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About this blog

Senator Tom O'Mara's ( R- NY 58th ) weekly column. 

Entries in this blog

Nourish NY Emerges As A Highlight Of Effective Government

Nourish NY Emerges As A Highlight Of Effective Government

One of the most positive state-level actions heading into this holiday season was the recent enactment of a new law I helped co-sponsor and strongly supported to make the “Nourish New York” program a permanent fixture of New York government moving forward.  It is the product of legislation (S4892/A5781, Chapter 631 of the Laws of 2021) that received overwhelming bipartisan support in the state Senate and Assembly, where it was unanimously approved earlier this year, and was recently signed
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Courage And Conviction Honored On Memorial Day

Courage And Conviction Honored On Memorial Day

From Arlington to Gettysburg to Woodlawn and hundreds of other national veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across this land, Americans will gather once again to observe Memorial Day. The nation’s long-standing Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital is highlighted by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on which the following words are inscribed, “Here rests in honored glory an American solider known but to God.” Therein lies
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Attorney General Report A Beginning, Not The End

Attorney General Report A Beginning, Not The End

To summarize where we stand in our months-long effort to better understand the tragedy that is New York’s COVID-19 nursing home crisis -- and the Cuomo administration’s response to it – we now have a report from the state attorney general. It arrived last week after months and months of repeated requests -- from legislators (including myself), Democrat and Republican, reporters, watchdog groups, and from family members who have lost loved ones in nursing homes – for the most basic of inform
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Strengthening Public Safety Must Be A Priority

Strengthening Public Safety Must Be A Priority

The state Senate Republican conference recently unveiled a comprehensive package of legislation aimed at protecting crime victims. It follows our efforts throughout the past year to push back against the rise of violent crimes and increasing criminal activity in cities and communities throughout New York resulting, in our view, from an overall pro-criminal, anti-police climate fostered under all-Democrat rule in state government – and actions still being pursued by Governor Andrew Cuomo and
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Approaching The New Year With Hope

Approaching The New Year With Hope

Finally. Heading toward the beginning of a new year, the ongoing distribution of more widespread COVID-19 vaccinations appears to be the long-awaited mile marker on this incredibly long and hard road back to public health and economic renewal. First and foremost, make no mistake that reaching this point of potential renewal is the product of personal responsibility, and enormous perseverance and sacrifice on the part of so many. Every single one of you who have heard the public he
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Local Roads Are Essential

Local Roads Are Essential

Since the adoption of the 2021-2022 state budget, I have been outspoken in my strong criticism of this massive $212-billion, tax-and-spend fiscal plan that sets in motion a whole host of future, long-term commitments to massive new spending and taxing by New YorkState government. There are places in this budget, however, that do address the right priorities and that deserve to be highlighted as positive and vital to the future. As I’ve also noted, that better be the case with $18 billi
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Honoring The Memory Of The 11th Day

Honoring The Memory Of The 11th Day

The years keep passing, twenty now, and Americans of all ages will never forget. Two decades later, we can never forget. Throughout this 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that forever altered our nation and the world, we will, in the words of former President George W. Bush, pause to “honor the memory of the 11th day.” There will be solemn observances at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Washington, at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Rescuing New York Now More Urgent Than Ever

Rescuing New York Now More Urgent Than Ever

To kick off the 2023 legislative session – one that we believed represented a pivotal session with New York at a crossroads in so many areas – the Senate Republican Conference put forth a comprehensive set of goals to help rebuild and strengthen local and state economies, focus on the financial challenges facing many middle-class families and small business owners, and make public safety a top priority. At that time back in early January, I said, “New Yorkers across the Southern Tier and Fi
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

1
Never Tire In Honoring America's Heroes

Never Tire In Honoring America's Heroes

This week’s Veterans Day observance could not arrive at a more important time for our nation -- as a reminder and as a reflection.  If there is a single national day of honor on the calendar that can and should serve to unite us, it’s this one.  Veterans Day offers a chance to pause to remember the fundamental greatness of the United States of America and those who have made it so, and then to keep pushing forward – pushing forward to find solid ground again during a time that has upended s
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Upending And Uprooting The Fabric Of Our Community

Upending And Uprooting The Fabric Of Our Community

New York State governors continue to be full of surprises. Governor Kathy Hochul is the latest.   Early last week, she abruptly announced that the Southport Correctional Facility in the Southern Tier, the Willard Drug Treatment Campus and the Rochester Correctional Facility in the Finger Lakes, two North Country facilities, and a prison in the mid-Hudson Valley are slated to close on March 10, 2022.  Six correctional facilities in total impacting and uprooting more than a thousand stat
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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A Critically Important Budget For Future Generations

A Critically Important Budget For Future Generations

Last March, right around this time, we were at the beginning stages of a COVID-19 response that would turn the world and our individual lives upside down in ways most of us never envisioned at the start.  It was also at this time last year that Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders in the Senate and Assembly were negotiating a new state budget. Once the details of the state’s 2020-21 fiscal plan began to leak out, I issued the following warning on March 23, 2020, “We are facing an unpreced
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Dark Spots In Governor's Vision For NY's Energy Future

Dark Spots In Governor's Vision For NY's Energy Future

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has now put forth one of her administration’s most ambitious public policy proposals to date and, in doing so, gave all of us a good look at her administration’s vision for addressing one of our state’s most urgent short- and long-term challenges: energy.  With that in mind, it’s fair to say at this juncture that the Hochul administration is squarely following in the footsteps of the Cuomo administration – which only continues to raise serious and troubling qu
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Governor And Allies Caught Circling The Wagons

Governor And Allies Caught Circling The Wagons

Albany at the moment may best be described by a few lines from All The President’s Men, “It leads everywhere. Get out your notebook. There’s more.” In fact, there was a lot more at the State Capitol last Thursday night when reporters from the New York Post dropped a bombshell scoop detailing a secret virtual meeting of top legislative Democrats and members of Governor Cuomo’s inner circle. The Post obtained an audio recording of the Democrats-only meeting and the story quotes one of th
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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Step Outside And Grow The Economy

Step Outside And Grow The Economy

Among numerous other designations, the month of June is recognized as National Great Outdoors Month.  It is worth some attention here in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes. At a time when we need to stay in pursuit of every possible ray of hope, it is one bright spot in an otherwise cloudy and unsettled economic future.  The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) gets right to the point, “Outdoor recreation is an economic force.”  It’s a point well taken and one that governmental lead
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Governing From One Cuomo Emergency To The Next

Governing From One Cuomo Emergency To The Next

Governor Andrew Cuomo declared another State of Emergency in New York State last week – just about 14 days after finally calling an end to the COVID-19 emergency declaration -- and immediately began issuing a new round of the “Cuomo executive orders” that have now become the way of governing in this state.  Not surprisingly the governor touted his new “Disaster Emergency on Gun Violence” with what’s become his go-to playbook while he eyes a fourth term in office and fights for political sur
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
God Bless America And God Bless Our Troops

God Bless America And God Bless Our Troops

From Arlington and Gettysburg to Woodlawn and Bath and hundreds of other national veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across this land, Americans will gather once again to observe Memorial Day.  The nation’s long-standing Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital is highlighted by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on which the following words are inscribed, “Here rests in honored glory an American solider known but to God.” 
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Spreading The Word About Lyme Disease

Spreading The Word About Lyme Disease

May is officially designated as Lyme Disease Awareness Month because, according to the Lyme Disease Research Foundation, it is the “most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the United States.”  Several years ago, when I was serving as a member of the Senate Task Force on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases, as well as chairing the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, the Southern Tier was identified as a hotbed for Lyme disease, according to data released by the state Department of Hea
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Keep Turning The Page This Summer

Keep Turning The Page This Summer

Numbers help tell every story.  For example, many studies have helped make the case that children who read during the summer months make greater academic gains in the following school year than children who do not.   In fact, statistics on the “summer slide” jump right off the page, including that:  Students can lose up to 25 percent of their reading level over the summer;  Children who don’t engage in summer reading lose approximately two months of instructional time, or rou
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
The Albany Mindset Refuses To See What's Happening

The Albany Mindset Refuses To See What's Happening

The extreme Albany Democrat mindset refuses to see what’s happening all around us and that it can happen anywhere.  Every day.  On the night of Thursday, July 21, in the city of Rochester, two police officers were ambushed and shot, an attack which took the life of Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the police force.   Rochester Police Chief David Smith would later say, “I was asked by the media, ‘How dangerous is it out there for the officers of the Rochester Poli
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Opioid Crisis Remains Major Area Of Concern

Opioid Crisis Remains Major Area Of Concern

We were reminded not long ago, as part of the most recent National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, of just how serious and deadly the opioid crisis remains across our region, state, and nation.  The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted the dramatic impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on opioid addictions. According to the CDC, nearly 84,000 Americans overdosed during the latest 12-month period.  It is a stark reminder of an ongoing crisis that continues
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Keeping Us In The Dark On Energy Future

Keeping Us In The Dark On Energy Future

A recent joint Senate-Assembly public hearing helped make it clear where New York State is headed on a radical remaking of our energy landscape: nobody truly knows.   Remember that last December, the state’s Climate Action Council released final recommendations to implement far-reaching renewable energy mandates for all New Yorkers. These mandates were set in motion four years ago by the “Climate Leadership and Climate Protection Act” (CLCPA) signed into law by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo an
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
NY Not Addressing Root Causes Of Ongoing Economic Uncertainty

NY Not Addressing Root Causes Of Ongoing Economic Uncertainty

I was pleased recently to have New York’s leading small business association, the National Federation of Independent Business of New York (NFIB/NY), reaffirm my commitment to the future of small business and revitalizing our state and local economies overall.  As part of the organization’s 2021-2022 legislative review, I was one of seven state senators to earn a 100% rating on how priority issues were addressed for small business owners across New York.  The NFIB/NY “Voting Record” can
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
The Worst Of NY's COVID Response Belongs To Two Governors

The Worst Of NY's COVID Response Belongs To Two Governors

In the end, when the retrospectives of New York’s COVID-19 response have been completed – and, eventually, they will be – what transpired within the state’s nursing homes and the loss of more than 15,000 lives will finally be granted the total, transparent scrutiny it demands.  Sadly, at the moment, this desperately needed assessment and examination appears not to be a priority for Governor Kathy Hochul, despite her reassurances a few months back that her administration would be reexamining
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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NY's Spending Spree Already Proving Unsustainable

NY's Spending Spree Already Proving Unsustainable

It didn’t take long and it’s not good news for future taxpayers.  In April, when Governor Kathy Hochul and the Democrat legislative majorities in the Senate and Assembly finished stocking up what would become New York’s largest-ever state budget, many of us warned about its irrational spending.  Remember that the final 2022-2023 budget rang in at over $220 billion, hiking New York government spending by at least $8 billion over last year while simply ignoring the overriding need for ma
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

0
Taking Back NY Is More Important Than Ever

Taking Back NY Is More Important Than Ever

To kick off the 2022 session of the State Legislature – one that we believed represented one of the truly pivotal sessions in modern history, with New York at a crossroads in so many areas – the Senate Republican Conference put forth a comprehensive set of goals to help rebuild and strengthen local and state economies, focus on the financial challenges facing many middle-class families and small business owners, and make public safety a top priority. It was called “Take Back New York” and w
Senator Tom O'Mara

Senator Tom O'Mara

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