As Government Shutdown Looms, New York’s GOP Freshmen Side with Freedom Caucus over Constituents
House Republicans are Threatening a Government Shutdown Unless They Can Slash Funding for Programs Like SNAP, Medicare, and Medicaid
NEW YORK — New York Representatives Anthony D’Esposito, Marc Molinaro, and Brandon Williams returned to Washington today, where they are set to continue their fight to slash funding for programs like SNAP, Medicare, and Medicaid. The three freshman members have joined the most far-right members of their party in demanding cuts to nearly every federal program, threatening to shut down the government this weekend unless they get what they want.
Empire State Voices is currently holding a press conference outside the Social Security Administration office in Freeport, NY, alongside Make the Road Action and other Long Island advocacy groups and community members. The coalition is calling on Representative Anthony D'Esposito to stand up to the extremists in his party and fight to protect the programs that so many of his constituents rely on.
Reps. D’Esposito, Molinaro, and Williams are fighting for legislation that would:
Slash funding for low-income schools in New York, impacting more than 1.5 million students
Cut funding for Head Start, eliminating 3,360 preschool slots in New York
Make it harder for New Yorkers to access Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits
Raise housing costs for over 2,300 New York families
Deny 32,800 New Yorkers access to job training services
“It was only because of the assistance we received from Medicaid that my siblings and I were able to take care of our elderly mother when she fell ill,” said Lorraine, a resident of East Meadow, NY. “Countless New York families rely on similar assistance just to get by. If Representative D’Esposito and his colleagues use this threat of a government shutdown to force cuts to these critical programs, they’ll be actively hurting millions of hardworking Americans who are just trying to make ends meet and do right by their loved ones.”
To learn more about the campaign, please reach out to press@empirestatevoices.org
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About Empire State Voices
Empire State Voices (ESV) is a multi-year campaign dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday working New Yorkers. ESV is fighting for economic policies that make life more affordable for constituents and holding members of Congress across the state accountable when they fail to do the same.
