What’s new in Washington: Long Island Congress members review federal cuts, offshore wind and tariffs
By Sabrina Artusa
An hour-long conference was held in Woodbury on March 28 by the Long Island Association for their What’s New in Washington series. Congress members Nick LaLota (R-NY1), Tom Suozzi (D-NY3), Laura Gillen (D-NY4) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY2) met to answer pressing questions regarding present federal policies. Moderator Matt Cohen led the discussion.
SALT
The four congress members spoke of their bipartisanship and dedication to serving Long Island together. Suozzi commended LaLota and Garbarino on going against their party in opposing the SALT cap, which restricts tax deduction on income, sales or property taxes to $10,000. The cap expires this year
“The continuation of that cap will not pass because there are enough of us that will vote against any bill that tries that,” Garbarino said.
“Our leadership knows that we are absolutely strong and steadfast in our position here, to take us seriously. I am willing to vote ‘No’ if there isn’t enough SALT in that reconciliation package,” LaLota said.
Gillen said that she is working in a “bipartisan fashion” to get rid of the cap. Garbarino said that President Donald Trump (R) has said he was on board with eliminating the cap. Indeed, Gillen said the president campaigned in her district on that claim.
Off-shore drilling
LaLota said he supports the safe extraction of natural resources through drilling, which would be “good for jobs, good for the environment [and] good for the economy.”
Suozzi, a self-proclaimed “big environmentalist,” said that it takes “too long to get stuff done in America” due to partisanship and excess rules and regulations: a roadblock that he says diminishes the immediacy of environmental acts.
Federal cuts
Suozzi and Gillen are firmly against the appropriateness and rationale of the cuts of the Department of Government Efficiency, with Suozzi calling the cuts “reckless” and strewn with hasty firings and “mistakes” leading to the removal of essential researchers. While Suozzi acknowledged the importance of efficiency, he argued that attrition and early retirement packages were suitable alternatives.
“Laying off the lowest wage people is creating this fear and panic. I understand the need to disrupt things. I buy that need. I just think it has been too cavalier in how it is affecting people and how it is affecting services that have to be provided,” Suozzi said.
LaLota said, “We need to put the country on a better track and this is the start.” He added that the government is in desperate need of budget changes and that the budget hasn’t been balanced “in 25 years.”
The Long Island Association is the region’s leading nonprofit and nonpartisan business organization. We look forward to more such conferences. To check out other events go to: www.longislandassociation.org.
