Senator Sean Ryan Highlights Successful First Month In Office

SENATOR SEAN RYAN HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESSFUL FIRST MONTH IN OFFICE

In His First Month In the New York State Senate, Ryan Has Fought To
Protect Taxpayer Dollars, Jumpstart Our Economy, And Much More

BUFFALO – Today, January 31, 2021, New York State Senator Sean Ryan highlighted his successful first month in office, which has seen the Senator address significant issues impacting Western New York.

Senator Sean Ryan said “I promised the people of Western New York that if they elected me to the State Senate, no one would work or fight harder for our region, and I am focused on delivering on that promise. This first month has seen many challenges including the insurrection at the Capitol, the rollout of the COVID vaccine, and many issues impacting our economy. Throughout it all I have been focused on delivering real results and solving problems. I thank the people of the 60th District for putting their faith in me to get the job done.”

Pushed The US Attorney In WNY To Hold People Accountable For The Capitol Insurrection: Following the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6th, Senator Ryan pushed the United States Attorney for Western New York to take quick action to hold those who invaded the Capitol accountable. Just days after the incident, US Attorneys across the country began to charge individuals involved, but the WNY US Attorney had not, despite a mountain of evidence. Following Senator Ryan’s advocacy, at least one suspect was charged with multiple offenses.

Advocated For Better Access, Reliability, And Affordability For High-Speed Internet: Senator Ryan authored an op-ed in the Buffalo News pushing for more reliable and affordable high-speed broadband access. More than 9 million residents in our state do not have access to high-speed internet. This puts many New Yorkers at a significant disadvantage and exacerbates the digital divide, slows economic growth and fuels inequality.

Urged The State And Federal Governments To Improve Rollout Of The COVID Vaccine: Senator Ryan urged the state to quickly fix the vaccination registration website, which has been slow and difficult for New Yorkers to use, especially for seniors. Senator Ryan also urged the federal government to increase supply of the vaccine and use the Defense Production Act to do so saying “Hopefully with the Biden Administration working with the private providers and hopefully using the Defense Procurement Act we can get a 'giddyup' on the vaccine production."

Fought To Protect Taxpayer Dollars In Hamburg: With the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency looking to provide million in taxpayer dollars to support a new Amazon project in Hamburg, Senator Ryan pushed back to prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting low-wage jobs saying "We only get one shot at this and I think we can do better. We have to do better. I don't think anyone is under the illusion that a $15 an hour Amazon worker is going to be moving into Hamburg and buying a household.”

Pushed For The Restoration Of A Robust Refugee Resettlement Program And Increased Funding: President Biden has committed to increase refugee admissions to 125,000, and Senator Ryan is pushing the new administration to quickly rebuild the infrastructure necessary to make that goal a reality. Refugees coming to New York have helped to avert population losses, create small businesses, and are contributing to the economic growth of communities across New York. More than 94% of refugees who arrive in New York settle in upstate communities. The City of Buffalo has seen the greatest number, with more than 16,000 refugee resettlements since 2002.

Celebrated New Good-Paying Manufacturing Jobs In  Tonawanda And  Grand Island: Senator Ryan celebrated news this month that new good-paying manufacturing jobs will soon be coming to Tonawanda and Grand Island, thanks to support from New York State. Low-cost power from NYPA will allow Life Technologies in Grand Island to expand, creating 140 jobs, and support from the Excelsior Jobs Program will allow Pine Pharmaceuticals in Tonawanda to hire 40 new full-time permanent employees and retain 85 existing full-time permanent employees.

Passed Legislation To Advance  Major Voting Reforms And Support Small Businesses: Senator Ryan joined his colleagues to advance major legislation to improve New York State’s electoral system and empower voters, as well as support small businesses and the restaurant industry. The electoral reforms include speeding up the absentee ballot counting process and permanently authorizing absentee ballot drop boxes. Senator Ryan also voted in favor of legislation to support the small businesses that have taken the brunt impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Ryan helped pass a Small Business Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium and a bill Restricting Third-Party Delivery Fees which have hit restaurants hard.

Pushed New York State To Hold Amigone Accountable In Tonawanda: This month, the state DEC allowed Amigone to reopen after Senator Ryan, Assemblyman Conrad, and Tonawanda board members called on the DEC to permanently revoke the crematory’s permit and force its relocation. Senator Ryan pushed the state to take action to hear from the public and hold Amigone accountable saying “While the fine and new consent decree from the DEC are a good first step, I'm not convinced that Amigone's crematory should be able to continue to operate, with the health and safety of Tonawanda residents at risk. “We have been through this before, and the public has a right to be highly skeptical of what's happening at Amigone. I have questions, and the public has questions about the health impact on surrounding neighborhoods. The DEC must organize a virtual public forum as soon as possible to ensure the public can ask questions about the path forward for Amigone."

Advocated For Significant Reforms Following Attorney General’s  Nursing Home Report: Following the release of a report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James detailing disturbing action from for-profit nursing homes during the pandemic, Senator Ryan pushed for reform stating “This is a prime example of why we need fundamental reform of our nursing home system. We need to re-examine it from top to bottom. Fines should act as deterrents to bad behavior, but the current fine structure is basically a slap on the wrist for these for-profit nursing homes.”

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