Stefanik focused on Republican core tenets in run for reelection

Oct. 27—WATERTOWN — As she runs for Congress to represent a majority of the north country, Rep. Elise M. Stefanik said she's focused on turning the core parts of the Republican Party's message into legislation, and she's confident her party will gain the majority in the national legislature.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Watertown Daily Times editorial board on Wednesday, Rep. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, reiterated the core tenets of the Republican Party's "Commitment to America" platform, which she has been a key part of creating as chair of the House Republican Conference.

"People are understanding all the problems that single-party Democrat rule has created, and they know about the border crisis and they know about the inflation crisis," she said. "We think it's important to put forth our agenda. The themes of that are: an economy that's strong, a nation that's safe, a future that's based on freedom and a government that's accountable to the nation."

Rep. Stefanik started off by focusing on the economy, much the same way the national Republican Party has focused on the economy in its campaign messaging this year. Rep. Stefanik is key to much of that unity in the party's message, in her role as conference chair, No. 3 in the Republican House leadership team and entrusted with the job of unifying the party's messaging.

"Inflation is the No. 1 top concern, and that's the case all across the country, but it's definitely the case in every county in this district," she said.

She's supported bills like the "REIN IN Inflation Act," which would require the Biden administration to include inflationary impact statements with executive actions, and has said that government spending, like the billions of dollars of infrastructure and COVID-19 recovery packages passed in the last three years, as major drivers of the inflation Americans are seeing now.

Experts generally don't agree that inflation is being majorly driven by government spending, and rather point to the global inflationary surge, which is much worse in other countries, the war in Ukraine and energy and fuel shortages as more of a driver of inflation.

Rep. Stefanik said she doesn't support more COVID-19 related spending packages, like the $22 billion request the Biden administration has put before Congress.

"We have hundreds of millions left over that we already passed, they should use those dollars for whatever the needs are now," she said.

Locally, she said New York state has been harshly unfriendly to business and development in the state, which has hit the north country especially hard. The result is a drag on the economy that can be seen in the loss of jobs, of manufacturing and of small businesses.

"What I have tried to do is advocate for federal investment dollars, most importantly, and then advocate for policies to try lowering the regulatory burden, lower the tax burden, lower energy prices and use the U.S.-Canadian border as an asset, and as a strength, because it really is one, and then look for those critical improvements that have to be made like rural broadband and cell coverage."

Rep. Stefanik has been criticized by the Biden Administration for voting against funding packages like the infrastructure bill that have set aside millions for broadband development in the north country, and then going on to tout the money as a win for their constituents.

She said that where there is money available, she will advocate for it to come to the district through the congressional appropriations process, where money is allocated to various causes through an appropriations bill.

"It would be unacceptable for me not to advocate funds in the appropriations process," she said. "Unfortunately, the appropriations bill you're talking about got loaded up with very partisan priorities."

She said it's nothing that other lawmakers don't also do.

"I know how to work the process," she added. "I'm going to tout the results I've delivered."

She also advocated against the New York state decision to give agricultural laborers overtime after 40 hours, down from the current 60. She said she doesn't support that move, which will stress the already thin margins of local farms, especially family farms, and said she'll support any actions to prevent it from happening.

Rep. Stefanik said immigration reforms are needed, but only in select areas, namely visa programs. She said the H-2A temporary agricultural worker visa and other agricultural visas, as well as the J-1 exchange visitor visa that provides an avenue for foreign workers to train and work in the U.S. for a limited period of time. Otherwise, she advocates for hard borders and continues to support a physical wall at the southern border.

She said the legal process that exists now, with its years-long lines for other types of permanent or long-term entry, is the process that all immigrants should seek to enter the country.

"We do have a legal process, and there are many people who are waiting in line, have been for years, and they're seeing this open border at the southern border," she said. "If we don't have borders, we do not have a country."

She said she's opposed to most of the Biden administration's policies on the southern border, which she said have a distinct impact on the northern border.

As migrant numbers swell at the southern border, Border Patrol officers are reassigned, and the U.S.-Canada border becomes easier to cross without detection, she said. The Border Patrol officers who are reassigned repeatedly from the north to the south suffer as well, as do their families, she said, and many more Border Patrol officers need to be hired.

On the topic of the proposed Border Patrol station on Blind Bay in the St. Lawrence River, which has near-universal opposition from local officials, residents, conservationists and even Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. and Rep. Claudia L. Tenney, R-New Hartford, Rep. Stefanik said she doesn't believe her role is to tell U.S. Customs and Border Protection where to place a Border Patrol station.

"I think there's a lot of different stakeholders involved, and certainly CBP needs to have the resources they need, but they need to take into consideration local concerns," she said. "This is not an issue I'm going to be heavy handed with and say it has to go here, because I don't view that as my role. I think there needs to be ongoing discussion between CBP, between Border Patrol and the local communities."

Internationally, Rep. Stefanik said she supports further funding in the war in Ukraine, but it should be provided only under the supervision of an inspector general, who can monitor where it is sent and what it is used for. She said the current "blank check," where Congress has authorized billions of dollars in aid that is sent directly to Ukraine for their use, is unacceptable.

As for this year's race to represent the 21st Congressional District, Rep. Stefanik is running against Matt Castelli, a Democrat who also holds the third party "Moderate Party" line this year.

Rep. Stefanik and Mr. Castelli have both been highly critical of one another, lobbing personal attacks and assertions of impropriety from the day Mr. Castelli joined the race.

Notably, there has been no agreement on a debate in that race, which Mr. Castelli's campaign has said is the fault of Rep. Stefanik. They said they'd agreed to three debates with three television stations across the district, and added a radio station in Albany later. Media organizations said they reached out to the Stefanik campaign offering dates, but were rejected and then ignored.

On Wednesday, the congresswoman said her campaign is still in conversation with media outlets to hold a debate, and accused Mr. Castelli of trying to take control of the debates for his own purposes.

She said he agreed to a debate on a date when Rep. Stefanik was already committed to speak to the Herkimer County Republican Party.

"It's unacceptable to pick a day when I'm confirmed as a keynote speaker in another county, that has been made public," she said.

When asked why her campaign didn't offer alternate dates to the TV stations that offered debates as a way to have a voice in the discussion, she said only that she remains in discussions with as-yet-unnamed media outlets.

"We're in discussions with media outlets that cover a large, vast majority of the district, and we're hopeful," Rep. Stefanik said.

She also criticized Mr. Castelli for not participating in any debates in the primary race against him, when Matthew F. Putorti challenged him in the June primary.

"My opponent is the only one who has done zero candidate forums ever, zero debates, zero county communities where his primary opponents appeared, and I've done dozens of debates," she said.

Rep. Stefanik said that, despite many accusations from Mr. Castelli and Democrats across the 21st Congressional District that she has fostered a divisive national political landscape through her prominent attacks on Democrats, Rep. Stefanik continued to tout bipartisanship as a key part of her legislative record.

"I'm in the top 25% most bipartisan members of Congress, still as the House Republican conference chair, and I'm in the top 10 most effective Republicans as rated by the Center for Effective Policymaking," she said.

She said she's not afraid to criticize Democratic failings, and said she's only elevating what she hears from voters every day.

"The reality is, Republicans are going to win the majority, and they're going to win it on the inflation message, the crime message, the border message, and that was my messaging, strategy and approach when I became House Republican Conference Chair," she said. "And it didn't come from me, it came from the people, because I listened to what they're concerned about."