Our guest on The Voice Podcast is Congressman Paul Tonko, a Democrat who represents New York's 20th Congressional District.
A longtime state Assembly member who was elected to Congress in 2008, Tonko has been a fighter for his constituents, for higher education and for organized labor.
He's come out against the war in Iran, calling it reckless and unjustified. He's also called for the abolition of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, citing the death and destruction the agency has caused under President Trump’s cruel immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis protesters—both U.S. citizens—by federal agents.
As the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Tonko blasted the administration for its Feb. 12 decision to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s “endangerment finding,” a long-standing, scientifically proven conclusion that greenhouse gases are dangerous to humans and the planet.
He stood with United University Professions in our fight against the Trump administration’s drastic 2025 cuts to federal research funding. In February 2025, Tonko joined with three other New York House Democrats to criticize the National Institutes of Health for drastically reducing grant funding for indirect costs.
In our Lookback segment, Mike Lisi remembers the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire which took place on March 25, 1911 and the quirky, nearly two-month strike of San Francisco's KMPX-FM, America's first underground rock station, which started March 18, 1968.
In Kowal's Coda, The Voice Podcast host Fred Kowal provides commentary on the war in Iran and why the this chaotic action - which came without a declaration of war by Congress - has occurred.
Links to music from this episode:
Metropolitan Klesmer: "Die Fire Korbunes (The Fire's Sacrifices)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6OP6GRkSNo
Ace of Cups: "Feel Good" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KqPCFw-VHQ
