{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221185436/http://maloney.house.gov/enewsletter/looking-back-2013", "Looking back on 2013", "2013-12-30", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Carolyn Maloney", "M000087", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Saving consumers $21 Billion by Stopping Credit Card Industry Abuses\nA team of researchers, including one from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has found that the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD) I authored and worked to pass is saving consumers $21 billion every year. Thanks to the CARD Act, consumers have saved billions of dollars, young people are better protected from predatory practices, and people all across the country are more satisfied with their credit cards than they\u2019ve been in years.\nRenewing the Violence Against Women Act\nA renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was long delayed by conservatives in the House and Senate. n March, we finally passed an improved VAWA that includes the SAFER Act language I authored to reduce the nation\u2019s untested DNA rape kit backlog. The legislation also included provisions of the Campus SaVE Act I authored to aid colleges in reducing sexual violence on campuses.\nProviding Resources for Hurricane Sandy Recovery\nAfter months of hard work, we secured $60 billion in federal funding that was desperately needed to help New Yorkers recover from Superstorm Sandy. The funds are being used to help people who lost their homes and assist business owners who suffered large losses. They will also help pay for repairing subway and commuter rail lines, fixing bridges and tunnels, and to undertake initiatives that will mitigate the effects of future natural disasters.\nMonitoring Progress on the 2nd\u00a0Avenue Subway\nBuilding the Second Avenue Subway has been one of my top priorities since I was first elected to Congress. New York City\u2019s subway system has not added capacity in over 60 years, and we need to expand. I secured $1.3 billion in federal funding for Phase I of this project, and all but $16.8 million has already been appropriated. We\u2019re making progress\u2014the MTA has completed all tunnel boring, awarded all ten of the project contracts, fulfilled three of the contracts, completed all blasting, and initiated dismantling of muck houses. The overall project has remained on time and on budget for four straight years.\nKeeping Tabs on the East Side Access Project\nLast year, I celebrated the news that tunnel-boring had been completed on the East Side Access project, which will connect Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Grand Central Terminal. This is the largest mass transit initiative under construction anywhere in the United States. When it is finished the ESA will carry LIRR passengers directly to Grand Central Terminal in the core of Manhattan\u2019s Central Business District. It will also create a new LIRR stop in Sunnyside, Queens, helping commuters reach the business district in Long Island City\u2014the fourth largest business district in New York City and the largest in Queens. The federal government is providing $2.6 billion of the project\u2019s cost, currently estimated at $7.3 billion.\n\t\tSecuring High Speed Rail Funding to Improve Harold Interlocking\nAfter Florida declined Federal funds for high-speed rail as part of the Recovery Act, I urged President Obama to direct a portion of that funding to New York. The administration responded by directing $295 million of those funds to improve the \u201cHarold Interlocking,\u201d a century-old intersection of 14 tracks in the Sunnyside, Queens rail yards where hundreds of Northeast Corridor trains converge each day.\nFixing the Kosciuszko Bridge\nIn May, I released a report highlights new data on the Kosciuszko Bridge\u2019s increasingly decaying conditions. The bridge is notorious for accidents and traffic delays and inspectors have flagged several problems that need to be addressed. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to move forward with the New York State Department of Transportation\u2019s $800 million Kosciuszko Bridge Project. Roughly 85 percent of the funding, or $670 million, will be provided by the federal government. The project will create thousands of new jobs, including 1,000 to 1,200 full time construction jobs.\nReducing Overcrowding in our Schools\nAs more New York City families choose to raise their children in our communities, class sizes have risen resulting in the need for new public schools.\u00a0The average elementary school classroom in America has about 20 students, but many of the classrooms in New York\u2019s 12th\u00a0Congressional District have more than 28 students. I have engaged in a multi-year effort to address this problem, and the task forces I initiated have led to the creation of more than half a dozen new schools, including the Eleanor Roosevelt High School, PS 151, PS 267 and PS 527. This year I was delighted to join Department of Education officials and many of my colleagues for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at PS 281, which opened in September at the old Con Ed Waterside site, the largest undeveloped site on the East Side of Manhattan.\u00a0I was also pleased to join elected officials and residents of Western Queens for the PS 312/IS 404 ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hunters Point South this fall.\nExpanding Senior Housing\nOlder New Yorkers should have the option of living in supportive housing that will be affordable and provide the services they need as they age, but the demand for such housing far exceeds the supply.\u00a0This fall I was pleased to join HANAC to celebrate the opening of PCA Residence, a 66-unit affordable housing development for seniors. The $23 million development received $22 million in federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a loan through HUD\u2019s HOME investment partnership program, low income housing tax credits and a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank.\u00a0In addition, residents will receive Section 8 subsidies. Since being elected to Congress, I have worked with local developers to obtain federal funding for six senior housing developments.\nStein Senior Center\nOne of New York City\u2019s largest senior centers, Stein Senior Center, recently lost its space and urgently needed funding to renovate a new space at the Uniformed Firefighters Association headquarters building at 204 East 23rd Street in Manhattan. I worked to ensure that the NYC Department for the Aging would allocate more than $750,000 from the federal Community Development Block Grant to support the rehabilitation of the Center\u2019s new home. This elegant new facility will allow Stein to serve a larger group of seniors, hold a greater variety of classes, and offer even better programs.\nOpposing Garbage Dumps in Residential Communities\nSince my early days in Congress, I have opposed garbage transfer stations in residential areas. Nonetheless, the city\u2019s current solid waste transfer plan calls for the development of a transfer station at 91st\u00a0Street on the East River (MTS).\u00a0The site is adjacent to two public housing developments, three public parks, several schools and a senior center. This area flooded badly during Superstorm Sandy, raising concerns that a similar storm could result in trash running through local streets.\u00a0In fact, new flood maps recently released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency show that the transfer station is located six feet below\u00a0the flood plain.\u00a0The mitigation called for by the Department of Sanitation is woefully inadequate.\u00a0I have authored legislative language, testified at hearings and repeatedly written and spoken with representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to express these concerns. This fall, I worked to attach an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act reauthorization bill on the House floor. My amendment would have required the ACE to review permits issued in areas devastated by Sandy to make sure flood risks were properly understood and evaluated.\u00a0Unfortunately, the House Rules Committee rejected my amendment on a party line vote. I\u2019ll continue working to resolve this issue in the coming year.\nFighting for Stronger Gun Safety Laws  \n\t\tA year after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School little has been done at the federal level to prevent gun crimes. I have supported several measures to stop the bloodshed on our streets, in our schools and other public spaces, including introducing the first bipartisan bill that would make firearms trafficking a federal crime and impose stronger penalties on those who buy guns for convicted felons or others who are prohibited from buying guns on their own. I also cosponsored a bipartisan bill to strengthen background checks. We owe it to the victims of Sandy Hook to take commonsense actions that will prevent future tragedies.\nStanding Against Cuts to Food Assistance  \n\t\tWe should focus on reducing poverty, not nutrition assistance, but the House majority has not relented in their effort to slash SNAP assistance for needy families. After their first attempt at cutting $20 billion in benefits failed, Republicans doubled down with a proposal to cut $40 billion. I\u2019m working to make sure these reductions in food aid are rejected. These cuts are driven by an ideological agenda that benefits nobody and harms those struggling to put food on the table.\nLeading a Bipartisan Effort to Bring a National Women\u2019s History Museum to DC  \n\t\tI am working with Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, to bring a National Women\u2019s National History Museum to Washington, DC. Our bill would form a commission to study the best way to move this project forward. We recognize money is tight, that\u2019s why the entire project, the commission and the study would be funded through private contributions. Bipartisan support is growing in Congress and throughout the country for a museum that acknowledges and commemorates the deep and lasting contributions women have made throughout our history.\nReintroducing the Equal Rights Amendment  \n\t\tMany people today take for granted that equal rights between men and women are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution \u2013 and are shocked when they learn that they are not. To this day, the right to vote is the only constitutionally guaranteed right to the women who make up more than 50 percent of the population. That is why I have reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to give women the constitutional protection they need and deserve.\nPromoting Women in STEM Careers  \n\t\tIn February, I hosted a forum and career fair that promoted women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The two-part event was held at the CUNY Graduate Center and was attended by about 400 high school and college-aged students. The forum featured six prominent female leaders from different STEM fields who shared their thoughts on the future of STEM, the importance of encouraging women to enter STEM fields, and how students can best prepare themselves for professional careers in STEM.\nProtecting Access to Affordable Mortgages\nAs the senior Democrat on the House panel that oversees the housing market, I am working to ensure that middle-class families continue to have access to affordable ways to purchase a home. In November, I hosted roundtable discussions in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan to get feedback from real estate, mortgage and housing experts. I\u2019m continuing to stand against proposals that would make it harder for New Yorkers to own their own homes.\nIntroducing the Overdraft Protection Act\nTo build on the success of the CARD Act, I\u2019ve reintroduced the Overdraft Protection Act to stop banks from charging exorbitant overdraft fees. The bill would require fees to be reasonable and proportional to the amount of the overdraft, limit overdraft fees to one per month and six per year, require banks to get a consumer\u2019s permission before opting them in to an overdraft protection program, and stop banks from manipulating the order of transactions to maximize overdraft fees. If you\u2019ve been a victim of overdraft fee abuse, please contact my office today.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221185436/http://maloney.house.gov/enewsletter/looking-back-2013"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6553970053792, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}