Local Activists, Policy Experts, and Faith Leaders Raise Concerns Over Republican Healthcare Cuts at Nyack Community Forum

Congressman Mike Lawler Voted in Favor of the Largest Healthcare Cuts in American History, Imperiling Tens of Thousands in the Hudson Valley

NYACK, NEW YORK — Yesterday, on the 60th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid Act, a coalition of activists, policy experts, and faith leaders gathered with local residents for a community forum and press conference in Nyack, NY. The evening’s discussion centered around the recently passed Republican healthcare cuts, which Representative Mike Lawler helped to pass.

Guest panelists included the Reverend Peter Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches, Professor Matthew Record, Professor of Political Science and History at Molloy University, Anna Brand, Advocacy & Government Relations Coordinator for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, and Maurice Larry, Political Organizer for 1199SEIU. Empire State Voices organized the event in partnership with 1199SEIU, Communications Workers of America, Planned Parenthood Action, and Indivisible Rockland.

From left to right: Dylan Wheeler, Reverend Peter Cook, Professor Matthew Record, Anna Brand, and Maurice Larry. | CREDIT: Empire State Voices

The new legislation, which passed without any bipartisan support, slashes funding for Medicaid and other healthcare programs in order to pay for tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations. The law also repeals a key provision of the Affordable Care Act that sends federal funds to states like New York to expand coverage, putting hundreds of thousands at risk. Over the next decade, as many as 1.5 million New Yorkers—including over 30 thousand residents of New York’s 17th Congressional District—could lose their health coverage due to reduced funding and rising costs.

“Back in April myself, my husband Herb and I visited Rep. Lawler to advocate to him the importance of preserving Medicaid funding and directly asking his office not to cut these programs,” said Joan Silverman, a retired healthcare worker from Pomona, NY. “It seems that our ask as constituents fell on deaf ears, as Rep. Lawler voted to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid, threatening some of our local hospitals and neighbors in the process. Shame on Rep. Lawler.”

“With his vote for this legislation, Representative Mike Lawler aided and abetted his Republican colleagues in ripping critical healthcare away from thousands of his own constituents, all so that the richest millionaires and billionaires could get an even sweeter tax break,” said Dylan Wheeler, NY-17 Regional Organizing Director for Empire State Voices. “This wasn’t just irresponsible, it was cruel. Instead of standing up to protect the most vulnerable here in New York’s Hudson Valley, Rep. Lawler turned his back and sided with his rich donors and lobbyist buddies.”

“This is an unbelievably, unbelievably cruel piece of legislation. It is, in terms of just pure dollars and cents, the biggest, dumbest, cruelest thing in modern American history.” -Prof. Matthew Record, Molloy University | CREDIT: Empire State Voices

“I'm not supposed to advocate for anything; I'm just supposed to tell it like it is. But the empirics really all point in one direction,” said Professor Matthew Record, Professor of Political Science and History at Molloy University. “The stated goals [of the Republican healthcare cuts] don't make sense with what's being done, so you can make your own determination about whether or not the stated goals are the true intention of what's behind the most recent legislation. This is an unbelievably, unbelievably cruel piece of legislation. It is, in terms of just pure dollars and cents, the biggest, dumbest, cruelest thing in modern American history.”

“From our faith perspective, there is something profoundly sinful about giving a lot more money to rich people to deprive people who are vulnerable,” said the Reverend Peter Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches. “We have these politicians who try to tell you how pious they are, and they go to church and they sing how great thou art in the cabinet room, and so on and so on. But our eternal question is, do you, as a politician, believe that each person is equal and created in the image of God? Do you believe that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourself? Do you seek to follow a Christ who primaries the poor and the vulnerable, those in prison, those who are forgotten? For therein lies, in our Christian faith, the Kingdom of God.”

“From our faith perspective, there is something profoundly sinful about giving a lot more money to rich people to deprive people who are vulnerable,” -Rev. Peter Cook, New York State Council of Churches | CREDIT: Empire State Voices

“Over 50% of our patients use Medicaid as their insurance to come to our health centers and get the healthcare that they need,” said Anna Brand, Advocacy & Government Relations Coordinator for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic. “In nearby Spring Valley, 76% of households are either in poverty or below the ALICE threshold, a measure that identifies household earnings above the federal poverty line, but not enough to afford the necessities of life. This includes healthcare, food, education, you name it. This is an area that needs access to affordable healthcare, and this bill would have horrifying effects on our community's health.”

“These cuts that we're going to see, over a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, you may not see it right away, but it's coming,” said Maurice Larry, Political Organizer for 1199SEIU. “Especially with all the new tariffs coming out as well, we're really going to start feeling that. We're going to have to pay higher co-pays, higher prescription rates. Those who are working two or three jobs, who are supplemented by [Medicaid expansion], their co-pays are going to be higher, and they're also not going to be able to afford their rents.”

To learn more about Empire State Voices, 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.