government. Here is a look at my last week working for you in Congress.
I am leading the charge to hold President Biden accountable for his open border policies that are directly impacting New York State.
 
In a letter, I called on President Biden to stop transporting illegal immigrants into New York State from the Southern Border and requested the location and status of each of these illegal immigrants who have already been transferred to New York. 

After video footage showed illegal immigrants arriving by plane in White Plains, New York, every New Yorker deserves to know the truth. New Yorkers have had enough of the Biden Administration’s open border policies that make every state a border state.
This week, I joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business to discuss how the border crisis is directly impacting New York families and more.
Every family in the North Country is suffering from the highest inflation rate in my lifetime. Yet, instead of proposing real solutions to address this crisis, Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are pushing through another partisan bill that concedes American interests to the Chinese Communist Party.
 
Currently, the Chinese Communist Party is actively spreading propaganda and engaging in intellectual property theft and various forms of espionage on American college campuses. But House Democrats proved they fail to take this seriously by blocking consideration of my six amendments that would address this threat to our national security and our future generation.
 
Additionally, this bill is more focused on climate provisions that would award China with American taxpayer dollars rather than counter their malign influence. It also fails to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world, support our allies like Taiwan facing Chinese aggression, or curtail China’s military weapons development.
 
While House Democrats continue to kowtow to China, I will continue to fight to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its actions and put America first.
This week, I led the House Republican Conference in speaking out about this dangerous bill that concedes American interests.
Over 50% of drones sold in the U.S. are made by Chinese-based company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI), but we learned this week that the Chinese government is an investor in DJI, directly contradicting DJI’s public statements regarding their relationship with the Chinese government.
 
This week, I introduced the Countering CCP Drones Act, legislation that would not allow DJI drones legally to operate on U.S. communications infrastructure by adding DJI to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List.
 
Allowing DJI to continue operations in America poses an unacceptable national security risk. Chinese law provides the Chinese government with power to compel DJI to participate in and assist in its espionage activities. The possibility that DJI drones could be equipped to send live imagery of military installations, critical infrastructure, and the personal lives of American citizens to China presents too great a threat.
 
As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I will fight against the CCP’s drones and the security threat they pose to America and to the North Country.
Once again, our nation has called upon the 10th Mountain Division to meet our most pressing national security challenges. U.S. troops are being deployed to Poland, Germany, and Romania, and 200 Fort Drum soldiers will be deployed to our allied countries outside of Ukraine as part of the Department of Defense’s support to our allies and partners in Europe.
 
The 10th Mountain Division was one of the first conventional units deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11 and one of the last to leave. For over 20 years of war, the 10th Mountain Division became the most deployed Division in the U.S. Army, and now, the men and women at Fort Drum will once again be protecting our national security interests. This deployment to our NATO allies in Europe is a testament to the courage and capabilities the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum bring to protect American national security.
The day after this announcement, I joined the Advocate Drum meeting for updates on Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division. Be assured, I am closely monitoring the pending deployment of 200 troops to our NATO allies in Europe and am standing by ready to assist the entire Fort Drum community.
The New York Farm Laborers Wage Board decided to lower the overtime threshold from 60 to 40 hours over the next decade.
 
This decision proves once again how out-of-touch Albany Democrats are with our agricultural community. Lowering the overtime threshold will jeopardize the future of New York's agriculture industry, put thousands of farm laborers out of work, and increase the unemployment rate in New York and across the nation.
 
In November, I made it known I was opposed to the lowering of this threshold on behalf of North Country farmers when I urged the Board to indefinitely postpone any overtime threshold reduction. The North Country is home to thousands of dairy farmers, apple growers, and maple producers, who work tirelessly to provide for our communities but will sadly be forced to bear the burdens of another poor decision made in Albany.
I am publicly calling for the full reinstatement of a dedicated Pre-K teacher in Fulton County who was wrongfully put on administrative leave and outrageously escorted from her classroom.
 
A widely-respected Fulton County Pre-K teacher shared one of my Facebook posts on her private, personal Facebook page, and now is no longer allowed on school property. Teachers have been forced to comply with unscientific mandates that are negatively impacting students, and now they are being illegally punished for sharing their personal opinions about these detrimental policies.
 
My office is pushing for accountability by submitting Freedom of Information Law requests to any party who played a role in this suspension. The documentation surrounding this event should be released immediately in response to the Mayfield Central School District’s attempt to cover it up. I am also calling for the resignation of any and all Administrators who made this wrongful determination.
 
I will always stand up for teachers and students in New York's 21st Congressional District.



Good News for the North Country
As the home to Lake Placid, New York’s 21st District has a rich and unique Olympic tradition. I join the families across our district in cheering all of our North Country athletes and those representing Team USA in this year’s Winter Games.
 
Our North Country athletes have trained and prepared, and now it is time for their hard work and dedication to pay off. We are cheering for Team USA!
In The News
This week's top news stories:
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I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your representative in Congress.

As part of my commitment to transparency, I post all of my votes to my Facebook page every Friday on weeks that the House of Representatives has votes, which you can find here.

Please know I am here to serve you. Never hesitate to reach out to my offices.  

Sincerely,
Elise
Washington, D.C.
2211 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202)-225-4611
Fax: (202)-226-0621
Glens Falls
5 Warren Street, Suite 4
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Phone: (518)-743-0964
Fax: (518)-743-1391
Watertown
88 Public Square
Suite A
Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315)-782-3150
Fax: (315)-782-1291
Plattsburgh
137 Margaret Street
Suite 100
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (518)-561-2324
Fax: (518)-561-2408