Congressman Steve Israel represents New York’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the Long Island towns of Huntington, Babylon, Islip, Smithtown and Oyster Bay. Israel, a Democrat, serves on the House Appropriations Committee, and previously served on the House Armed Services Committee and Financial Services Committee. He is considered a legislative leader on the issues of energy security, professional military education and prescription drug safety. He was first elected in 2000 and is now serving his 5th term in the House.

Blog Entries by Rep. Steve Israel

Upping the Pace for Going Green

Posted September 25, 2009 | 01:48 PM (EST)


Yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, former President Bill Clinton and a coalition of green energy visionaries discussed my federal legislation and announced the expansion of a game-changing idea: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Bonds.

PACE Bonds empower all those property owners who like the idea of "going...

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Top Ten Things the Health Care Bill Won't Do

65 Comments | Posted August 21, 2009 | 12:17 PM (EST)


The debate about health insurance reform has become one of shouting matches, email spamming and piles of misinformation. It seems that most of the yelling is based on fear, not fact, and it's getting pretty extreme. With that in mind, I've put together a top ten list of things this...

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Roll Back the Darkness in a Sustainable, Cost-Effective Way

2 Comments | Posted July 13, 2009 | 04:16 PM (EST)


Imagine a U.S. development program that can dramatically improve global health -- even saving 4,000 lives a day. It can significantly reduce violence against women. It can help combat the effects of climate change. It can enable millions of poor girls to attend school. It can help the world's poorest...

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Right-Wing Radio Spreads Flu Lies

83 Comments | Posted April 30, 2009 | 06:21 PM (EST)


The last thing our country needs is radio hosts spreading dangerous misinformation about the flu outbreak. But that's exactly what we're getting thanks to people like Michael Savage, Jay Severin and Neal Boortz. These right-wing demagogues are targeting America's immigrant community and trying to turn a possible pandemic into politics.

...
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Incentivize Detroit to Get Efficient

Posted April 2, 2009 | 02:47 PM (EST)


I want the American auto industry to survive. But I don't want them to survive because of perpetual Congressional life support.

What Detroit needs is a jump start. For years, Americans gobbled up clunker vehicles because gas was cheap. Because of the demand for what they were making, the...

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Saving the Economy Requires a Mix of Medicines

Posted December 15, 2008 | 12:51 PM (EST)


If the holiday season is getting too festive, sit with me at a House Appropriations Committee hearing with three State Governors about the effect of the economy on state and local budgets.

Last Thursday, Governors John Corzine (D-NJ), Jim Douglas (R-VT), and Jim Doyle (D-WI) testified about massive budget cuts,...

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Not Taking 'Yes' for an Answer

Posted September 18, 2008 | 10:40 AM (EST)


There are some people who just don't like to take "yes" for an answer.

Take, for example, some House Republicans who have spent the past two months stomping and stampeding for a bill to allow drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, and then reject it when it is presented to...

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Spotlight on the House: An Agenda for Success

Posted September 17, 2008 | 07:22 AM (EST)


A few weeks ago, I moved my youngest daughter into her new dorm room in Vermont. After driving several hours north and lugging her belongings three flights up, I officially had two daughters in college. It's always been a goal in my family to send both of the kids to...

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Hurricane Katrina, Three Years Later

Posted July 29, 2008 | 04:57 PM (EST)


From July 19 - 22, 2008, 22 Members of the House of Representatives visited the Gulf Coast to examine the post-Katrina progress.

Three years after the hurricane washed homes from their foundations, ended lives and scattered families, the progress is, at best, erratic.

Throughout the trip, Rep. Steve Israel recorded...

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