Saratoga N.Y., – In case you missed it, House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik joined the Patriot with New York State Assemblyman David DiPietro on saving New York from Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Rise of Zohran 'Commie' Mamdani, and how the One Big Beautiful Bill benefits New Yorkers.
On Buffalo Event
DiPietro:
I am honored to have a good friend and one of the most influential people in this country, Elise Stefanik. Congresswoman Elise, it was great to see you at the event last week in Buffalo. It was an incredible event. It was great to hear your speech. You were able to motivate so many people. You are an incredible speaker. We really appreciate you being there.
On Firing Kathy Hochul
Stefanik:
If you look at the crises that have been created under single-party Democrat rule, you have an affordability crisis, and Kathy Hochul is trying to point fingers elsewhere. It is Democrats who control New York State right now. They have the governor's mansion, the State Senate, and the State Assembly. They own this affordability crisis. On top of that, you have sky-high taxes. This is an issue I've been working very hard in Congress to continue to cut taxes for New Yorkers, and frankly, for all Americans. New Yorkers should know that Kathy Hochul supported the largest tax increase in our nation's history because she opposed the extension of the Trump tax cuts. In addition, we delivered significant tax cuts, specifically to New Yorkers, by raising the cap on state and local tax deduction. That's the biggest tax cut in modern times. Kathy Hochul opposed that as well. She wants to continue to raise taxes, which have happened on her watch. It's why people are leaving New York State, on top of the economic issues and the bloated budget, which you see firsthand, which is a quarter of a trillion dollars, which is really, really unthinkable that it has gotten so far at this point in New York State. It's outrageous. We also have a crime crisis. If you look at the skyrocketing of crime, the murders, the sanctuary state policies in New York, it is abysmal. It's another reason why there is a mass exodus from New York. We need a strong leader in New York State that supports the police, that gets rid of failed bail reform, that ensures that we are enforcing the law, that includes deporting illegals, many of whom have committed violent crimes against law-abiding New Yorkers. I want to point out when Kathy Hochul had that horrific hearing on Capitol Hill where I was able to just bulldoze through her in five minutes, not even acknowledging these crimes, or a woman burned alive on the subway by an illegal, all on Kathy Hochul's watch.
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It's a travesty, and it's a result of their policies. I saw some chatter. Kathy Hochul is the best real estate agent for the State of Florida. Ron DeSantis has said that as well because it's only going to further fuel the mass exodus from our state. It doesn't have to be this way. New Yorkers deserve so much better. That's why you're seeing not just Republicans, but independents and Democrats as well, yearning for a new generation of leadership that is common sense and that is able to bring things under control in New York. We shouldn't be ranked at the bottom of the list when it comes to being a state that is good for business. We're at the bottom right now. We should be number one. We are the Empire State. We should be the leading state in the nation. And instead, we are the furthest behind in so many metrics.
On Zohran 'Commie' Mamdani
Stefanik:
This is not our father or grandfather's generation's Democrat. This is a full blown communist who is an antisemite who wants to run small businesses out of New York City. If you look at those that voted for him, it was not the working class that he purports to represent, it was the affluent elites who do not want to give the working class Americans and working class New Yorkers a voice. And frankly, this state was built by the working class, and we need to fight for the working class. These are hard-earned taxpayer dollars that are going to be wasted on far-left, progressive, radical causes in New York State, and then it continues to be more and more burdensome with regulation upon regulation for small businesses and for families just to make ends meet. Today's Democrat Party is really encapsulated by Mamdani's win in the New York City mayoral primary. Kathy Hochul and senior New York Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are going to be forced to bend the knee to this communist; they already are, and the media is trying to turn the cheek the other way. We all remember from 2016 until now, reporters would chase us down about who Republicans voted for in the primary. In the case of the New York City mayoral race, both Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries voted in that mayoral primary. Not a single reporter has asked them and pinned them down on who they voted for, whether they voted for Mamdani. They own this craziness and this antisemite, and New Yorkers are waking up. They want common sense, and they're going to want to check on this if he wins this November.
On One Big Beautiful Bill
Stefanik:
Number one, it's the tax cuts. When we have an affordability crisis, Kathy Hochul wants the largest tax increase in our nation's history. She wants those Trump tax cuts to expire. We delivered an extension of the Trump tax cuts. On top of that, we increased the ability to deduct state and local taxes, which are horrifically high in New York, by 300 percent, four times over, to make sure that it is a large tax break for New Yorkers. It's the largest tax break ever in modern history, and House Republicans delivered that. On top of that, we increased funding for border security to push back on these failed and dangerous sanctuary state policies allowing there to be thousands of new border patrol as well as ICE officers to deport these violent illegal criminals who have been wreaking havoc on communities, who have been murdering, killing, slaughtering, law-abiding New Yorkers. It has to stop. On top of that, there are childcare provisions to make childcare more accessible and affordable for families, whether you're from rural, suburban, or urban communities. In addition, there are school choice provisions to incentivize educational opportunity and put parents in the driver's seat. On energy policy, we are promoting energy independence and cutting the red tape at the federal level. That needs to happen in New York. We should be an energy leader in the country, not a moratorium on fracking, which it is under Kathy Hochul's failed rule. If you go across the border to Pennsylvania, small communities are booming economically, and the New York Southern Tier is left further and further behind. Whether it's energy, the economy, taxes, education, or child care, this bill is all of Trump and Republicans' promises that we won overwhelmingly with the popular vote last election cycle. We delivered it within six months, and people are going to see the economic benefit by the time they go to the polls next November.
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I want to touch upon the issues of Medicaid. We want to strengthen and protect Medicaid. That's what this bill does. What Kathy Hochul does in New York State, and what Democrats want, is to use our hard-earned taxpayer dollars for illegals. We should not be supporting these government programs for illegals. In New York, it has become illegals first, New Yorkers last. This is about strengthening Medicaid and improving health care for hard-working New Yorkers who, frankly, are qualified for those benefits. It should not go towards illegals. In addition, Medicaid under Kathy Hochul is the worst-run Medicaid program in the country. There is no question about that. On any metric, she is running it into the ground. It's fiscally irresponsible. And who's footing the bill? We are as taxpayers in New York. It needs to be cleaned up again to improve and strengthen these programs. The waste, fraud, and abuse in New York's Medicaid program are rampant under Kathy Hochul. She's also doing significant budget gimmicks, which we are doing oversight of right now, to plug the holes. And again, who is footing the bill? It is the New York taxpayers.
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So, as she wants to discuss Medicaid this election cycle, we are going to have that discussion, and we're going to make sure that every New Yorker knows that she prioritizes giving these government programs to illegals and not New Yorkers.
