Southern Tier Republican Nick Langworthy is preparing for his second term as the representative for New York’s 23rd Congressional District. The district covers Tioga and Chemung counties and parts of Steuben and Schuyler counties.
During a virtual press conference earlier this month, Langworthy said one of his priorities during his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives is tackling inflation. According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation rose by 2.9 percent annually last month.
He also said he plans to help secure the southern border and ensure America is meeting more of its energy needs. He said he plans to do that by lifting restrictions on offshore drilling and rolling back other Biden administration policies that promoted renewable energy.
He also wants to revisit the 2018 Farm Bill, which provides funding for agriculture conservation and business, as well as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“We have excellent legislation built into the base text of the farm bill that we reported out of the Agriculture Committee,” said Langworthy. “[...] particularly something like the Careers Act, which would increase workforce development in our rural communities.”
Langworthy also wants to reauthorize the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes for most Americans. Reports show that extending it could add about $4 trillion to the deficit during the next 10 years.
These proposals align with incoming President Donald Trump’s 100-day agenda.
Langworthy said he plans to work across the aisle with Democrats on common sense proposals to get things done.
“We can work in a bipartisan fashion to get the country going back in the right direction,” Langworthy said. “But make no mistake, we are going to deliver, with or without that bipartisan cooperation.“
WSKG asked Langworthy how he will work to protect water, air and soil from harmful PFAS “forever chemicals”, which have been found to cause reproductive issues, developmental delays in children, and some cancers.
“Down the road we might get into more specific questions with the PFAS question [...] but I would await conversations with the incoming EPA administrator.“
Former Congressman Lee Zeldin is President Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. While in Congress, Zeldin voted in favor of additional restrictions on PFAS chemicals, however, it is unclear what his approach will be at the EPA.
Langworthy also said he was glad to be appointed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad oversight over several areas including telecommunications, consumer protection, public health, and energy policy.
“Nearly every piece of legislation on President Trump's early agenda will go through the Energy and Commerce Committee, and I'm thrilled that Western New York and the Southern Tier will have a seat at that table.“
Langworthy is also a founding member of the newly formed “Make America Healthy Again” caucus, which aims to tackle challenges like chronic illness, obesity and food insecurity and will work in collaboration with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy is President Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Critics of Kennedy say he has made misleading, false and conspiratorial claims about topics including vaccines, COVID-19, AIDS, raw milk and fluoride to name a few.
Thousands of doctors and scientists are urging the U.S. Senate to reject Kennedy’s nomination.
A date has not been set for Kennedy’s Senate confirmation hearing.
During a recent press conference, Langworthy said regulations and ingredients in America's food supply, approved at the federal level, need to be looked into.
“We have to make sure that we're making decisions not in the best interest of corporations, but in the best interests of our children, in their health and tackling America's obesity problems,” said Langworthy. “And some of these ingredients I think have to be heavily scrutinized.”
The caucus will support underserved and rural communities.
Langworthy was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 3 to the 119th Congress.