Steuben County: Ten Federal Funding Claims Examined

Why This Matters in a Rural County

Federal funding matters in rural counties — not because of press releases, but because roads, water systems, flood protection, veteran care, and food assistance are often the difference between staying afloat and falling behind.

This review examines whether federal funding announcements for Steuben County reflect real representation or routine agency processes — and whether the policies supported by the same representative strengthen or weaken rural communities over time.

Source: Multiple Langworthy press releases, 2024-2025

Langworthy has issued press releases “announcing” federal funding flowing into Steuben County across multiple programs. The dollar figures are largely accurate. The framing routinely overstates his role. The most consequential findings are not about credit-claiming but about what policies are actually doing to the county.

A. Infrastructure That Farms and Communities Depend On

Did federal funding make it easier or harder to operate, transport, insure, or stay on the land?

$16 Million Rail Grant

Langworthy’s framing: “This $16 million project represents a significant investment in the future of Steuben County and the Southern Tier.”

The record:

• Actual award: $15,982,500 to Steuben County IDA through the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program
• One of 122 competitively selected projects nationwide
• Funding derives from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58), passed November 5, 2021 — over a year before Langworthy took office
• Sen. Schumer wrote an explicit advocacy letter to DOT Secretary Buttigieg supporting this specific application
• No evidence exists that Langworthy submitted a support letter or played any role in the competitive award

Verdict: Dollar amount accurate. Langworthy had no documented role. Schumer actively advocated.

In plain language: This funding arrived through a competitive federal program created before Langworthy took office. The announcement did not change the outcome.

Prattsburgh $4.9 Million Water System

Langworthy’s framing: “a $4.9 million federal loan for the Town of Prattsburgh”

The record:

• Langworthy correctly identified this as a loan (not grant) through USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program
• The loan must be repaid by the Town of Prattsburgh through water rates charged to residents
• May include a grant component — USDA routinely combines loans and grants, but the split is unconfirmed
• USDA Rural Development loans/grants are application-based, evaluated by USDA staff — Congress members have no formal role
• Companion announcement: $1.46 million for Town of Cohocton through the same program

Verdict: Accurately labeled as a loan. No congressional role in award process.

In plain language: Prattsburgh applied for and received a federal loan that residents will repay through their water bills. This was administrative continuation, not advocacy.

$75,000 ARC Grant for Bath Industrial Site

Langworthy’s framing: “Proud to support this initiative.”

The record:

• $75,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to Steuben County IDA for Route 54 Industrial Site Analysis
• Requires 50/50 local match ($75,000), total project $150,000
• ARC grants are competitive, but the application process runs entirely through state-level channels
• Per ARC’s own documentation: the process begins at the state government level — Congress members play no formal role in selecting or awarding individual ARC grants

Verdict: Accurate. Language relatively modest but still implies credit. No congressional role in award.

In plain language: The county applied through the state. The grant would have been awarded the same way regardless of who represented the district.

B. Disaster Response vs. Disaster Prevention

Reimbursement after damage is not the same as protection before the next storm — and outdated maps actively prevent people from qualifying for insurance.

$9.5 Million FEMA Disaster Recovery

Langworthy’s framing: “I am proud to announce that more than $9.5 million in FEMA funding is coming to Steuben County” and “I will always fight to make sure our communities get the support they need and deserve, and I am proud to see that hard work paying off today.”

The record:

• Exact total: $9,536,664.82 across three Public Assistance obligations
• $6.59 million (69%) relates to Tropical Storm Fred (August 2021) — more than a year before Langworthy entered Congress
• FEMA Public Assistance is Stafford Act mandatory reimbursement — once a presidential disaster declaration is issued, FEMA obligates funds based on statutory cost-share formulas
• Langworthy’s legitimate contribution: touring damaged areas and writing a letter supporting the disaster declaration
• Jasper-Troupsburg School District superintendent specifically thanked Sen. Schumer — not Langworthy — for the FEMA funds

Verdict: Amount accurate. Mandatory reimbursement, not a congressional achievement. Two-thirds predates his tenure.

In plain language: FEMA reimbursement is required by law after a disaster declaration. This funding arrived because the system required it — not because someone intervened.

Outdated FEMA Flood Maps

The record:

• Woodhull’s FEMA flood maps have not been updated since 1991 (per WSKG, September 2021) — now 35 years old
• Maps are meant to be reassessed every five years
• A Risk MAP update project is underway per an April 28, 2025 Steuben County Legislature resolution
• The county has 37 miles of levees in 17 levee systems
• Legislature requested FEMA delay updated mapping until levee certification is complete — meaning updates are years away
• Tim Marshall, Director of Public Safety, confirmed few, if any, households have flood insurance — a direct consequence of outdated maps showing properties outside designated floodplains that actually flooded

Verdict: See Steuben flooding analysis for full assessment.

In plain language: Families who flooded repeatedly were told by federal maps they weren’t in a floodplain. They had no reason to buy flood insurance. Now they face uninsured losses — and the map update is years away.

C. Food, Labor, Care, and Survival Systems

SNAP is off-season food stability. Head Start is workforce participation. The CAREERS Act is promise without delivery. VA care is whether veterans can get help close to home.

$2.53 Million Head Start Grant

Langworthy’s framing: “I was proud to support and deliver over $2.5 million for Head Start projects in Bath.”

The record:

• $2,530,907 to Pro Action of Steuben and Yates, Inc. — a Community Action Agency in Bath operating since 1965
• Serves 273 center-based and 30 home-based Head Start slots plus 127 Early Head Start children
• Head Start grants operate on a 5-year Designation Renewal System with annual continuation funding processed administratively through HHS
• Programs meeting performance standards receive automatic 5-year renewals without competition
• Congress members have no role whatsoever in the Head Start grant award process

Verdict: The word “deliver” is the most misleading credit-claiming language identified across all ten claims. This is routine continuation funding Pro Action would have received regardless.

In plain language: Head Start funding renews automatically for programs that meet standards. Pro Action has operated since 1965. This announcement did not change the outcome.

Steuben County SNAP/HEAP: The County’s Own Warning

What happened: On October 30, 2025, Steuben County Legislature Chair Kelly H. Fitzpatrick sent a formal letter to Langworthy urging protection of SNAP and HEAP funding during a 43-day government shutdown. The county estimated $2.2 million per month in potential lost benefits.

Additional context:

• At an August 7, 2025 Health and Human Services Committee meeting, County Manager Jack Wheeler confirmed: “the Big Beautiful Bill will result in Steuben County getting less money coming in from the federal SNAP program”
• WSKG reported Steuben County expects a loss of up to $5 million in SNAP administration funds between 2026 and 2027
• Steuben had 11,459 SNAP recipients in 2022 — roughly 12.3% of its population
• Langworthy voted Yes on the OBBBA (H.R. 1) which imposes these cuts

Verdict: The county’s own government has warned of devastating local impacts from legislation Langworthy voted for.

In plain language: One in eight Steuben County residents receives SNAP. The county’s own manager says the bill Langworthy voted for will cost the county millions. This is not a national statistic — it is a local projection from the people who run the programs.

The CAREERS Act

Langworthy’s framing: Announced at Siemens Energy in Painted Post alongside state legislators.

The record:

• Genuinely bipartisan — co-sponsored with Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and others
• Would amend USDA RISE Grant Program to fund career pathway programs ($500K-$2M grants)
• Introduced as H.R. 7015 (118th Congress) and reintroduced as H.R. 291 (119th Congress)
• Has not passed committee, not reached a floor vote, and has not been enacted
• GovTrack gives it low odds of advancement

Verdict: Legitimate legislative work. Should be characterized as pending, not accomplished. Stalled after 2+ years.

In plain language: This is the one item where Langworthy did real legislative work. It’s bipartisan, it would help rural workforce training, and it has gone nowhere in two years. Credit for authorship is fair. Credit for results is not.

Bath VA and DOGE

See: Full analysis: VA Healthcare fact-check

• Bath VA experienced DOGE-driven probationary staff dismissals (February 2025)
• Langworthy is a DOGE Caucus founding member who has not publicly criticized VA workforce reductions
• Monroe County Veteran Services Director warned cuts targeted critical detox positions: “I fear that we are going to see the worst-case scenario, which could be veterans lose their lives because of it.”
• VA OIG found 4,434 severe staffing shortages across all 139 VHA facilities — up 50% in one year

In plain language: The VA in Bath lost staff under an initiative Langworthy actively supports. The people who run veteran services in the region say lives are at risk. Langworthy has not publicly objected.

OBBBA Impact on Steuben County

The record:

• Langworthy voted Yes on H.R. 1, which passed 218-214 on July 3, 2025
• CBO estimates: ~$1.06 trillion in Medicaid spending reductions, ~$186.7 billion in SNAP reductions over ten years
• SNAP work requirements expanded from ages 18-54 to ages 18-64
• Federal SNAP administrative cost share cut from 50% to 25% starting FY2027
• Governor Hochul’s office projects 1.5 million New Yorkers losing Medicaid, 300,000+ households losing SNAP
• Steuben County poverty rate: ~16%; seasonal employment patterns make work requirement compliance particularly difficult

Verdict: Langworthy’s vote is documented. The projected local impacts are substantial and verified by the county’s own government officials.

In plain language: Work requirements don’t create jobs. In a county with seasonal agriculture, limited year-round employment, and a 16% poverty rate, they eliminate assistance for people who can’t find work that doesn’t exist.

The Pattern

Across all ten claims, a consistent pattern emerges:

What Langworthy authored: One bipartisan bill (CAREERS Act) — still stalled in committee.

What Langworthy announced: Agency-administered formula grants, mandatory FEMA reimbursements, competitive awards, HHS continuation grants, and USDA loans — over which he exercised no documented influence.

What Langworthy voted for: Legislation that Steuben County’s own government warns will cost millions in SNAP and Medicaid funding.

Questions This Raises

1. When Langworthy “announces” federal funding, what specific action — if any — did he take beyond issuing a press release?

2. Why does 69% of the FEMA funding he announced relate to a disaster that occurred before he entered Congress?

3. If Head Start continuation grants are automatic, what does “deliver” mean?

4. Why has Sen. Schumer received specific thanks from local officials for the same funding Langworthy announced?

5. How do constituents distinguish between Langworthy’s one genuine legislative effort (CAREERS Act) and the many agency grants he announced but did not influence?

6. When the county’s own manager says a bill will cost Steuben County millions, and the representative voted for that bill, what does “fighting for our communities” mean?

Assessment

The dollar figures across these ten claims are largely accurate. The framing is not.

Langworthy’s press releases create a consistent impression that he is responsible for delivering federal funding to Steuben County. Primary source verification shows these funds flow through established agency processes — FEMA reimbursements, HHS continuation grants, USDA loan programs, competitive FRA grants, and state-administered ARC awards — over which he exercised no documented influence.

The most consequential verified facts are not about credit-claiming but about policy impact: Bath VA staffing cuts under a DOGE initiative Langworthy actively champions, FEMA flood maps 30-40 years out of date, and OBBBA provisions that Steuben County’s own government warns will cost millions.

Verdict: MISSING ATTRIBUTION — Funding announcements are accurate in dollar terms but systematically overstate the representative’s role. Meanwhile, the policies he supports are projected to weaken the same systems rural residents depend on.

For a shorter summary of what these findings mean for Steuben County, see: What Federal Policy Is Actually Doing to Steuben County

Sources

• Langworthy press releases: Rail grant, FEMA, ARC grant, Head Start, Prattsburgh water, CAREERS Act (langworthy.house.gov)
• FRA: CRISI Program competitive awards, October 29, 2024
• FEMA: Public Assistance obligations DR-4625-NY (Fred) and DR-4825-NY (Debby)
• ARC: Area Development Grant application process documentation
• HHS: Head Start Designation Renewal System guidelines
• USDA: Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program
• WSKG: CAREERS Act reporting (Natalie Abruzzo); flood map reporting (September 2021)
• Steuben County Legislature: April 28, 2025 Risk MAP resolution; October 30, 2025 SNAP/HEAP letter
• CBO: H.R. 1 budgetary effects analysis (May 2025)
• Related: Infrastructure: Earmarks vs. Formula Grants
• Related: Steuben County Flooding
• Related: SNAP Benefits
• Related: VA Healthcare

Note: This entry documents publicly available information from federal agency records, congressional records, county government proceedings, and news organizations. Readers may draw their own conclusions.

Last updated: February 8, 2026