The Peru Gazette

As I turn the page to a new chapter, I want to express my appreciation to all of you for allowing me to serve as your Congressman.

I have often said that our district is made up of Rockefeller Republicans and Reagan Democrats, and I have done my best to bring your reasonableness and moderate approach to Washington. For those who disagreed with me on occasion, I appreciate that our conversations were respectful and thoughtful.

Whether dealing with specific cases or national issues, my goal has always been to act in the best interest of the region. That regional focus drove my efforts to improve policies governing trade, agriculture, energy, veterans’ services, and more.

Encouraging trade and tourism by making it easier for people, goods, and services to cross the border from Canada safely and efficiently is critical for our region’s economy. Our proximity to markets in Canada provides local businesses unique opportunities for growth. To this end, I worked to secure funding for upgrades to the Land Port of Entry at Alexandria Bay and monitored dwell times at all border crossings across the district. I authored legislation, which became law, to counter the trafficking of narcotics across our northern border, ensuring that the vast majority of trade and travel would be legitimate and safe. I also hosted several export events to help local businesses understand and take advantage of resources available to help them grow through exports.

To support the agriculture industry, I wrote several pieces of legislation that were incorporated into the 2014 Farm Bill to reduce the cost of exporting apples to Canada, expand access to credit for family farms, and encourage the expansion of New York’s maple industry. I consistently advocated for passage of comprehensive immigration reform to address our region’s agricultural labor shortage, which is perhaps the greatest threat to this important sector of our economy.

Throughout my term I worked closely with local, state, and national leaders to strengthen and protect Fort Drum, which is critical to both the health of the North Country economy and to national security and military readiness. Our district is also home to many veterans, some who must travel long distances to reach VA facilities that offer the healthcare services they need. I was pleased to see both parties work together toward system-wide VA reform.

My offices have worked diligently to help nearly 6000 people in an economically effective manner, allowing us to return more than $500,000 to the Treasury from office budgets and to secure almost $9.5 million in waived fees and compensation that was due to constituents.

Moving forward we should keep a positive attitude and support growth industries like biomass and tourism, encourage Canadian businesses to expand in the district, increase investments in rural broadband, and train workers for the thousands of unfilled jobs in our district. I would like to commend to each of you the thought that politics is almost never a competition between good and evil or right and wrong, but rather between competing goods.

As I prepare to leave office, I would like to thank my staff members in New York and Washington, who played an instrumental role in what we were able to achieve these past five years. Most importantly, I am grateful to the constituents of New York’s 21st Congressional District for sending me to Congress, and for the trust you vested in me during my time in office. It has been my great privilege to serve you. God bless each of you and our great country.
Congressman Bill Owens, NY-21