Niagara Leader

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today released the statement below following the passage of New York’s budget by the state legislature.

"This budget may be the biggest “Big Ugly” of them all. Albany Democrats passed a $229 billion tax-and-spend budget that will raise costs and restrict the rights of upstate New Yorkers," said Congresswoman Tenney. "This budget makes New York the first state in the country to ban natural gas hookups in new construction, which will result in even higher energy prices for families. New York’s rapid plan toward electrification without sufficient base load capacity is reckless and increases the likelihood of brown and blackouts.

“The so-called ‘reforms’ to New York’s dangerous bail law included in this budget are also toothless. They are totally inadequate, given the serious crime crisis facing our state. The disastrous bail law cannot be fixed; it must be repealed. Under this bill, New York’s criminal justice system will continue to put dangerous criminals and repeat offenders first and victims and safe communities last. The budget also includes a minimum wage hike and adopts an irresponsible proposal by Kathy Hochul to illegally withhold federal Medicaid reimbursements from counties, which will lead to higher property taxes for families. Rather than reform New York’s bloated Medicaid program, Hochul is asking working families to pay even more to sustain it. The changes included in this bill to the structure of the Western Regional OTB are also of grave concern. They will weaken the voices of rural communities across New York’s 24th District and potentially reduce the revenue these counties have come to rely on for decades to fund essential services.

“This budget is a fiscal train wreck for families, small businesses, family farms, senior citizens, and our Upstate communities. It will sadly accelerate New York’s unfortunate transformation from the Empire State to the Exodus State."

Original source can be found here.