The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Randy Kuhl made today's front page [pdf] (jump [pdf]) of the Corning Leader.  Kuhl gets credit for a slew of earmarks that accompanied the omnibus budget bill.  Thanks to reader Elmer for sending this in.  The Star-Gazette also has a  story on the same topic, as well as one on the energy bill, which Kuhl supported in its final form.

Turns out that the reason they call things rumors is that they might not be true.  Exile at Rochesterturning notes that Randy Kuhl did not go to Iraq after all.

The Hornell Evening Tribune has a story on Kuhl's vote for the Omnibus spending bill, which is a giant conglomeration of appropriations bills patched together to get Congress home by Christmas.

The Democrat and Chronicle has a story about local Members of Congress who lease vehicles at taxpayers' expense. Randy is the only Rochester-area rep who doesn't do this.

Louise Slaughter (NY-28) leases the most expensive car, a Buick Lucerne.  If you're over 60 and live in Rochester, you drive some kind of Buick sedan, and Louise is no exception. The only difference between her and some of my older neighbors is that Uncle Sam foots the bill for her GM boat.

Exile over at Rochesterturning has heard rumors that Randy Kuhl recently paid, or is paying, a visit to Iraq.  

The Hornell Evening Tribune covers Randy Kuhl's second vote against cutting the Alternative Minimum Tax.   My take on the AMT, and fiscal discipline, can be read here.

Rochester Channel 13 has an in-depth story on Randy Kuhl's trip to Brazil.  It includes an itinerary.  Money quote:

Kuhl was not available for interview, but, he wrote in a statement, "New York can learn to develop its own natural resources, such as switch grass and other cellulosic feed stocks, in a similar fashion."

But, he only had to travel to Ithaca where scientists at Cornell University are conducting highly respected research on bio-fuels like switch grass.

The six-day trip to Brazil included 25 events and meetings. But, while Kuhl has touted the importance of studying bio-fuels, only 7 of the 25 events included anything about energy.

Update:  Channel 13 has posted the video, and the second part of the video segment features an interview with a biofuels consultant who disagrees that the trip would help Kuhl understand cellulosic ethanol, and she also thinks that his explanation for the vote against the energy bill was "almost laughable".  Video embed after the break:

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Randy Kuhl hasn't been in the State Senate for over three years, but his Senate grants and earmarks still make the paper.  Reader Elmer sends this example from the front page of today's Corning Leader [pdf].

Reader Elmer sends a story from the Corning Leader [pdf] about Randy Kuhl's appearance at the dedication of the community center in Addison.  This example of retail politics is one of the many examples of the natural advantages of incumbency. 

Another is the high-quality four-color foldout [pdf] I received earlier this week from Rep. Kuhl's office.  This mailer, produced and mailed at taxpayer's expense, is an example of the power of the franking privilege.  Each representative uses their franking budgets in different ways.  Before I was gerrymandered out of Louise Slaughter's district (NY-28), I used to receive her mailings, which were more like a cheap newsletter than Kuhl's polished document.  As of 1997, each Member of Congress' franking budget was $112,000, a number which has probably been adjusted for inflation in the last decade.

The five anti-war protesters who occupied Randy Kuhl's offices in Bath today received a stay of execution of their sentences until an appeal next April. 

Update:  Reader Elmer sends the Corning Leader coverage of the stay, and WENY and the Ithaca Journal also have the story.

The Hornell Evening Tribune has a story on Kuhl's energy bill vote, which also contains Eric Massa's reaction to Kuhl's vote.