Congressman Nick Langworthy (R-NY 23) gives “State Of The District” remarks before CHQ Chamber (August 6, 2026)
Congressman Nick Langworthy discussed successes and challenges in his “State of the District” address before the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.
The event, held Thursday at Wicked Warrens, featured around a dozen protesters against Langworthy on the corner of West Third and Washington Streets. The location of the Chamber event was only released to those who bought a ticket to the event.
Langworthy focused on manufacturing, the energy sector, and tourism in his speech.
He touted the Working Families Tax Cut, that has been in effect for a year, as helping reverse manufacturing losses, “Across the country, manufacturing activity is expanding again. U.S. manufacturing activity surged in July at the strongest rate in over four years. Manufacturing wages climbed 4.2 percent year over year, the new orders are at nearly five-year highs, supporting 6 million U.S. jobs, 540 billion dollars in wages, and 1.1 trillion dollars in U.S. economic activity.”
Langworthy said making a 20% small business tax cut permanent is helping 30 million small businesses when it comes to investing in new equipment and machinery.
When it comes to finding people to fill jobs in manufacturing, Langworthy said there needs to be a connection between employers, community colleges, career and technical education programs; and young people at an early age. He cited the advancement of the I-Smart Corridor as a way to strengthen the pipeline between education, training, and advanced manufacturing. Langworthy also mentioned House funding he helped secure that went toward regional law enforcement training and a workforce development academy at Jamestown Community College as well as a new digital radiology training lab at UPMC Chautauqua.
When it comes to the energy sector, Langworthy cited his Energy Choice Act, which he says should come up for a vote before the House in September. The bill (H.R.3699) would prohibit states and local governments from banning an energy service’s connection, reconnection, modification, installation, or expansion based on the type or source of energy to be delivered. Langworthy said the impetus for the bill was “over-regulation of utilities” by the State Public Service Commission as well as the New York State Climate Act.
He said he’s introduced legislation requiring states with renewable energy mandates to publicly evaluate what those policies are doing to electricity rates and grid reliability, “If Albany believes that these policies are working, then they should have no problem showing New Yorkers the actual numbers when electricity becomes dramatically more expensive in New York than somewhere else. That matters when a company decides where and when to expand. We cannot talk about bringing jobs back to Western New York while simultaneously pursuing policies that make it more expensive to manufacture anything here.”
Langworthy heralded the importance of protecting the health of Chautauqua Lake as it relates to tourism in the county, mentioning the Army Corps of Engineers’ Chautauqua Lake Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility study. He said this is the largest study that’s ever been conducted on Chautauqua Lake, being funded with a total of $1.1 million to complete the work, “That work will examine potential solutions for water quality, ecosystem recreation, sedimentation, shoreline remediation, watershed erosion, flood mitigation, and water recreation.”
Langworthy ended his remarks by placing blame on New York State policies for why Federal policies may not provide positive results for businesses and residents, saying state regulations and mandates are pushing people and businesses out of the state.
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