ICYMI: Congressman Mike Lawler and House Republicans are to Blame for this Government Shutdown

With the Republican-led Congress Unable to Pass a Government Funding Bill, Rep. Mike Lawler is Trying to Point the Blame at Anyone But Himself

NEW YORK — Within only hours of a government shutdown, Rep. Mike Lawler is continuing his media tour, blaming everyone but himself and Republicans in Congress. This frantic spin follows the New York Congressman’s unwillingness to support any funding package that would have rescinded Medicaid funding cuts or prevented steep price hikes on New Yorkers’ health insurance premiums.

Late yesterday, Rep. Lawler absurdly claimed that “...the Affordable Care Act 15 years on has not actually borne fruit in terms of reducing healthcare costs, or healthcare premiums, or increasing access. In fact, in many respects, it has made the cost of health care substantially worse.” We all know this isn’t true. In fact, without these healthcare tax credits, 7,000 New Yorkers in Lawler’s district will see their premium costs go up by thousands of dollars a year. 

Then, this morning, Lawler told POLITICO New York that “this is entirely being driven by the progressive left that just wants to oppose anything and everything that Donald Trump is doing… They’re going to regret this.” It’s clear that Rep. Mike Lawler and other Republicans in Congress need to stop threatening their own constituents, look in the mirror, and see who the real cause of this government shutdown is.

“My Congressman, Mike Lawler, seems pretty desperate to blame his political opponents for this shutdown,” said Zach, a disability services provider from Brewster. “Which seems strange to me, given that it’s his party that controls both chambers of Congress and the presidency. Rep. Lawler didn’t want to support a funding bill that would have lowered healthcare costs for families here in the Hudson Valley, and now he’s trying to spin this mess of his own making as anyone else’s fault. Instead of focusing on media appearances and playing political blame games, Rep. Lawler should listen to his constituents and get to work on lowering healthcare costs and reopening the government.”

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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.