Government that Works for All
Too often, politicians feel too far away, out of reach and out of touch. They make empty, hollow promises or put personal ambition and extremist agendas before our communities and country. That’s not what I learned growing up here or at West Point, that’s not how I guided my troops in Iraq, that isn’t how I served as Ulster County Executive, and that’s not what I’m bringing to Washington now. I serve you and I’m committed to bringing government assistance directly to you. Hearing from each and every voice in the Hudson Valley is critical for me to best represent you in Congress. In 2024 alone, 23,530 families from across NY-18 joined me for conversations about Hudson Valley priorities during my telephone townhalls.
BRINGING MY OFFICE TO YOU WITH THE C.A.R.E.S. VAN
My team goes the extra mile to cut through bureaucratic red tape and get you the results you deserve with the C.A.R.E.S. Van. Within only months of hitting the road in June of 2023, the C.A.R.E.S. Van brought direct assistance to every one of NY-18’s 82 municipalities. Since then, it’s made 164 visits to our Hudson Valley communities, with over 150 of our neighbors at a single event.
With the C.A.R.E.S. Van, we delivered flood recovery resources directly to communities impacted by last year’s catastrophic flooding, connected Central Hudson representatives with ratepayers for one-on-one assistance, brought the Social Security Administration back to Ulster County and Newburgh, and gathered dozens of community partners together for resource fairs for seniors, veterans, and military families.
SECURING MILLIONS IN FUNDS FOR OUR NEIGHBORS
I’m also proud to have opened three offices throughout the 18th District - one in each county, to ensure that you have reliable access to my office and assistance that you can count on. That’s how my team helped return $30 million to Hudson Valley families that federal agencies owed them. My team has saved countless vacations, weddings, and special occasions with emergency passport assistance, reunited families by expediting immigration cases, and helped veterans replace long lost military awards and medals. Please do not hesitate to reach out if my team and I can assist you with anything - big or small. Give us a call at (845) 443-2930 or send us a message here on my website. Read more about some of our constituent success stories here.
SUPPORTING OUR YOUTH
Hearing from Hudson Valley families is also what drives my legislative work in Washington. The concerns that parents voiced when responding to my youth and family priorities survey helped outline my Youth Agenda that I introduced this year. As both a dad and a Representative, ensuring that our kids are fully supported is deeply personal to me, which is why I took great care and spent months working with students, parents, and teachers to develop solutions to tackle these issues:
- Mental health, drug addiction, and social media safety
- Access to career and technical education and training opportunities
- Increasing food security
- Safety from gun violence
- Supporting children of military children
Read my full Youth Agenda here. This plan goes beyond just legislation. In June, I was proud to bring Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona here to the Hudson Valley to join with local leaders and break ground at iPark 87 on the new state-of-the-art career and technical education center for Ulster BOCES, SUNY Ulster, and SUNY New Paltz students. Watch here.
Investing in Hudson Valley kids is a direct investment in the future of our communities and our country. That’s why I’m fighting to secure the federal funding for initiatives that will uplift kids across the Hudson Valley, like the $1.05 million that I secured for the Dutchess County “Youth Opportunity Union” (YOU) that will rehabilitate the former YMCA into an innovative, well-encompassing youth-focused community center.
Within my first year in office, I was proud to have secured $2.5 million in federal funding to expand and create new early education programs in Poughkeepsie schools. These funds will fuel five years of tutoring, after school and weekend enrichment, family education programs, and targeted interventions to reduce chronic absenteeism and prevent violence.
Hudson Valley kids also deserve to be able to pursue whatever pathways they’re passionate about. Programs like AmeriCorps not only help our youth access unique and fulfilling educational opportunities and pursuits, they also help instill a lifelong grounding in public service in future generations. I was proud to have secured $1.27M in federal funding to expand AmeriCorps programming in Poughkeepsie by adding 71 new positions to the Student Conservation Association’s Hudson Valley Corps. The expansion will allow the Corps to protect an additional 100 miles and 60 acres of threatened ecosystems. The Corps exposes students to STEM fields and prepares them for careers in environmental science while also educating the entire community on conservation best practices.
DELIVERING FEDERAL FUNDING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES
Every Hudson Valley family deserves access to the programs and support they need to thrive. Every day, I’m working to deliver the federal resources to those initiatives that are rooted in uplifting our families and communities. That’s why in 2024, I helped secure nearly $6 million in federal funding for Family Services in Poughkeepsie to rehabilitate its Family Partnership Center. The Center houses nineteen organizations that have forged a critical support system for families in the community.
Federal investments do more than just transform the infrastructure of a town, like the federal funds that I secured for Goshen, Warwick, and Hyde Park to build safer streets will - they also bring neighbors together and create community. That’s exactly what the $21.7 million in funding that I secured to revitalize Kingston’s waterfront will do. This was the largest federal grant received by the city in its history and came from the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’m working every day to bring these transformative investments to every community in NY-18.
“We give thanks to Congressmen Pat Ryan for this award. We appreciate how Congressmen Ryan looks past party lines and is always helping in ways like this. He truly is a bipartisan congressman and shows the example of what leading should be like. Thank you, Congressman Ryan, a leader and friend to Hyde Park.” - Hyde Park Supervisor Al Torreggiani
I brought Department of Transportation leadership to Stewart International Airport to discuss how we can work together and form partnerships throughout our community to bring home more of the historic BIL funding and bolster our local transportation systems. Just like we’ve seen with the extraordinary momentum in Stewart’s growth, federal investments can attract further private investments and supercharge our local economy.
Our family-owned businesses are the backbone of our local economy and uplift our communities. I’m proud to have secured federal funding to help our local businesses lower utility costs, invest in their brick-and-mortar locations, and continue to provide our families with goods, services, and quality jobs for generations to come, just like how I helped Elisabeth Straus secure funding to install the solar array that will help her business save on energy costs:
"Uphill Dressage Center is thrilled to be the recipient of a generous REAP grant, which will cover half the cost of installing solar panels on the roof of our equestrian center. We are expecting the panels to generate enough solar energy to cover all of the building's electricity usage. The grant will lower our operating costs and help us do our part to combat the climate crisis.
The Rural Energy for America program is a prime example of our federal government working to help farmers and the environment, and was made possible in part by Congressman Pat Ryan's tireless work to support agriculture and small business in the Hudson Valley, and by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the nation’s largest-ever investment in combatting the climate crisis."
- Elisabeth Straus, Owner and Manager of Uphill Dressage Center