U.S. Rep Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, voted no last week on legislation that would allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices.

The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which passed 230-192, would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate prices for certain drugs. It would also set maximum prices for insulin products and at least 25 brand-name drugs that do not have generic competition and that are among the 125 drugs that account for the greatest national spending, according to Congress.gov.

Stefanik posted on her Facebook page that the legislation did not have support of both parties.

“Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi’s partisan legislation, H.R. 3, is a 95% tax on lifesaving cures for Americans that has no chance of passing the Senate and becoming law,” Stefanik wrote.

Stefanik said she is an original co-sponsor of the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, which is a package of 40 provisions to lower out-of-pocket spending, ensure medicines and cures are not heavily taxed, strengthen transparency and accountability, and promote competition in the medical community.

Stefanik’s Democratic opponent, Tedra Cobb, criticized Stefanik for her vote against the bill.

“Elise Stefanik has sold out Northern New York families,” Cobb said in a news release. “She has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the insurance and pharmaceutical industry and in Washington, and she protects their bottom line by voting to kick 64,000 people off their health care, gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions and increase the cost of prescription drugs.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would save $456 billion.

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More NY-21 national coverage

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Stefanik was the subject of a lengthy piece in Politico titled, “A Trumpist Star is Born.”

The article touches on Stefanik’s tough questioning of people testifying before Congress about the issue of Trump’s phone call to the Ukrainian president and how that has elevated her national profile.

The piece talks about how this was a shift for Stefanik, who has kept a lower profile and focused on creating jobs and other pocketbook issues. It also says that these name-calling and acrimonious political campaigns were not something seen in the 21st Congressional District until lately, and also notes the protests drawing supporters and detractors to downtown Glens Falls.

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Big Brother is watching

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The federal government needs to make sure your smart televisions are not spying on you, says U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Schumer, D-N.Y., is urging the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the data protection and security of smart TVs.

The FBI last month issued a warning that these televisions are equipped with microphones and cameras and that TV manufacturers, app developers and hackers can gain access to data on users.

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Modernizing farming workforce

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Stefanik voted in favor of a bill to help establish a temporary agricultural worker visa.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019 would grant the status to any undocumented immigrant who had performed at least 1,035 hours of agricultural labor during a two-year period before Oct. 30, 2019.

The bill would include dairy workers. It would exclude applicants based upon crime-related offenses, according to a summary of the bill on Congress.gov.

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Defense spending bill passes

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The National Defense Authorization Act passed last week with bipartisan support included funding for a Fort Drum unmanned aerial vehicle hangar and an environmental impact study as a next step after the base was selected as the preferred site for an East Coast Missile Defense Site location.

It also includes a 3.1% pay raise for service members, standardizes paid family medical leave for the birth or adoption of a child; and requires the Department of Defense to review policies for areas to improve and to improve reporting of sexual assault and domestic violence.