Lucas,
We're only two months into the New Year, but already Kirsten has been tireless in her advocacy for New Yorkers, traveling throughout New York promoting local manufacturing and her Made in America bill to create more good-paying middle-class jobs. So far she's visited Yonkers, Farmingdale, Newburgh, Lancaster, West Henrietta, East Syracuse, East Greenbush, Ticonderoga, Utica, Massena, New Berlin and Hornell. In fact, she has already visited 19 of New York's 62 counties – and it's only March.
Beyond her travel here at home, Kirsten has been prolific in Washington as well. In January, she was instrumental in helping pass $60 billion in critical aid to Hurricane Sandy Victims and just last week, she announced that she will hold her first-ever hearing as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee on combating sexual assault in the military, winning big praise along the way.
She has also made great strides on commonsense gun reform, introducing the first bipartisan reform in Congress since the Newtown tragedy. The bill will be part of the bipartisan consensus gun trafficking legislation marked up in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow.
This past weekend, Kirsten traveled to Selma, Alabama to march with civil rights legend John Lewis and Vice President Biden to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the civil rights march to Montgomery (also known as "Bloody Sunday"). The trip this year had particular pertinence for Kirsten's legislative agenda as she and Lewis are leading the bicameral push to pass the Voter Empowerment Act. The Act will address many of the issues of voter disenfranchisement that the President spoke so eloquently about in his Inauguration and State of the Union speeches.
Since she returned from Alabama, she's had a busy week, appearing on Morning Joe to discuss the civil rights pilgrimage, headlining a panel at the AIPAC conference with Senator McCain, visiting wounded warriors at Walter Reed and sitting down for a BuzzFeed Brews interview. She's also working hard trying to avert the sequester, which she was one of only seven Democrats to vote against, and the upcoming government shutdown on March 27, before she heads to the Middle East with stops in Israel, Jordan and maybe Turkey.
As if all that wasn't enough, Kirsten is also getting ready for some big fights, including repealing DOMA and raising the minimum wage.
As you can see, winning her full six year term last November hasn't slowed Kirsten down – if anything she's more determined than ever to get things working again in Washington. As always, thanks to all of you for your continued support. Kirsten and all of us on her team know we couldn't do it without you.
Emily Berman
Gillibrand for Senate
