Ryan touts accomplishments in ‘State of Hudson Valley’ address
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan vowed to continue his fight to protect the “core American freedoms” that he said every American is entitled to in an address that conjured up memories of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech.
Ryan, D-Gardiner delivered his first “State of the Hudson Valley” address Thursday online and via social media, outlining his accomplishments so far and detailing his plans for the future.
Ryan, who was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2022 is running for election to a second two-year term in office. On Wednesday, the Ulster County Democratic Committee once again endorsed Ryan’s candidacy. He’s expected to face Alison Esposito in the 18th Congressional District.
In a speech filled with the personal stories of individuals and families in the Hudson Valley, Ryan focused on what he called the “three core American freedoms” that he said he is fighting for every day in Congress: Freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to clean air and water.
“That fight for freedom — to protect, defend and enhance it at every turn — for my kids, your kids and for generations to come, is what drives me every day,” he said.
Ryan said that among the efforts to fight for “freedom from want” he would continue efforts to stop drug companies from charging exorbitant prices and to prevent Central Hudson from enacting double-digit rate hikes and would push for funding for affordable housing throughout the region.
“There’s no fight that’s too big or too small when it comes to lowering costs and I’ll keep fighting because every family in the Hudson Valley should be free from want,” he said.
But, he said, the freedom from want “only matters” if people are also free from fear, which he said includes the fear of gun violence and the scourge of the opioid epidemic.
Ryan said he is leading the charge in Congress to force a vote on an assault weapons ban and has directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to law enforcement agencies across the 18th Congressional District to make sure they have the resources they need to both go after violent criminals and deal with those struggling with addiction and mental health issues humanely and compassionately.
He said he is also fighting to ensure that people have the “freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water” by fighting in Congress to force big corporations to clean up the waterways and airways that have been polluted by their activities.
But, he said, the fight for freedom doesn’t end there.
“Now more than ever, we need leaders at every level fighting to protect and expand freedoms for the American people,” including, he said, reproductive freedom, freedom to marry whoever you want and the freedom to live as you are, wherever you are.
In a statement in response on Friday, Esposito said that Ryan “failed to mention the manufactured Biden Border Crisis that is placing a huge burden on Hudson Valley residents, such as causing
deadly drugs like fentanyl to invade our communities, even ONE SINGLE TIME. Pat Ryan is completely outof-touch with the issues facing our district. Instead of fighting to solve the border and migrant crisis he helped create, Pat Ryan has completely supported Joe Biden’s failed open border agenda and its dangerous consequences.”