Brian Higgins is a member of the United States House of Representatives serving New York’s 26th congressional district, which includes portions of Erie and Niagara Counties.
Widely accepted as the principal architect of waterfront development in Buffalo and Western New York, Brian led the fight for a quarter-billion dollar federal relicensing settlement from the New York Power Authority that continues to finance the transformation of Buffalo's long-neglected Inner and Outer Harbor waterfront areas. In our nation’s capital, Brian is an advocate for policies important to our regional and national economies. Brian is an avowed supporter of increased funding for biomedical research – an area creating jobs throughout the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus – and remains a strong voice for robust infrastructure investment, for “nation building here at home.”
Brian has long believed in a simple formula for waterfront development: remove the barriers to public access, provide high-quality public destinations along the water’s edge, and economic growth, private development and opportunity will follow. In 2005 he led the charge to secure a $279 million federal relicensing settlement from the New York Power Authority, which has funded and continues to fund parks and public improvements along Buffalo’s Inner Harbor, including Canalside, and Outer Harbor.
In 2013, Brian set out to help the City of Niagara Falls reclaim its waterfront. He pushed for removal of the Robert Moses Parkway to reconnect people and neighborhoods with their waterfront and insisted the New York Power Authority was responsible for paying for it.
Brian’s waterfront efforts reach outside of the Cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Examples include: federal funding for the West River Parkway on Grand Island as well as the Intermodal Hub & Comfort Station connecting waterfront trails in the Tonawandas.
In Congress Brian is a champion for programs that promote, invest in and protect our water. Robust funding for the Army Corps of Engineers ensures waterways are navigable and shorelines are protected. Continued protection of our National Heritage Areas build new opportunities in Niagara Falls and along the Erie Canal. As a member of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, Brian fights to reduce threats to our water, including chemical and wastewater pollution, harmful algal blooms, and invasive species, and pushes for expanded funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has led to revitalization of the Buffalo River.