NNY Community Foundation’s Rock Charitable Fund supports 11 St. Lawrence County nonprofits

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WATERTOWN — The Northern New York (NNY) Community Foundation in early April announced that 11 nonprofit organizations serving St. Lawrence County residents will share $148,460 in grant funding from its Rock Charitable Fund to preserve local history and maintain churches and cemeteries in the region. The legacy fund was established at the Community Foundation in […]

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Marjorie Rock — Second Lieutenant Marjorie J. Rock, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, 1942.
PHOTO CREDIT: NNY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The legacy fund was established at the Community Foundation in 2019 through a bequest from St. Lawrence County resident and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Marjorie J. Rock, who passed away in February 2017 at age 96.

“Marjorie’s legacy continues to have a profound impact, ensuring that St. Lawrence County’s history, heritage, and community spaces are preserved for future generations,” Kraig Everard, the NNY Community Foundation’s director of philanthropy, said in the announcement. “Through support for these important projects, we honor her generosity and her deep connection to the place she called home.”

The following 11 St. Lawrence County organizations will share $148,460 in grant support:

• Notre Dame Catholic Church, Ogdensburg — $36,500 to support the restoration of a highly visible large stained-glass transept window.

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Canton — $25,040 to help replace two heating systems. Capital-reserve funding will cover up to 50 percent of the project.

• Bayside Cemetery Association — $20,000 to help restore an urn-bearing tower adjacent to the cemetery’s gatehouse building. This project provides for the restoration and stabilization of the sandstone gates and towers of the entrance to preserve this cultural and historic legacy.

• Clark-Robinson American Legion Post 68, Norwood — $16,133 to complete a floor-replacement project. Grant funding will support half the project budget while the Sons of the American Legion and the Legion’s Auxiliary will cover remaining costs.

• St. Olympia Orthodox Church, Norwood — $20,814 to support a restoration project and complete a facility assessment. Grant funding will help restore ceilings and walls in a side room and foyers. The total grant award includes up to $6,000 to consult with a preservation architect to create a preservation and restoration plan.

• Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg — $10,587 to help replace the gift shop window, the largest window in the museum, which has deteriorated due to wood rot and other weather-related damage.

• Pierrepont Hill Cemetery Association — $6,533 to support planting Green Mountain Boxwoods along the north and east border of the property that will serve as a more aesthetically pleasing boundary.

• Town of Waddington — $5,680 to help conduct a building-condition assessment for the old Waddington Town Hall. Town officials plan to use the assessment as support for future funding applications that would seek repairs to preserve this historic building.

• Flackville Cemetery Association, Lisbon — $2,900 to help purchase top soil, grass seed, crusher run for driveway, tree removal, and monument work. The Cemetery Association and its cadre of volunteers are working to maintain the property for the benefit of the community it serves.

• United Methodist Church of Norwood — $2,600 to help stop rainwater runoff from further damaging the church’s historic steeple. As part of an ongoing capital-improvement project, immediate support is needed to preserve the historic steeple.

• Purmort Cemetery Corporation, Heuvelton — $1,673 to help remove a large dying maple tree and repair a large headstone in danger of toppling. The Town of Depeyster recently increased its support of the cemetery.

Since the Rock Charitable Fund began grantmaking efforts in 2019, it has awarded nearly $705,000 in grant funding to support 43 projects at 39 St. Lawrence County organizations, including churches, cemeteries, places of historical significance, and those supporting veterans of the U.S. military.

VIEWPOINT: 10 reasons to fit social media into your multi-platform selling strategy

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only, Technology

Social-media platforms can be a daunting frontier for brands who are unfamiliar with how to leverage various platforms for brand awareness, customer education, and activation. Although platforms rise and fall in popularity, and their back-end tools often evolve, social-media marketing still holds the potential to meet a variety of objectives to marketers who can master

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Here are 10 ways to leverage social media within a multi-platform strategy:

1. Geofencing

Geofencing — the use of GPS technology to create a virtual geographic boundary, which then triggers an action when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area — fills a variety of purposes for marketers. Mobile ads can be served to potential customers and clients who attend a fair, sporting event, open house — anywhere that would be relevant to their interests — showing where your brand is already activated.

It’s the friction-free, 21st-century version of a clipboard on which visitors write their home address or email by hand: not only can you serve ads to people during an event itself, but ads can be retargeted digitally to the same user after the event to keep your brand top of mind.

2. Creating personalized experiences

Social-media users are generally in the habit of checking and re-checking their social platforms. An ad on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X can reach social users more continuously than an ad on any dot-com site they don’t visit as often.

The upshot: it’s easier to use cookies to tailor a personalized ad experience on these platforms with relatively little lag time since the last time they opened their favorite app.

3. Social-media ads can meet buyers at all stages of the journey

From awareness to consideration, conversion (research and evaluation) to retention, social-media ads have the potential to meet buyers at all stages of their journey. The potential for more continuous ad reach can effectively serve the buyers who journey from awareness to retention while checking their social feed intermittently over the course of a month, week, day, or hour.

Social media also offers immense potential for customers to serve as ambassadors and advocates for your brand. Its ability to generate referrals organically, without paid partnerships, can foster the most powerful word-of-mouth marketing campaign in your brand’s history.

4. Deeper conversion tools than other online ads

For some brands, quickly moving the buyer from one stage of their journey to the next is paramount. Social media helps here, too. For example, offering a 10-percent-off coupon can move the buyer from the consideration stage to the conversion stage in one click.

Remember that social-media users are accustomed to rapid-fire information processing. Going deeper in the consideration and conversation stages — through visual or written social posts that offer deadline-oriented messages, incentives, and stronger calls-to-action — often elicit instant movement out of the awareness stage.

5. Social text offers more opportunities than image-based ads

When it comes to social-media posts, forget character limits. Text-based ads allow for more space when the text is placed in an image than a text field on Facebook, for example. Written coupon codes and QR codes blend cleanly in an Instagram post with text in the image field.

These are just a few reasons why, compared to the average web/mobile ad, a well-designed social-media placement offers users a more holistic blend of headline, description, and visual elements.

6. Tools for social-media advertisers are always growing

AI-based options are expanding on all platforms in 2025, offering useful shortcuts to every copywriter and designer who’s ever wondered “can’t there be a faster way to do this?” Meta can now read visual ad copy and suggest things like “we noticed this coupon code ― would you like to use it in your ad?” X’s AI image generator, Grok, offers a native tool within the app for generating crisp, clean images in seconds.

Social-media platforms already provided easy opportunities for entry based on a variety of factors, including cost. Multiple social platforms are now providing recommendations that brands can consider to help optimize their messaging, such as AI-suggested text, making animations based on static imagery, and serving content and creative dynamically based on user demographics and how they typically receive information.

7. New platforms with new audiences pop up quickly

The social platform Bluesky saw its user base double from October 2024 to January 2025, an extreme example that highlights the potential for rapid growth of any social platform. It’s rarely a bad idea to scoop up a desired user handle (or two) on a new platform, but posting, buying ads, and engaging with users on a new platform can probably wait — unless it meets and aligns with the company’s marketing strategies.

When TikTok first offered ad buys, for example, its ad targeting was very broad. The platform initially didn’t make sense for advertisers that only used targeted geofencing or more niche audiences, but has since expanded its capabilities. Threads was expected to open up for advertisers by the end of 2024, but hesitation on the part of parent company Meta, potential advertisers, or both seems to have postponed those plans — for now at least.

8. Social platforms offer direct-sales platforms now

Amazon might have started with books, and TikTok with viral “dance videos.” Now, both platforms offer direct-sales platforms that can force legacy businesses to re-think every aspect of their online presence.

Instagram and Pinterest have also emerged as players in the direct-sales space. This should be a point of consideration for brands weighing whether to budget for influencers to promote on these platforms.

9. Speaking of influencers

Partnering with a trusted influencer who shares your values can be a simple matter of finding the right person on the right platform. As their direct-sales platforms have grown in popularity, TikTok and Amazon have gone over and above in their efforts to make influencers feel at home on their platforms.

The skincare company GoPure, for example, effectively built its name off TikTok. TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial-services organization, leveraged 50 NIL (name, image, and likeness) college athletes on Instagram and TikTok to create buzz around retirement equity. Sometimes the marriage between brand, influencer, and platform requires creative thinking.

10. Your competition might already be there

A number of independent journalists were among the first to amass large audiences on Bluesky when X amended its algorithm to suppress outside links. The early adopters who made the leap were predictably rewarded with engagement and traffic.

Scoping out the landscape of a new platform — even if it’s only new to your brand and potential audience — is never a bad idea before diving in head-first.

Andrea Ness is media strategy and oversight director at the marketing agency, ddm marketing + communications. She provides leadership and oversight to ddm’s media team.

Taproom, event center now open at 6 Acres Farm Brewery in Mexico

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

MEXICO — The effort started when 6 Acres Farm Brewery was named the winner of Oswego County’s “Next Great Idea” (NGI) business-plan competition in late 2021. The endeavor culminated in April when the business formally opened its taproom and event space at 393 Fort Leazier Road in the town of Mexico in Oswego County, Operation

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MEXICO — The effort started when 6 Acres Farm Brewery was named the winner of Oswego County’s “Next Great Idea” (NGI) business-plan competition in late 2021.

The endeavor culminated in April when the business formally opened its taproom and event space at 393 Fort Leazier Road in the town of Mexico in Oswego County, Operation Oswego County (OOC) announced on April 21.

OOC joined friends, family, and brewery supporters to celebrate the official ribbon cutting.

“Winning the Next Great Idea competition gave us the resources and confidence to move forward with our dream,” Jenna Behling, co-owner of 6 Acres Farm Brewery, said. “The support we received from Operation Oswego County and other partners has been incredible — from business planning assistance to the $50,000 seed funding to expand the business and develop our new facility. It’s amazing to open our tasting room and share our farm-crafted beers with the community.”

The NGI competition is an initiative held every other year and organized by OOC and other key business and community stakeholders to encourage entrepreneurship and new business development in the county.

Austin Wheelock, executive director of Operation Oswego County and co-chair of the NGI competition, commended the brewery for its “vision and commitment.”

“6 Acres Farm Brewery exemplifies what the Next Great Idea competition is all about — turning bold, innovative ideas into catalysts for economic activity and developing quality of life assets for our communities,” Wheelock said. “We’re proud to have supported Jenna and her team along this journey and to see their dream come to life in such a meaningful way.”

In addition to its contributions to the local craft-beverage scene, the brewery and taproom at full capacity will support 20 new jobs in brewing production, hospitality, sales, and marketing, further boosting economic growth in the Mexico area, OOC noted.

The brewery is described as a “natural evolution” of Behling Orchards, “one of the region’s most established and recognized orchards.” 6 Acres Farm Brewery offers craft beers brewed with fruits and ingredients cultivated on the farm, along with locally sourced products from across New York State, OOC said.

State awards 5th contract in I-81 project’s initial phase

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Pact includes starting to remove parts of the viaduct SYRACUSE — New York State has awarded Salt City Constructors the fifth and final contract of the initial phase of the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project. The $251 million pact is also the first contract to include removal of portions of

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Pact includes starting to remove parts of the viaduct

SYRACUSE — New York State has awarded Salt City Constructors the fifth and final contract of the initial phase of the Interstate 81 (I-81) viaduct-replacement project.

The $251 million pact is also the first contract to include removal of portions of the viaduct, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said April 22.

The work on this contract “signals the transition of the project away from its initial stages,” Hochul’s office said. Work on the fifth contract is set to begin “imminently.”

About the contract work

As part of contract five, construction will begin on the southside of Syracuse, with the effort to turn the southern end of Almond Street and I-81 into future Business Loop 81. Work includes reconstructing and converting I-81 to Business Loop 81 from just north of Colvin Street to Burt Street, gradually bringing the highway down to street grade. The project also introduces several “traffic-calming” measures, including curved roadways and narrower lanes and shoulders. Plans also call for a grassy median, decorative lighting, and trees as traffic approaches Martin Luther King East.

Contract five also includes the construction of a roundabout at Business Loop 81 and Van Buren Street, which will help slow northbound traffic as it approaches Martin Luther King East and downtown Syracuse. The roundabout was initially planned for a location at Martin Luther King East, near the STEAM at Dr. King Elementary School, but was relocated after community members expressed safety concerns about its proximity to the school.

As construction on contract five proceeds, two thirds of the way through completion, the viaduct will officially close to traffic south of Harrison Street and crews will remove about seven spans of the viaduct.

Southbound traffic destined for Exit 18 to Adams and Harrison Streets, and northbound traffic that enters using the on-ramp to I-81 at Harrison Street will remain on the viaduct. Temporary improvements will be made to Almond Street to allow for all traffic destined to or from Business Loop 81 to access the central business district, Hochul’s office said.

Additional components of the fifth contract include an off-ramp from Business Loop 81 northbound to Colvin Street to enhance connectivity to the downtown areas, Syracuse University, and the university’s south campus.

They also include improvements to the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County’s stormwater runoff and sewage systems, along with new traffic signals with video detection on mast-arm poles to enhance safety and traffic flow.

The components also include pedestrian and cyclist amenities, such as designated bike lanes, shared use paths, new sidewalks and crosswalks with enhanced pedestrian activated signals.

They also include noise barriers along Business Loop 81 southbound between Martin Luther King East and along the off-ramp to South State Street, South Salina Street, and Brighton Avenue, in the northbound direction between a half mile south of the I-81 bridge over Colvin Street to just north of the I-81 bridge over Colvin Street.

Project work so far

The initial work has focused largely on improvements needed to redesignate Interstate 481 as the new I-81 — and toward the later phase of eliminating the viaduct and establishing the community grid.

The state also sees this latest contract award as marking a “significant milestone in this historic project to reunite the long-divided communities of Syracuse’s Southside and modernize the entire transportation landscape of Central New York.”

Comprised of eight separate contracts, construction on the project began in the spring of 2023. With the award of the fifth contract, all five phase one contracts are now under construction, which New York State considers a “major milestone” as the project continues.

The project is being funded with a mix of federal and state government money.

SU selects Graduate by Hilton as brand partner for upcoming campus hotel

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Education & Training, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Graduate by Hilton will be the brand partner for Syracuse University’s (SU) upcoming new hotel to be constructed on University Avenue. The site for the upcoming hotel is across from the University Avenue Garage, at the corner of University Avenue and Harrison Street. The hotel is expected to open in the fall of

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SYRACUSE — Graduate by Hilton will be the brand partner for Syracuse University’s (SU) upcoming new hotel to be constructed on University Avenue.

The site for the upcoming hotel is across from the University Avenue Garage, at the corner of University Avenue and Harrison Street. The hotel is expected to open in the fall of 2027, and the partnership is part of SU’s housing strategy, the university said in its April 9 announcement.

SU is working with The Hardy Group, which is serving as project manager. DLR Group is the project’s designer, and LeChase is serving as construction manager. The school is also in the process of selecting a third-party operator for the hotel as well, it said. The announcement did not disclose the projected cost of the construction project.

“Graduate is an ideal partner in helping us bring to life a distinctive and dynamic space that authentically represents the Syracuse University experience,” Brett Padgett, SU senior VP and CFO, said in the announcement. “This collaboration will create a vibrant hub for both our campus and the broader Syracuse community, offering a welcoming destination during key moments like Orange game days, reunions, graduations, campus visits and beyond. We’re thrilled to work together to build a space that reflects the unique spirit and character of Syracuse University.”

The new hotel will help fill a need and help replace hotel rooms that no longer exist in the marketplace. The announcement follows the university’s conversion of the former Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center into Orange Hall. It also follows the school’s acquisition of the Hotel Skyler Syracuse, part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection.

Graduate by Hilton is a lifestyle brand made up of 35 hand-crafted hotels in university-anchored towns across the U.S. and U.K, SU said.

Each hotel is created with a focus on local history and nostalgia — from the design touchpoints to the culinary experiences — “capturing the unique spirit of each university and reflecting the cultures and traditions of the communities they are located” in.

The planned hotel will feature about 200 rooms, on-site parking, a full-service, three-meal restaurant and event space. A rooftop bar and lounge will offer views of campus, creating a space for both hotel guests and members of the Central New York community to gather, SU and Graduate by Hilton contend.

“Syracuse University is the perfect partner as we continue the Graduate tradition of delivering collegiate-inspired hospitality to vibrant academic communities,” said Kevin Osterhaus, president, global lifestyle brands, Hilton. “Like the University, Graduate values lifelong learning and connection, and we are confident this hotel will become a beloved destination for visitors, locals and fans alike.”

Rome Health to install new security measures

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only, Technology

ROME, N.Y. — Rome Health announced it will implement the Evolve Express weapons-detection system this summer and designate specific entrances to access the facility as part of its commitment to creating a safe environment. The introduction of this new technology will coincide with the opening of Rome Health’s new main entrance, intensive care unit, and

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The introduction of this new technology will coincide with the opening of Rome Health’s new main entrance, intensive care unit, and Kaplan Center for Surgical Services this summer.

The initiative also comes at a time when health-care organizations across the U.S. are responding to a rise in workplace violence and security concerns within medical settings, Rome Health stated. Carrying weapons is not permitted on any Rome Health campus.

“We are taking a significant step forward to safeguarding our healthcare environment,” AnnMarie Czyz, president and CEO of Rome Health, said in the announcement. “The safety of our patents, staff, and community is our highest priority, and the implementation of this system allows us to proactively protect everyone who comes through our doors without compromising the warmth and efficiency of their experience.”

The Evolve Express system, capable of screening up to 4,000 people per hour, will be placed at entrances open 24 hours a day, including the main entrance on James Street and the emergency department entrance. It detects potential threats without requiring individuals to stop, empty their pockets, or remove personal belongings, according to Rome Health.

Patients and visitors will used designated entrances to enter the building including the emergency department entrance, the medical center entrance on Oak Street, the pharmacy entrance, and the main entrance.

The system will support a steady flow of foot traffic, ensuring that hospital access remains convenient and uninterrupted, Rome Health contended. It is powered by AI and sensor-fusion technology, making it safe for individuals with medical devices.

Rome Health will also expand its security team as part of the initiative with personnel stationed at entry points to monitor the system and respond quickly to any alerts.

These security enhancements reflect our broader vision to continuously enhance the quality of care and safety we offer,” Czyz said. “It’s part of our long-term strategy to provide a secure, welcoming, healing environment for those we serve.”

Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel slated to open later this year in Salina

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SALINA — As the construction effort continues, it’s expected the upcoming Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel at 241 Elwood Davis Road in the town of Salina will open in September. The construction site for the new 110-room hotel is located just east of the Thruway Office Building and the existing Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.

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Beardsley Architects + Engineers moves Albany office

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Firm is in new downtown location AUBURN — Beardsley Architects + Engineers has moved its Albany office to a new location in downtown Albany at 69 State St., Suite 1100D. The new location in the downtown Expansive Workspace provides additional space for the firm’s growing Albany design practice, Beardsley Architects + Engineers announced. “Our new

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OPINION: Medical Aid in Dying Act: A Dangerous Step for New York

Opinion, Subscriber Only

The New York State Assembly [on April 29] passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (A.136/S.138) by a narrow 81-67 margin — one of the closest votes we’ve seen in years. During the four-hour debate, the maximum time allowed by Assembly rules, legislators from both sides of the aisle expressed serious moral, legal, and practical

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The list of problems with this legislation is lengthy. The bill allows an adult patient of sound mind with a prognosis of less than six months to live to seek permission to self-administer a life-ending drug. The potential for abuse of lethal medication is deeply concerning. Once it is obtained, there are no safeguards in place to ensure it does not fall into the hands of someone other than the patient, like a child. Digging deeper, there are legitimate concerns that cases could arise where frustrated family members pressure patients to consider suicide to avoid having to pay for care, or provide it themselves, as patients near the end of their life.

Additionally, parts of the legislation directly conflict with other laws already on the books. According to the bill’s language, “The cause of death listed on a qualified individual’s death certificate who dies after self-administering medication under this article will be the underlying terminal illness or condition.” It could be interpreted that the bill calls for doctors to ignore the true cause of death, which is the suicide medication provided. What it amounts to, though, is lying.

Even the medical community is torn over the legislation, with one American Medical Association code of ethics opinion outlining many of the same concerns we had during the bill’s floor debate. It reads: “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Instead of engaging in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life.” I couldn’t agree more.

The only silver lining is that doctor-assisted-suicide is not yet law in New York. It still requires passage in the Senate and to be signed by Gov. Hochul. I truly hope it does neither. [If the bill does become law], New York will essentially offer legalized suicide. This would be a grave mistake.

The role of the health-care industry is to preserve life and provide comfort to those suffering. This bill does neither. Instead of opening a Pandora’s box — bills like this often lead to new legislation well beyond the intended scope of the original — we should instead focus on investing in better mental-health services, hospice, and palliative care.

I understand the heartbreaking challenges that come with terminal illness, and no one wants to see a close family member or friend suffer. Unfortunately, end-of-life decisions impact us all at some point. This legislation, though, does not honor the needs of those facing the end of their lives. Instead, it creates a terrifying reality where suffering patients could be bullied into taking their own lives, ignores the reality that not every terminal diagnosis is accurate, and, worst of all, will put into circulation a deadly poison with no safeguards against its misappropriation. None of that befits the accepted ethical standards of the doctors who will prescribe it and the lawmakers who enable its usage.

William (Will) A. Barclay, 56, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.

OPINION: Where Congress Goes Next on the Budget Will Matter to You

Opinion, Subscriber Only

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Back at the beginning of April, the U.S. Senate and House each passed a “blueprint” laying out the broad strokes of what they’d like the federal government to look like. The votes were narrow — 51-48 in the Senate and 216-214 in the House — but the result is that both chambers now have to get down to brass tacks. There hasn’t been much coverage (yet) of this next stage and there’s a great deal of uncertainty, but one thing you can count on: What they do will affect your life. So, let’s take a look.

For starters, the GOP majorities in both chambers seem willing to add massively to the federal deficit — the Senate blueprint would increase it by $5.7 trillion to $6.9 trillion, according to independent analyses, while the House would add an estimated $3.4 trillion to $4 trillion over 10 years. This is largely because both chambers want to extend tax cuts from the first Trump administration that tilt heavily toward the wealthy and were due to expire; lop billions (or, in the case of the House, $1.5 trillion) out of the budget; yet also fund big increases for spending on border security and defense.

What happens next is where things get interesting. The blueprints were marching orders for committees on each side of Capitol Hill. But the Senate’s marching orders are different from those in the House, and at some point down the road, they’re going to need to come into agreement. Among other things, the two chambers disagree on how to account for extending the tax cuts (the Senate’s approach basically assumes that extending them would have no deficit impact during the 10-year budget window); they differ on how much to raise the federal debt ceiling; and they differ on how much they want to spend on defense and border security.

But what is undoubtedly going to produce the most headaches for the GOP majorities in both chambers is basic math. In order to extend the tax cuts — and boost border and defense spending — they’ll have to take a cleaver to other parts of the federal budget. And since roughly half of all federal spending goes to three popular programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — many analysts (and members of Congress) believe that at the very least, serious cuts to Medicaid funding are on the way.

This might seem like a remote problem, but it would affect health care and the economy in pretty much every nook and cranny of the country. Medicaid doesn’t just help one in five low-income Americans get primary and acute care, but it undergirds health care for about half of U.S. children. It underwrites six in 10 nursing-home residents. Moreover, Medicaid buttresses primary care practices, clinics, hospitals (especially rural hospitals), nursing homes, and health-care workers. Cutting it dramatically will reshape health care in communities everywhere.

On the other hand, there’s another kind of math in effect: The narrow House majority allows very little wiggle room for the GOP leadership, and in mid-April a dozen Republican members — more than enough to sink any agreement — sent a letter to the leadership saying they would not support “a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.” What this actually means we’ll just have to wait to see.

Expect much drama as Congress tries to cut federal agencies and programs to pay for the tax cuts it would like to enshrine. But one thing is certain: Even though committees in both chambers will work on the package, what it looks like will be steered by the leadership and by the White House. The opportunities that once existed for experts and rank-and-file members to weigh in and shape budgets and other legislation have narrowed over the years, as congressional leaders have concentrated more power in their own hands.

As a result, many members of Congress — as they have on so many fronts — have essentially sidestepped their accountability for what happens on Capitol Hill, and have made it tougher for the public to weigh in on the details. With something so momentous as the forthcoming tax and budget cuts, that’s too bad.

Lee Hamilton, 94, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.

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