Congressman Chris Collins

Rep. Chris Collins’ brief congressional career will take a big step forward next year when he joins the House committee that churns out more legislation than any other. And the Clarence Republican said Wednesday that he will use his new perch on the Energy and Commerce Committee to focus on issues that he thinks matter most to Western New York: promoting fracking, ensuring that the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus gets the proper federal funding and pushing for expanded broadband Internet service in rural areas.

Voters across America made a clear choice in this month’s election about the direction in which they want the country to move. Here in Western New York and across the nation, voters chose to be represented on the local, state and federal levels by individuals who believe that job creation and economic growth should be spurred by the private sector, that big government is not good government and that elected leaders should stand behind the principles upon which they campaign.