BY CRAIG FREILICH

North Country This Week

As she seeks a third term, Rep. Elise Stefanik says she will continue her efforts at bipartisan cooperation in the House of Representatives to improve life in the North Country.

“As our representative in Washington, growing our economy has always been my top priority,” Stefanik said in an email response to questions.

“Since taking office, we have made great strides in growing our North Country economy and creating good paying jobs. In fact, unemployment has fallen in all 12 counties of our Congressional district since I was elected,” she said.

Stefanik, a Republican, grew up near Albany and now calls Willsboro, in Essex County, her home.

Some elements of her focus in this campaign are to “continue to push for infrastructure, workforce development, broadband funding, and to promote our economic relationship with Canada so that our region can continue to prosper.”

She said she wants to “build on my bipartisan record of delivering real results for hard working families across the 21st District.”

Unlike her opponents, Democrat Tedra Cobb of Canton and Green Party candidate Lynn Kahn of Schroon Lake, Stefanik does not want to see “single-payer” health insurance, which would be overseen by the government.

She asserts that “would increase taxes and lower the quality of care. I believe we need to continue to work towards bipartisan reforms to our healthcare system that lower costs through increased competition, such as allowing the purchase of insurance across state lines, tort reform, and continuing my work to address the costs of prescription drugs.”

She said she has supported funding for rural hospitals and “a military funding bill that helps our veterans get the healthcare benefits they deserve.”

Stefanik says she strongly supports the 2018 federal Farm Bill, and has voted for it in the House. It has not yet been finalized in the House and Senate conference, after which it would be sent to President Trump for his consideration.

Opinions differ on the expected effects of the bill as it stood when the House vote was taken, but Stefanik says it “delivers important wins for our farmers, such as providing needed support for our dairy farmers. It also authorizes over $500 million in loan and grant programs to expand access to rural broadband.”

She said two amendments she proposed and were included will combat invasive species.

“This Farm Bill supports our specialty crops and young farmers as well. It also includes needed reforms to the SNAP program to ensure that this important safety net provides a path out of poverty for the families it benefits.”

Stefanik has heard criticism for her lack of availability to the press and the public, even as she tours the district attending functions, many of which are open to only a select few participants.

“I have hosted over 825 constituent outreach events across our district, including 17 Coffee with Your Congresswoman events and 15 tele-townhalls with constituents across our district,” she said in answer to our question on the issue.

“In my next term, I will continue my aggressive schedule of constituent outreach. Our office has already helped our veterans recover more than $2.8 million in benefits they deserve. I want to help even more veterans and more seniors cut through the government bureaucracy and access their benefits. Our offices are always available to answer the concerns of the constituents I am proud to represent.”

In answer to another question, Stefanik said that “I am a leader in Congress on transparency and post explanations for all of my legislative votes on Facebook, as well as post my tax returns publicly on my website and my official schedule so constituents know who I am meeting with.”

Referring to reports that Cobb was recorded telling a young man who untruthfully presented himself as a volunteer for her campaign that she could not publicly admit to being opposed to assault rifles because it would hurt her chances for election, Stefanik said:

“As every North Country news outlet has reported, my Democratic opponent was caught on video lying to voters about her positions in order to get elected. I strongly believe that voters deserve transparency from their elected representative in Congress. They deserve to know where their representative stands on issues, and who won’t lie about their positions to protect their political career.

“If my Democratic opponent cannot be publicly trusted to tell voters what she supports as a candidate, how can we ever trust her to do the same in Washington?” Stefanik said.

Stefanik says she plans to proceed the way she has on behalf of her constituents “by reaching across the aisle and working with Democrats in a bipartisan way. This has been, and will continue to be, my approach to leading on healthcare, and on every issue we face.”

After graduating from Harvard University, she began working in Washington, D.C. Perhaps her most prestigious position was coordinating debate preparation of Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as Republican vice-presidential candidate in 2012 with Mitt Romney, candidate for president.

She is seeking her third term to represent New York’s 21st Congressional District. She was first elected in 2014, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

Two years later she won an overwhelming endorsement from voters for her second term.