Clinton Highlights Service to WNY

In a letter to constituents, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton thanked New Yorkers for giving her the honor of serving in the United States Senate and shared some of the highlights of her work on behalf of Western New York and the entire Empire State. From her first days in office, Senator Clinton was a champion for Western New York. In times of economic challenge, Senator Clinton worked tirelessly to spur growth, revitalize downtown Buffalo, forge new partnerships, and develop real solutions for Buffalo and Western New York.

“I may not have always been a New Yorker, but know that I will always be one. New York, its spirit and its people, will always be part of me and part of the work I do,” Senator Clinton wrote.

When the Department of Defense (DoD) recommended the closure of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, Senator Clinton sprang into action to save the installation. She worked to build innovative partnerships and inject new energy and ideas into downtown Buffalo. Clinton brought Artspace Projects – the nation’s leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts – to Buffalo. She helped secure millions in funding for the pioneering Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and for a new Emergency/Cardiac Center at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, and co-authored and secured a new law to expand Renewal Communities which provided more than $1 billion dollars in tax incentives for job creation. Clinton also took action to help re-tree Western New York and bring federal aid to the affected cities following the devastating snow storm of 2006 that devastated the region’s tree canopy.

A summary of Senator Clinton’s service and most significant legislative accomplishments for New York, including region-by-region, was included with the letter and is available here: http://www.clinton.senate.gov/documents/Champion_for_New_York.pdf.

A transcript and video of Senator Clinton’s remarks from the Senate floor on Thursday, January 15, are available here: http://www.clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=306786&&.

The text of Senator Clinton’s letter to constituents follows

Dear Friend,

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the honor of serving you in the United States Senate and to share with you some of the work and accomplishments of which we can all be proud.

As I look back on eight years of service in the Senate, I am gratified by all we’ve been able to achieve together at what has been a very difficult time for our state and country. We’ve worked hard to find common ground and deliver creative solutions, often against tough obstacles and even tougher odds.

Serving the people of New York has been the opportunity of a lifetime to continue what has been the work of my life. It is been an honor and a privilege to be your advocate and to make real strides for those who have for too long felt as if they were invisible.

I may not have always been a New Yorker, but know that I will always be one. New York, its spirit and its people, will always be part of me and part of the work I do. And so I want to express to you my profound appreciation and my enduring optimism that the best days for our state and our nation are still ahead.

Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton