Brian Michael Higgins[1][2] (born October 6, 1959) is an American former politician who was the U.S. representative for New York's 26th congressional district, from 2005 until 2024.

[8] The Buffalo News wrote of Higgins: "During his 5 1/2 years on the Council, he has earned a reputation as a thoughtful, soft-spoken lawmaker who has paid attention to both district and citywide concerns.

In April 2004, Higgins entered the race, and narrowly defeated then-Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples.

He picked up the rest of Buffalo, as well as several inner-ring suburbs that used to be in the territory of Louise Slaughter, while losing Chautauqua County to its traditional Southern Tier district.

Higgins has received financial contributions for his campaigns from many business executives in Western New York throughout his tenure in Congress.

[12] In 2012, his reelection committee raised more than $1,000,000, with approximately 2/3 coming from individual donors, representing major businesses in Western New York.

[13][14] He is an advocate for economic development and job creation, and played a pivotal role through his membership on the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in securing approval for the construction of a new federal courthouse in downtown Buffalo.

[18] In 2006, Higgins and Representatives James T. Walsh and Tim Murphy met with several government leaders in Ireland and announced confirmation of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons decommissioning.

[19] Government leaders with whom the three met included Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain, US Ambassador to Ireland James C. Kenny, US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert H. Tuttle, and the leadership of each of the main political parties involved in the process for peace.

[4] Higgins received an "A+" on the 2007 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues from the Drum Major Institute, which describes itself as "providing the ideas that fuel the progressive movement.

[9][21] He was one of six candidates on New York Governor David Paterson's "short list" for the position; a WKBW-TV poll showed 75% of respondents on the station's website would support Higgins's nomination.

On January 31, 2009, Higgins led a delegation of Western New York elected leaders in welcoming Gillibrand to the region, moderating an economic roundtable discussion held at the Bioinformatics Center of Excellence, on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

[4][9] On the latter, Higgins quickly rose to the position of Ranking Member of the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

On a previous policy position from his website, Higgins said: "For too long, the Social Security Administration has under-funded and under-staffed hearing offices in Western New York ... Citizens who have contributed to the Social Security system throughout their lives should have proper customer service when their benefits come due.

Cutting Social Security benefits beyond the already scheduled increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 would create even more needless hardship for millions of vulnerable Americans."

[33] He "support[s] full funding for the Social Security Administration to process checks on time; fight against waste, fraud, and abuse; and combat unacceptable claims backlogs".

[38] On his congressional website, Higgins has stated that "there is no question that [the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] was needed".

[45] The bill, the Nation Building Here at Home Act,[45] based on research by the New America Foundation,[45] would cost significantly more than Obama's $787 billion stimulus package.

[47] He is a proponent of congressional support for measures that increase student achievement, but that also reward success, rather than punish failure, as the No Child Left Behind Act has done.

[50][51] In 2007, Higgins supported The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a bill passed into law that included the reduced 3.4% interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans through the end of the 2012 academic year.