Representative Chris Lee says that the federal government should get involved with Time Warner's broadband rate change only as a last resort.

He's looking into Time Warner's proposal and is aware that there's broad concern over it. Public officials should make sure "consumers are protected and that they pay a fair rate," he said after an unrelated press conference this afternoon.

The company has agreed to hold a public session on the plan, which would implement tiered, usage-based rates. Ideally, it would be able to develop fair-rate plans, said Lee, Monroe County's lone Republican Congressional representative.

That runs counter to the approach being taken by Democratic Representative Eric Massa, who is drafting legislation aimed at stopping the broadband change.

Lee held a press conference today to push for the federal government to open a passport office somewhere in Western New York. He's joined with Buffalo-area Democrat Brian Higgins to submit legislation that would do just that. He was joined today by Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo, as well as the Wayne and Genesee County clerks.

Such offices are already located in international hubs including Detroit or New York City, Lee said. But Western New York shares a busy border with Canada, and starting on June 1, a passport or enhanced driver's license will be required to cross.

It takes three weeks to get an expedited passport through existing channels, though Western New Yorkers often have to go to Canada for business or family matters on as little as a day's notice, Lee said.

"We are one of the few cities in the country that are at a border and do not have a passport office," he said.

If a passport office is opened, it would likely be in the Buffalo-Niagara region.

Having a Western New York office means that an applicant could have a passport on the same day.