After eight years, Congressman John Katko (R-Camillus) is saying farewell to the House, delivering a speech with a plea for future representatives.
The central New York Republican said he’s honored to have been consistently ranked among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress.
"It yielded passage of nearly 100 bills in my name and the enactment of laws by presidents from both parties,” Katko said. “And most importantly, I was able to work across party lines time and again to deliver results for central New York."
Among his chief accomplishments, Katko lists helping to secure historic investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing, including Micron’s promise of a $100 billion investment in central New York. And that’s not all.
"We lowered taxes for the middle class,” he said. “We began work on addressing the opioid epidemic and mental health crisis, and we've worked on efforts to strengthen cyber security, improve airport and transportation security, and protect our homeland."
At times, Katko was seen as an outsider in his own party. He was one of just ten Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump in connection with the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol, and he was one of the only members of his party to support President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Katko said during his time in the House, he drew inspiration from the relationship between President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill in the 1980s, who were able to compromise on issues like tax cuts, immigration, and social security reform.
He’s asking future members of Congress to keep that in mind and put partisan politics aside.
"We were all sent here by our constituents to put the work in, to better our districts,” he said. “When there's only fights and no bipartisan cooperation, it's our constituents, not us, who suffer. And please remember that."
Katko said throughout the past eight years, he has been supported by family, friends, and staff. And he thanked his constituents, who he said provided valuable, and often frank, input that guided his decisions.
The majority of Katko’s district is now in the newly drawn 22nd congressional district. Republican Brandon Williams will take over that seat in the new year.
