Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today joined Doug Goudie on WGY Mornings and discussed Kathy Hochul’s assault on New Yorkers’ Second Amendment Rights, New York Farm Laborers Wage Board’s devastating decision to lower the overtime threshold, and Joe Biden’s border crisis.
Click here or on the image above to listen to the full interview.
Highlights from the interview include:
On Governor Kathy Hochul’s Far Left gun-grabbing agenda:
“I believe it's unconstitutional, and from my Congressional office, I wrote a letter to these credit card companies signed by over 100 Republicans demanding answers to very important questions.”
“Credit card companies now have to code gun and ammunition purchases—we oppose that. That is an overreach, that is a very slippery slope towards a gun ammunition database, and there's no business for these credit card companies or banks to have any knowledge of purchasing for Americans who are using their own Second Amendment rights.”
“When I think about the firearm retailers across my district, these are small businesses. It's yet another infringement on their ability to do business. What do I see every single day in my district? Because of the crime wave in New York State, gun and ammunition purchases are up because people feel less safe in their home, whether they're in urban settings or in rural settings.”
“We are proud gun owners in my district, including my household, and it's not a partisan issue in my district. Republicans, Democrats, Independents—they support our Second Amendment rights. They know that the law that Kathy Hochul just put into place in the dark of night, that Albany Democrats passed—it’s unconstitutional, and it's really an attack on our values and our founding principles.”
On the Battle of Plattsburgh historical reenactment and the forced cancellation of the West Potsdam Volunteer Fire Department’s fall gun show:
“This is a district where I represent the turning point of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Saratoga, represent the Battle of Plattsburgh, Fort Ticonderoga. These are incredibly important historical sites, and the re-enactments, they are part of who we are in the North Country and who we are as Americans.”
“In the case of the Battle of Plattsburgh reenactment, what was so disappointing is we've been waiting a few years since COVID to have that very large community event, and then to have to cancel that because of this unconstitutional gun law pushed through in the dead of night with absolutely no input from Upstate New York, North Country or any residents across New York State—it's atrocious.”
“The gun show, which is an important fundraising opportunity to support the local community, that had to be canceled as well. What was interesting is if you go back to look at the debate on the State Senate floor, this was legislation that was obviously very Far Left and unconstitutional.”
“It was introduced by a Democrat from Downstate, and our Upstate State Senator Dan Stec, who represents a portion of the Adirondack Park, he actually asked him and said, ‘This is going to be a real problem for the park being designated as basically a gun ban zone.’ And the New York City Democrat acknowledged that was the case—that's how little they understand the rest of New York State, that's how little they understand the Constitution.”
“People are paying attention to this issue. It's one of the reasons why we're going to have a very big Republican year all throughout Upstate New York and the state.”
“We have a crime wave in New York, and over and over again we see Democrats prioritizing the criminals rather than the law-abiding citizens. We know the criminals are not going to abide by these laws, and the people who it’s hurting are the law-abiding citizens across the state.”
On the New York Farm Laborers Wage Board recommendation to lower the overtime threshold from 60 hours to 40 hours:
“New York State is an agricultural powerhouse. I know sometimes, maybe, people don't think that from other parts of the country. But if you look at the agricultural production, whether it’s dairy, whether it’s specialty crops, whether it's apple, maple, the list goes on—we are a powerhouse. This puts us at a significant disadvantage with states like Vermont, states like Pennsylvania.”
“Every farmer will tell you, and every commonsense person understands, that you don't milk the cows on a 40 hour workweek, you don't pick the apples on a 40 hour workweek, it's when they are ripe and ready to go. Dairy barns, I mean, that is a 24/7 job to make sure those cows are milked two, sometimes three times a day.”
This law, again, was sponsored by a Downstate Democrat who has absolutely no representation of an agricultural district. The Farm Bureau spoke out, farmers across the state spoke out. Kathy Hochul didn't care, didn't listen to the farmers who are economic drivers throughout the state, and they're putting this into place.”
“So what's going to happen? This means that, as you know, agriculture workers are looking where they're going to go, they're going to go to states like Vermont and Pennsylvania and not come to New York. It’s going to put our farmers out of business.”
“I represent apple orchards in Washington County and all over the district. I've been to so many of the apple orchards, I've seen the apple production facilities. I've met with the agriculture workers who have come here for generations during the seasonal picking period.”
“They're going to have to look to other states, and that is a shame because it puts our New York apple growers at a disadvantage.”
On Biden's Border Crisis and Governors shipping immigrants to Martha's Vineyard:
“This is all because of Joe Biden's border crisis. Joe Biden has an absolute catastrophe on his hands and Joe Biden hasn't even taken the time to visit our southern border. I have gone down to the southern border. I've seen with my own eyes you have thousands of illegals pouring over the border. This is only a few short years after we had the most secure southern border in our nation's history.”
“[For] Governor Abbott and other governors across this country, it's a way to make Democrats wake up. And the Left radicals realized that this illegal amnesty, this border crisis, leads to major general crime and security issues, economic security issues.”
“We need to secure the border—that's one of the top commitments of the House Republicans that we intend to do what we earn back the House.”
“That’s today's Democrat party…they are so out of touch with hardworking Americans across the country, and it's becoming a party, frankly, of the elites, out-of-touch with working class people.”
“The numbers have been the worst two years in our nation's history with the millions of illegals who have poured across our nation’s southern border, and it has an impact everywhere. Even though I represent a Northern Border district and many of our issues are different on the Northern Border, I have Border Patrol officers who've been transferred over and over again to the southern border, so every district is impacted across the country.”
“The amount of drugs coming in across the southern border—we see upticks in fentanyl overdoses. I just had a briefing with the Washington County Sheriff's Office on the significant uptick we're seeing. Much of that is coming across the southern border, so border security will be a top issue this election cycle.”
