POUGHKEEPSIE – Republican House Member Christopher Gibson (NY-19)
and Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) often sound like they are members
of the same political party. Both are known for reaching across the aisle
in legislative work.
They discussed their efforts to team up at a Hudson Valley Pattern for
Progress “Across the Aisle” forum in Poughkeepsie on Wednesday.
Maloney shared some of the areas Gibson and he have had successful collaborations
on so far.
“Right now, we’re still working on what we call the ‘Blue
Water Navy Bill’ that will help extend benefits to veterans of the
Vietnam War who were on Navy ships and exposed to Agent Orange and in
addition, we passed the most important Lime Disease legislation that has
ever been passed at the federal level; that will make a real difference
in our communities,” said Maloney. “These are all measures
Chris Gibson and I have worked on together.”
Also, Gibson and Maloney are currently working on a bill to promote agriculture
in New York State by allowing farmers who have successfully paid their
acquired loans for 10 years to receive loan forgiveness after that 10-year
period.
For education, the two candidates are working on the Higher Education
Bill which will help alleviate student debt and improve paths to employment.
Although Gibson and Maloney are, and have been, successfully working together,
they do not agree on everything. Most notably, according to Maloney, is
the push by Gibson of a federal Republican agenda that he feels will not
work at the state level. However, despite their disagreements, Gibson
said it is important for them to work together as best as they can because
they are, in fact, hired by their constituents in order to meet their
needs.
“There’s an expectation that once the voting is done, that
we will come together and govern and I think a forum like today shows
that we are able to do that,” said Gibson. “We still have
our differences but, we find common ground where we can and we get important
legislation enacted for the American people.”
Maloney and Gibson said they will continue to work together on behalf
of their constituents until Gibson’s tenure is up since he will
not be seeking re-election in the upcoming congressional race.
