December 21 – Walczyk is home from broadcast and talks plans for ’25
Senator Mark C. Walczyk is returning to business as usual in the United States after spending most of this year with the U.S. Army Reserve in Kuwait and the Middle East.
In an interview Thursday, the senator said he is spending time with his young family ahead of the holidays and the start of a new legislative session in Albany.
“My 1-year-old was just four months old when I left, so I’m really getting to know and love that child,” he said. “He’s a lot of fun, and my three-year-old is just excited. We’ve spent a lot of time together.”
Walczyk, R-Watertown, said the time he spent abroad has given him a new perspective on the work the military does internationally and given him a closer relationship with the 10th Mountain Division. While deployed, he worked with a 10th Mountain combat brigade and an aviation brigade.
“They always say the sun never sets on the 10th Mountain Division field, and I can personally attest to that,” he said.
Walczyk spends half days working with his staff, catching up on events in the Legislature from the past year and working on his policy platform for the upcoming session.
He has some early ideas, including suspending the timeline for climate compliance, which was set out in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Many independent audits have shown that the state is unlikely to achieve its goal of generating 70% of the energy used in New York through energy use. renewable resources by 2030.
The governor’s office has acknowledged that the state is behind on its obligations.
“We need to pause that completely,” Walczyk said. “The governor and the Legislature need to think very seriously about nuclear energy when they talk about electrifying the state.”
Foundation support and how state government funds public education were a big topic of discussion in Albany this year. Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul proposed a plan earlier this year that would have led to sharp cuts in state aid for about half the schools, but that plan was rejected by the state Legislature.
Hochul no longer appears interested in those same cuts, but Walczyk said he will be careful to protect rural districts and maintain fairness in the state education funding program.
The northern border has also been the subject of much debate at the state and federal level. A record spike in illegal crossings and drug trafficking has prompted authorities to push for better security along the national border.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government announced plans to spend more than C$1 billion on new changes to border security and the immigration system, including on programs aimed at improving coordination with U.S. agencies.
Walczyk’s New York Senate district covers part of that border, and he said he’s paying attention. He is already co-sponsoring a bill that would repeal the so-called “Green Light Law,” which prevents the state Department of Motor Vehicles from collecting or distributing citizenship information to law enforcement. He and other Republicans who represent the northern border areas have argued that this makes the region less safe.
Walczyk said he also focuses on issues such as government efficiency, infrastructure and storm recovery efforts, building affordable housing and growing technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Walczyk will be sworn in in early January for a new two-year term in which he will represent parts of the North Country, Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. The legislative session begins on January 8.
