Ensuring Safety for All
“This funding is evidence of Congressman Ryan’s strong commitment to public safety, and will go a long way towards helping law enforcement deal with the many issues facing our communities today. I would like to take this time to thank Congressman Ryan not only for this, but for all of his efforts in support of law enforcement and community safety.”- Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati
Hudson Valley families deserve to feel safe when they walk the streets of their neighborhood or take a trip downtown.
First and foremost, that means delivering for our local law enforcement departments. Our officers work tirelessly to keep our communities safe, and I’m pushing every day to get them the support they deserve. One of my first votes in Congress was to pass the Invest to Protect Act of 2022 to better fund the local law enforcement workforce. Since then, I’ve proudly secured $375,000 for the Town of Poughkeepsie to start a new Community Policing Unit to bolster public safety, $400,000 for Ulster County to fund its ORACLE team to implement crisis intervention strategies and tackle drug addiction, and $300,000 for the Middletown Police Department to prevent crime in their downtown.
Our first responders undertake great risk and make huge sacrifices to protect our families and communities - I’m committed to delivering the resources they need. Last year, I joined with Hudson Valley fire departments to unveil my Fighting for Firefighters Plan to ensure that our firefighters and their families get the benefits they deserve, while at the same time increasing federal funding for local departments. As a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I’m proud to also cosponsor the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, the Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection and Prevention Act, the Federal Firefighters Pay Equity Act, and the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2023.
I’m backing up legislation with action, too, delivering $324,450 for the Poughkeepsie Fire Department to purchase safer breathing equipment, helping Newburgh secure huge Assistance to Firefighters Grants, and fighting for federal funding for the Tivoli Fire Department to complete a major infrastructure overhaul and for the Rifton Fire Department to build a completely new firehouse.
I’m determined to keep illicit fentanyl out of our communities. I’ve made repeated calls for increased funding to combat illicit fentanyl trafficking, including demanding that H.R. 2 - the far-right’s border security bill - included $800 million to stop the flow of fentanyl across our southern border. I’m proud to cross the aisle to tackle this issue, cosponsoring the bipartisan Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act and the END FENTANYL Act.
The weapons that I carried in war have no place on our streets. Period. I cosponsor the Assault Weapons Ban, Ethan’s Law for safe storage, both the Bipartisan and the Enhanced Background Checks Acts, and the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act. When far-right House leadership blocked commonsense gun reform from being voted on, I signed discharge petitions to force votes on these laws that would keep our streets and schools safe. I also cosponsored the Office of Gun Violence Prevention Act of 2023, which led to President Biden establishing the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention in September.
