Officials also in Attendance: Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town of Smithtown Supervisor
Edward Wehrheim, Northport Mayor Damon McMullen, Leadership of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, and several other elected officials on Long Island
At press conference, bipartisan group of elected officials
urged Senator Mitch McConnell to pass Coronavirus relief legislation as
municipalities and schools across Nassau and Suffolk continue to face
budgetary shortfalls
Oyster
Bay – Today, Huntington Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci joined Congressman
Tom Suozzi (D-Long Island, Queens) and a bipartisan group of elected
officials, including Congressman Peter King
(R-Seaford), Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, Suffolk County
Executive Steve Bellone, and several local officials to call on Senator
Mitch McConnell, to pass bipartisan legislation which will provide
federal aid to states, counties, localities, and schools
as they continue to deal with budgetary shortfalls created by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The
press conference took place exactly two months after the House-passage
of the Heroes Act. This critical and much-needed legislation included
three of Suozzi’s most important priorities which
will bring billions of dollars in aid to New York’s families and local
governments:
- A
special fund of $49 billion distributed to States based on “rate of
infection.” Suozzi led the entire NY and NJ delegations in asking
congressional leadership for the creation of this fund.
This fund will be especially helpful to local school districts.
- The
elimination of the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.
Yesterday, Congressman Suozzi joined Senator Schumer at a press
conference on Long Island where Schumer pledged to fight
for the full repeal of the cap during Senate negotiations of the federal
stimulus package. Suozzi led the House in including the repeal of the
SALT cap in the Heroes Act.
- $87.5
billion for municipalities with more than 50,000 residents and $37.5
billion for municipalities with under 50,000 residents. This will help
every municipality from the currently devastated
counties to the smallest villages.
“It
has been two months since the House passed legislation, which would
bring billions in local aid to our state, counties, towns, cities,
villages, and school districts. As demonstrated by
the bipartisan group of elected officials here today, every local
municipality needs Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to negotiate a
deal and pass the Heroes Act. The longer they wait, the more Long
Islanders and New Yorkers suffer.” – Congressman Suozzi.
“The
Coronavirus has decimated state and local governments particularly here
on Long Island. To avoid fiscal devastation, it is essential that
Congress provide COVID funding to state and local
governments to cover all expenses incurred and revenues lost.” –
Congressman King.
"The
coronavirus has turned the Long Island economy upside down, causing
unprecedented financial damage to county governments that are unable to
close these historic budget gaps and recover
by austerity measures alone. With the Long Island economy already on
shaky ground, we need Congress to deliver federal assistance in order to
avoid drastic and painful actions that would ultimately be borne by our
first responders and taxpayers alike. I thank
Congressmen Suozzi and King for putting the politics aside and leading
this bipartisan effort to ensure that Long Island can recover from the
worst economic crisis since the Great Depression." – Suffolk County
Executive Steve Bellone.
“Local
governments like ours are the tip of the spear in delivering relief and
protecting residents’ health and safety during this ongoing national
emergency. The alarm bells are ringing loudly
for the Senate to act immediately. Nassau County is ready to emerge from
the pandemic stronger than before but requires the hands of all our
partners on the federal level.” – Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
“I
stand with my colleagues at the federal, county, town and village levels
in urging the Senate to approve this critical bipartisan legislation,
which will ensure the communities most heavily
affected by this public health crisis are not further set back by an
ongoing economic crisis. While the Town of Huntington is in strong
financial shape, the added financial burdens of an ongoing economic
crisis, not of our creating, may risk our ability to
continue providing the services so many our of residents need and rely
on.” -- Huntington Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci.
“For
months this public health crisis has raged on and wreaked havoc on our
economy and local governments. Locally, we managed the outbreak and now,
we collectively call on leaders in Washington
to allocate Federal funding for direct aid to local governments,
including the Town of Oyster Bay and its villages. Without an increase
in aid from the Federal government, local governments will face
unprecedented economic damage.” – Oyster Bay Town Supervisor
Joseph Saladino.
“Towns
and Villages have been on the front lines, providing essential services
directly to the residents from the very beginning of this pandemic. We’ve
been hard at work, from
everyday services such as waste and recycling removal, animal rescue and
public safety to providing meal delivery, and PPE assistance during the
pandemic. All the while, we’ve lost revenues from the commercial and
retails industry and are certain to see massive
cuts in State funding coming. We are truly grateful for our public
servants at the federal level, who have been working together, to
advocate for direct-to-local government funding. This aid will make us
whole, which in turn allows relief for the taxpayers
who are desperately trying to piece their lives back together. In short,
this funding would directly benefit the residents of our communities,
prevent layoffs and allow us to continue serving our communities without
raising taxes or fees.” – Smithtown Town
Supervisor Edward Wehrheim.
“COVID-19
has had a tremendous financial impact on local municipalities across
Long Island, and we sincerely thank Congressman Suozzi for aggressively
advocating on our behalf. The pandemic
is unfortunately far from over and receiving federal funding will go a
long way in helping local governments recover faster. “– North Hempstead
Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth.
“The
COVID-19 pandemic has presented local municipalities with a variety of
financial challenges that we are all currently navigating through. It is
imperative that the Federal Government step
up and recognize that financial aid will be necessary to allow local
municipalities to continue to provide vital services for our residents. I
want to thank Congressman Suozzi for his leadership on this issue, and
we at the Town of North Hempstead implore his
colleagues in Congress, the Senate, as well as the White House to
support local municipalities during this unprecedented crisis.” – North
Hempstead Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey.
“It
is extremely important that local municipalities receive federal
funding. Our villages had to use extra resources to keep residents and
employees safe during the pandemic. Everything from
masks to sanitizing ambulances and buildings to quadruple the amount of
garbage cost us more than we had budgeted. Additionally, many of our
local businesses are struggling and may not be around next spring. We
need help now.” -- Northport Mayor Damon McMullen.
“On
June 9th Long Island voters exhibited overwhelming support for their
communities’ school budget. Regrettably, this admirable local commitment
amounts to far less than what will be needed
to cover the inestimable costs entailed in the reopening of schooling in
the fall or to mitigate the looming threat of pandemic related massive
mid-year cuts in state aid. An infusion of federal funding is essential
to address the budgetary response to securing
a safe, healthy, meaningful, and equitable delivery of K-12 education.”
-- Executive Director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association
Lorraine Deller
Today’s
bipartisan press conference shows that there is mounting pressure on
Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to negotiate a deal and pass
legislation which will being relief to thousands
of local communities across the United States of America.
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