Making another stab at commonsense, reasonable governance, Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have offered bipartisan legislation to break the impasse that has led to the longest government shutdown, caused extraordinary difficulty for Homeland Security federal workers, for travelers, left the country vulnerable after climate disaster and emergencies and exposed the nation to terror attacks at a time of war. House Speaker Mike Johnson, doing Trump’s bidding, refused to take up the compromise bill that was passed by the Senate by unanimous consent, prolonging the national misery, while Trump tried to make himself the White Knight by paying TSA (but not the others). The Coast Guard, FEMA, and counter-terrorism agents remain unpaid after more than 40 days – Karen Rubin, editor@news-photos-features.com
Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) unveiled their Reforming ICE and Protecting America Act, bipartisan legislation to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year 2026 while enacting targeted, enforceable reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The legislation comes after weeks of deadlock in Washington over immigration enforcement, during which no serious proposal emerged that both kept DHS fully funded and delivered real ICE reform.
The Reforming ICE and Protecting America Act meets both imperatives: fully funding DHS while bringing ICE in line with the standards of every other law enforcement agency in the United States.
“Government should never be brought to a standstill—certainly not when homeland security is on the line and the consequences are borne by TSA agents, Coast Guard servicemembers, FEMA personnel, frontline DHS employees, and the American people. This debate began with a legitimate call for real ICE reform, yet after weeks of political deadlock, no serious solution emerged. The right course was clear from the start: keep the Department of Homeland Security fully funded and confront the problem before us with real reform. That is precisely what this bill does. It is time to do what should have been done from the beginning: govern, reform, and protect,” said Fitzpatrick.
“The American people are fed up. The chaos at our airports was awful, the Department of Homeland Security has not been fully funded during these very dangerous times, and the people are demanding that ICE live up to the standards of all other federal law enforcement. They are sick and tired of the endless blame game and they are demanding that we work together to solve the very real problems we face,” said Suozzi. “This legislation cuts through the dysfunction. It’s rooted in common sense; let’s fund DHS, keep our country safe, and hammer out real reforms of ICE.”
Drawing on Fitzpatrick’s more than 15 years as an FBI Special Agent and Suozzi’s experience overseeing the nation’s 11th largest police department as Nassau County Executive, the legislation was developed with direct input from federal law enforcement officials and in consultation with Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus and Senate partners, including the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Reforming ICE and Protecting America Act would:
Fully fund DHS for FY26 and keep the Department operational across its core security, disaster response, and public safety missions.
Bring ICE in line with standardized law enforcement policies through body cameras, a limitation on masks, visible identification, standardized uniforms and training, and independent investigations of officer-involved shootings.
Focus enforcement where it belongs—on violent offenders and the most serious threats to public safety.
Protect due process and prevent abuse through probable-cause and warrant requirements in key enforcement contexts, including protections against the knowing detention of U.S. citizens without probable cause.
Establish clear guardrails for sensitive locations by limiting civil immigration enforcement at schools, health care facilities, places of worship, polling places on election day, childcare facilities, and private home residences absent a warrant, except in exigent circumstances.
Protect law enforcement personnel and their families by strengthening penalties for doxxing and expanding protections for sensitive personal information.
Ensures CBP remains focused on its intended mission: securing the border.
Last week, Fitzpatrick and Suozzi announced they were developing a bipartisan path to fully fund DHS while advancing real ICE reform. The bill introduced today is the product of that effort.
Watch the Congressmen talk about their efforts here and here.
Proposal Would Fix Chaos at American Airports, Mandate ICE Standards Consistent with Other Federal Agencies, Target Enforcement on “Worst of the Worst”
Senate Democrats have tried 10 times to pass legislation to fully fund TSA so the officers could get paid and relieve the abominable lines at airport security, to fully fund FEMA, the Coast Guard, and cybersecurity, more important than ever in light of heightened terror threats since Trump’s unprovoked, illegal Iran War. But each time, Republicans have blocked it.
Think of it. When Americans are most vulnerable, Trump and the Republicans are willing to let national security collapse in order to continue to allow ICE illegally detain, arrest, incarcerate in inhumane concentration camps, without any accountability.
And now, when Republicans are ready to say “uncle,” Trump has told them he does not want them to work with Democrats. Think of it – that’s more than half the country that he doesn’t care about, especially since his approval rating is now around 36%.
What is more, since he came up with the brilliant idea (like a paper clip!), which actually came from a woman calling in to a talk show, to install the ICE thugs at airports, under the pretense of relieving the burdens of the TSA agents who remain on the job despite not being paid in a month, he has actually fallen in love with the fact that the ICE agents aren’t helping relieve travelers’ misery at all (in fact, they are like SCABs in a union action), but are in place to continue extra-judicial, unconstitutional arrests, detentions, deportations.
Trump has also tied passing any new legislation to the Congress passing his SAVE Act, whose singular purpose is to suppress voting by disenfranchising potentially millions of women, Blacks, seniors, college students, and anyone else who tends to vote for Democrats. So Trump has little incentive to adopt this legislation proposed by Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). But good try, guys.
Meanwhile, I’m sick of people blaming Democrats or “Congress,” instead of putting the blame for the chaos, confusion, misery, suffering, and impending collapse of our economy, democracy, national security by Trump and his Republican enablers. –Karen Rubin, editor@news-photos-features.com
Washington, D.C.— Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) announced that they are working on bipartisan legislation to immediately re-open the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while advancing commonsense reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
At a moment when Washington remains deadlocked, the Suozzi-Fitzpatrick effort offers a serious bipartisan path to restore full DHS operations while pairing that action with targeted reforms to improve public trust and strengthen accountability within ICE.
“People are standing in long lines at our airports, TSA agents are not getting paid, FEMA is going unfunded, and Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that instead of solving problems, politicians in Washington are pointing fingers. Congressman Fitzpatrick and I are trying to cut through the dysfunction, isolate the problem areas where negotiations have stalled, and work together to get things done,” said Congressman Suozzi.“Ultimately, ICE is a law enforcement agency that needs to be held to the same professional standards as every other law enforcement agency in the United States. Unfortunately, ICE has been operating in a fashion I believe is illegal and immoral. It’s not a radical idea to ask them to answer to the same safety and transparency requirements as every other police officer and federal agent in the country.
“Protecting the American people is among the first obligations of government, and that means ensuring the Department of Homeland Security is fully funded and fully operational. It also means ensuring that those entrusted with enforcing the law operate under clear, consistent standards that preserve public trust. I have long believed that, at its core, law enforcement is a social contract built on trust on both ends. This effort would restore DHS operations, reinforce clear and uniform standards across federal law enforcement, and keep enforcement focused on the most serious threats to public safety. That is how we restore the mission, strengthen enforcement, and renew public confidence in the institutions charged with protecting the American people,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick.
The proposed reforms are being developed to fully restore DHS operations while establishing ICE standards consistent with those of other law enforcement agencies. In shaping this effort, the Congressmen have engaged directly with federal law enforcement officials, while drawing on Congressman Fitzpatrick’s more than 15 years as an FBI Agent and Congressman Suozzi’s experience overseeing the nation’s 11th largest police department as Nassau County Executive.
The legislation would require that all federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE, are held to the same high standards and policies as it pertains to training requirements, the use of body cameras, independent investigation of use-of-force at scenes, clear outer identification of the agency engaged in the enforcement action, cooperation with local law enforcement, and a prohibition of masks during enforcement actions coupled with tougher penalties for doxxing. It would also lay out stronger warrant requirements and rules governing activity in sensitive locations to ensure enforcement resources are focused on the “worst of the worst.”
Last week, the Senate failed to advance DHS funding for the fifth time, extending a stalemate that has left the Department unfunded since February 13 and is taking a serious toll on TSA staffing, airport operations, and DHS’s ability to fully carry out its mission. At the same time, the deadlock has made clear that any durable solution must not only reopen DHS, but also address the need for credible, commonsense reforms that strengthen accountability within ICE.
Glen Cove, NY—Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) held a press conference to call out the Administration’s revocation of the ‘Endangerment Finding’ that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare—a move widely seen as a major setback to U.S. efforts to combat the climate crisis.
“We are here with a very simple message for the people of Long Island and New York: Wake up! Your insurance rates are going up, and Moody’s Investor Services reports that Long Island is the fourth most vulnerable place in the United States of America for the effects of climate change,” said Congressman Tom Suozzi. “This is affecting the quality of your life. We here on Long Island, right by the water right here, are subject to the effects of rising sea levels because the glaciers are melting. We are going to be affected when the permafrost in the arctic region starts to defrost, and all the methane gas comes out and causes more of these greenhouse gases. It affects our trees, it affects our wildlife, it affects nature, but it also affects us in real ways, like causing your insurance rates to go up, like damaging your properties, like making it so you are more subject to more floods and more storms.”
Congressman Suozzi was joined on the bank of a snowy, icy Hempstead Harbor by Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment Adrienne Esposito, Michelle Lapinel McAllister and Nino Luciano from the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, Eric Swenson of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee, Matt Salton of the New York League of Conservation Voters, and Pete Budden of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who announced that the NRDC would be filing a lawsuit to challenge this decision the following day.
“Thank you to the Congressman for holding this event and for speaking out against the outrageous repeal of the ‘Endangerment Finding.’ By rolling it back, the Trump Administration is launching the single biggest attack in US history on the federal government’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis,” declared said Pete Budden, Senior Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “It amounts to pure climate denial. Quite simply, this will make climate change worse, this will make air pollution worse, and it will raise costs for people across the country. It is stunning that once again this Administration is asking people not to believe what they see with their own eyes… The NRDC will not stand for it. It’s irresponsibly, it’s unscientific, and it is illegal. We will take this fight to the courtroom. We’re filing a lawsuit tomorrow, and we will win.”
On February 12, President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin – the former Long Island Congressman – with a wink and a nod to the Fossil Fuel Industry which paid $1 billion to elect Trump in 2024, announced the repeal of the ‘Endangerment Finding,’ a 2009 policy that concludes that greenhouse gasses are a threat to public health. This ruling underpins federal action to curb planet-warming gases and is the legal bedrock of efforts to rein in harmful emissions.
“The ‘Endangerment Finding’ was found in 2009, based on sound, good science. The reason it was called the ‘Endangerment Finding’ is because it put in danger our health, our economy, and our future,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of the Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment. “Climate change is costing us billions. In 2004 alone, we had 27 different climate tragedies throughout America. Extreme climate events, each one cost us $1 billion per event, equating to over $30 billion.”
The “evil twin” of global warming, she noted, is acidification of the marine environment – killing shellfish, fish larvae and the plankton at the base of the food chain.
“We had made so much progress. People were buying electric cars – Nassau County was the #1 market, with 785,000 EVs on Long Island, because they make sense. Why is Trump killing the market for clean energy and EVs? It’s payback for the fossil fuel industry for the $1 billion they spent to elect him in 2024. But the next generation will be the victims.
“We are impacting our planet. We need to act. We need to fight. When Congressman Suozzi called me yesterday, I said, ‘I’m so glad that you’re going to speak up and speak out because the silence from others is deafening.’ And silence portrays that we accept or we agree. We do not accept this. We do not agree with this. And we will not,” Esposito said.
“The ‘Endangerment Finding’ is the legal foundation for regulating greenhouse gasses… repealing it would significantly weaken federal authority to address pollution from major sources and protect public health,” said Michelle Lapinel McAllister, Program Director of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor. “The evidence is clear. Climate change is increasing risk to our communities, infrastructure, and economy. These impacts are measurable and growing, and sustained action at the federal level is necessary to reduce them. Maintaining the ‘Endangerment Finding’ ensures continued progress for clean air, environmental stability, and regulatory certainty. We have a responsibility to uphold science-based policy and protect the health and security of future generations.”
“The water body you see behind us and all the other water bodies on LI are part and parcel of the quality of life that we have here on LI. It’s the reason why people move here, it’s also very important to the economy of our land,” said Eric Swenson, Executive Director of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee. “ 31 years ago, the nine local governments that share this harbor formed the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee to look out for its water quality. We made a lot of progress… We can do a lot, and we spent tens of millions of dollars to improve this harbor, and we’re enjoying the benefits of it.” Indeed, 2,500 acres were re-opened to shell fishing for the first time in years.
“We don’t want to see that go backwards, and we will if this continues the way it is with the ‘Endangerment Finding.’ We need EPA to stand up, to do its job it’s designed to do and it’s created to do, and we need them now. Science is real, we need to base our decisions on science, not politics, and we need to start now,” Swenson said.
“With the repeal of the ‘Endangerment Finding,’ President Trump and the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin are accelerating their assault on our health, environment, and economic future. Clean air is not a partisan issue—it’s a human right,” Matt Salton, Federal Policy Manager of the New York League of Conservation Voters, declared. “With this decision, it rewards polluters, weakens competitiveness of the necessary car manufacturers, and leaves families bearing the unacceptable cost of dirtier air. We are proud to stand with Congressman Suozzi and our fellow advocates to defend clean air and protect the health and the future of every New Yorker.”
Seemingly the only thing that really resonates with voters is the cost of living – as opposed to livability or health or human rights – so Suozzi spelled out the impact of climate change on affordability and the economy – contradicting Trump’s constant lie that renewed dependency on fossil fuel will unleash new riches and a Golden Age of American Greatness.
Climate disasters are raising costs for Long Islanders on everything from home and car insurance to food prices, health care, utility costs. The extremes of heat and cold, the floods, drought, wildfires, sea level rise are causing food shortages and price hikes, heat stroke and disease, ocean acidification which is depleting sea life and the plankton that is at the base of the food chain. At the same time, cutting – even banning and canceling funding – for clean energy projects like Long Island’s offshore wind, solar and electric vehicles while promoting and incentivizing gas-guzzling cars and coal-powered utilities will only exacerbate the severity and frequency of these disasters.
Superstorm Sandy destroyed 100,000 homes and caused $65 billion in damage to Long Island.
Affordability is an issue, as well – because of fierce focus on energy conservation and clean energy, demand for electricity was flat for a decade, but for the first time in decades, energy demand is going up – largely because of the construction of these enormous data centers to power A.I., driving up utility costs for rate payers, Congressman Suozzi said.
“Why cut green energy projects that were increasing energy supply (at lower cost than fossil fuels), projects that were ready for investment with credits from the Biden Administration (nuclear, hydrogen, solar, wind)?”
“Long Island is the fourth most vulnerable place in the United States of America for any population center for the effects of climate change. Number one is San Francisco, number two is Cape Coral in Florida, number three is New York City (I also represent a piece of Queens) and number four is Long Island,” Congressman Suozzi said. “Over the past 50 years, Long Island has had more disaster locations than any other place in all of New York State. There have been dozens of dozens of disaster events. In the United States of America, in 2024, there were 27 severe weather events that caused over $1 billion in damages, $183 billion in total. In the year 2000, there were five. 27 in 2024, and five in 2000. So, this is real life.”
Congressman Suozzi noted that there are three ways to beat back the Trump Administration and restore the government’s role in environmental protection and climate action:
Legislation – which will require Democrats to retake the Majority in Congress, and ultimately, retake the White House.
Lawsuits – organizations including the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), are mounting lawsuits, noting that the Trump administration is in violation of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and that the issue of carbon emissions being a pollutant the federal government is obligated to regulate, was settled.
The third area is motivation – getting people more engaged by raising awareness of the impacts and consequences that derailing a clean, renewable energy agenda has on the economy, affordability, public health and quality of life.
“The reason we are out here today, in the cold, out on the water here, is because we want to get more people who care about the earth; who care about climate change; who care about the effects this is going to have on your wallet; to actually start speaking up and speaking out about this issue. There is so much noise every day as they flood the zone with things to get us agitated, but this is an existential threat to us here on Long Island that we need to stand up and get people motivated to speak out against,” concluded Congressman Suozzi.
“We are messing with the divine creation of the earth: a thing that’s been gifted to us. And it’s been very resilient over most of history. But now the effects of what we are doing as human beings are punching it every single day, and I can’t take it anymore. So we have to wake up,” Congressman Suozzi added.
With 24 states and Puerto Rico led by New York and California forming the U.S. Climate Alliance to take up the baton after the Trump Administration pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord (twice), it is critical who becomes Governor. (The 24 states, representing 55% of the population, commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28%.)
Governor Kathy Hochul has remained stalwart in support of New York State’s leading-edge climate agenda that calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.
In 2022, New Yorkers overwhelmingly approved the $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act providing funding to state agencies, local governments, and partners to protect water quality, help communities adapt to climate change, improve resiliency and create green jobs. Bond Act funding will support new and expanded projects across the state to safeguard drinking water sources, reduce pollution, and protect communities and natural resources from climate change. A total of $1.9 billion is invested to date. Learn more at www.environmentalbondact.ny.gov.
Recently, the bond funded $265 million in grants for projects to protect drinking water, improve climate resilience, update aging water infrastructure, reduce contributors to harmful algal blooms, and secure access to clean water.
“Every New Yorker deserves clean water, which has been a top priority of mine since taking office,” Governor Hochul stated in announcing the grants. “These grants continue our critical investments to update aging water infrastructure across the state. They will also help our local governments enhance resiliency against flooding caused by severe weather, again demonstrating our commitment to a safe, affordable, and sustainable future for all New Yorkers.”
Hochul also successfully fought back against Trump’s attempt to cancel offshore wind projects, the Hudson Gateway Tunnel, and New York City congestion pricing.
In contrast, Nassau County Executive and Republican candidate for Governor Bruce Blakeman has promoted fossil fuels, wants to overturn the ban on fracking, and has done nothing to make the county resilient against climate change – including not applying for state grants.
Washington, D.C.— Congressmen Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Ways and Means Member, and Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chair of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax, introduced bipartisan legislation to build the middle class by increasing employee stock ownership.
This bipartisan bill is cosponsored by eleven Ways and Means Members, including Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenues, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Suozzi’s Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and Reps. Larson (D-CT), Malliotakis (R-NY), Panetta (D-CA), Tenney (R-NY), Sewell (D-AL), Smucker (R-PA), and Horsford (D-NV).
The Share Holder Allocation for Rewards to Employees (SHARE)Plan Act rewards companies that distribute at least 5% of their stock to their lowest paid 80% of employees with a 3% reduction in their federal corporate income tax rate. This voluntary framework incentivizes more employee stock ownership, which is proven to improve employee productivity while translating to company profits.
If fully implemented, $3-4 trillion in stock value would be transferred over time to almost 40 million middle and working-class Americans without creating any new government bureaucracy. Employees would be transformed from mere workers to actual stakeholders with stock equity in their companies, and companies would be rewarded for sharing that wealth.
“Today, the top earning 10% of Americans hold 93% of all stock. Meanwhile, the lowest earning 50% own less than 1%. We need more Americans to own stock and have a stake in America’s growth and success. Let’s cut workers in on the deal,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi. “The SHARE Plan Act is a creative, common sense, concrete way to build wealth for the middle class and those aspiring to it. It helps build an ownership society, which is especially crucial with the rise of AI in the workplace, while incentivizing workers themselves to be more invested in their companies’ success.”
“The SHARE Plan Act allows employees to have more skin in the game and receive a greater return on their hard work,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA). “Where I come from in western Pennsylvania, a paycheck is more than just a paycheck. It’s about the dignity of work. This legislation builds upon that belief as workers look toward retirement, as well.”
“Ninety-three percent of Americans’ stock market wealth is held by the top ten percent of earners. While the wealthy get wealthier from investments, middle- and low-income Americans are left behind. This needs to change. That’s why I’m joining my colleagues to introduce the SHARE Plan to incentivize corporations to share opportunities to build wealth with all of their employees,”said Rep. Mike Thompson.
“There is one factor which separates the rich from those of our citizens who rely on a salary only and live paycheck to paycheck–that is that the wealthy in our country own stock, usually the stock of the company they work for. The bottom 50% of American households own less than 1% of all stock. We need to change this,” said the plan’s author Robert Patricelli, founder and CEO of three national healthcare companies and former federal official in the Nixon and Ford Administrations.
Companies would receive the tax rate reduction in any year in which they granted at least 1% of their stock or have cumulatively granted at least 5%. SHARE Plan distributions would be tax deductible for the company, and income from SHARE Plan stock grants would be tax exempt for employees.
“We need to rebuild the middle class,” said Rep. Suozzi. “Hard work should be rewarded with enough money to buy a home, educate your children, pay for health insurance, and retire one day without being scared. The SHARE Plan Act will help restore the American Dream!”
