Former New York State Sen. Tim Kennedy just wrapped up his first week in his new job as a member of the United States Congress.
Kennedy took the oath of office on Monday evening, less than a week after winning a special election to represent his Buffalo-area House district.
A Democrat, Kennedy takes the baton from his longtime mentor and friend, former Rep. Brian Higgins, who officially stepped down in February. The two go way back. Kennedy says he interned for Higgins in college.
Higgins’s advice, according to Kennedy, was straightforward: be yourself.
“Keep the community first. Deliver for the community. And never forget the values that I represent as a Western New Yorker, as a Buffalonian,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy has been assigned to serve on the House Homeland Security Committee. He says he would like to see the House take up a bipartisan immigration proposal that died earlier this year in the Senate, in part at the instigation of Donald Trump.
Kennedy has already co-sponsored his first bill, focused on improving working conditions for nurses.
“This legislation will mandate specified, minimum nurse-to-patient ratios at hospitals, ensure Medicare payments reflect those ratios, and empower nurses to speak up if those ratios are violated,” he said during remarks on the House floor.
Kennedy arrived on Capitol Hill just days ahead of the second anniversary of the deadly Tops grocery store shooting that devastated the Buffalo community. Like his predecessor, he says he is ready to continue the uphill fight for gun safety reforms.
“Just a couple of days after that horrific atrocity, in the state of New York, we passed legislation that outlawed body armor and banned military-style assault weapons and put in red flag laws and made our community safer across New York state,” he said. “We ought to be doing the same thing across this nation.”
Congress has, particularly in recent years, often found itself in a state of dysfunction. It was notably unproductive in 2023, a year that also saw two dramatic fights among Republicans over who should be House Speaker.
Higgins cited that dysfunction when explaining his decision to exit before the end of his term early after nearly two decades in Congress.
Asked how long he plans to be a member of the House, Kennedy said, “As long as I can continue to deliver for the community that I love. As long as the people entrust me with their vote to serve with passion and dignity and respect.”