U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s lone Republican Congressional member, is showing that her political experience and hard work is paying off for constituents in Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn.
The federal lawmaker issued a thorough report card of her first six months in office that documented her achievements, noting that her office has been able to close twice as many cases for constituents in six months than her predecessor had closed in one year.
“Whether it’s helping small businesses secure millions in PPP loans to keep their doors open, assisting legal immigrants in their quest to become U.S. citizens, or expediting passports for those who are traveling overseas to visit family, my office’s top priority is providing outstanding constituent services for the residents of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn,” said Malliotakis.
According to the report, Malliotakis responded to 18,458 constituent inquiries and were able to close 2,351 constituent cases including 650 COVID vaccine appointments made, 433 passports issued, 32 emergency visas issued and 20 new U.S. citizenships.
This constituent work also translated into over $10 million brought home to individual constituents and institutions within the district. This includes helping 19 businesses secure $3,823,850 in loans from the U.S. Department of Small Business Administration (SBA), assisting more than 87 constituents in securing $552,468.93 from federal tax refunds and stimulus funds from the Department of Treasury; assisting more than 90 constituents in securing $605,918 in unemployment assistance from the Department of Labor; and getting $400,000 for the Richmond University Health Center and $127,037 for the College of Staten Island in federal grants.
“Among those we’ve been able to assist in the first six months include helping an injured police officer receive the disability payments he had been waiting for since 2014, expediting a constituent’s passport request 11 weeks faster than normal, and working with the Department of Homeland Security to help legal immigrants stuck on the waitlist for years complete their citizenship process,” said Malliotakis.
On the policy side, Malliotakis introduced 17 bills including several dealing with reducing the tolls over the Verrazano Bridge, including this one, which would give motorists utilizing the bridge a rebate in also being charged for going into Manhattan under the state’s congestion pricing plan.
Additionally, Malliotakis co-sponsored 106 pieces of legislation.
“To put this into perspective, our office has been able to close twice as many cases in six months as my predecessor had closed in one year. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in the first six months and we’re looking forward to building on the successes we’ve had thus far in the years to come,” said Malliotakis.
