Politics on the Hudson

Reactions to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address yesterday were many. See here.

Here’s one more from state Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson.

“The contrast between Albany and Washington, D.C. has been striking and it all comes down to bipartisan, effective leadership focused on jobs, rightsizing government, cutting spending and lowering taxes. Working together I hope we can continue to slash government spending, continue to cut taxes and finally pass a statewide cap on Albany’s spending. Last year we passed a local property tax cap, but now it’s time for Albany to put their money where their mouth is and do the same to themselves. Working with our Republican Majority in the Senate, this Governor has proven an uncanny ability to seamlessly lead Albany in the right direction on the economic issues that matter, and 2012 should be no different if we always remain focused on the shared objective of getting New York State back on track.” Ball said in a statement..

 

Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, sent out the following:

Congresswoman Hayworth Op-Ed: Serving our friends and neighbors across the Hudson Valley

A year in review from U.S. Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, M.D. (NY-19)

January 4, 2012

“Focus on jobs.” “Make the federal government work better for us.” “Help break the partisan gridlock in Washington.” These are some of the messages I’ve been getting from people all across the Hudson Valley in our 19th Congressional District. When Congress is not in session in Washington I spend my time here, visiting our towns and villages, small businesses and larger manufacturers, senior centers and schools. We’ve held a jobs fair to bring job seekers together with potential employers; I’ve toured local nonprofits caring for our neediest citizens; and I’ve brought together key state and federal agencies to expedite recovery after Hurricane Irene.

Strengthening our economy and growing jobs is the most pressing issue facing our region and our nation. This year we’ve passed 28 bills in the House of Representatives-with votes from both Republicans and Democrats-aimed at reducing burdens on our businesses, especially small ones, and providing certainty to investors who would like to start new businesses or make existing ones bigger and better.  In June I introduced another bill that can make a difference right here in the Hudson Valley, the PACE Protection Act of 2011. It would allow people who own homes or other properties to make energy-saving retrofits affordably, through a special property tax assessment that is paid over time. It would not add costs for local taxpayers, and it would immediately create jobs in our communities. The PACE Protection Act is gaining support on both sides of the aisle.

I’ve also joined my colleagues in the House to work together with the Senate and the President wherever we can find consensus. For example, President Obama has called for making it easier for businesses to raise capital for expansion, and for reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I’ve supported the introduction and passage of legislation to do these helpful things. To help overcome the partisan divide in the House, I’m a cofounder of the Common Ground Caucus, which brings Republican and Democratic Members together to get to know each other outside of our legislative work. I’m also working with Congressman Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, as a co-chair of the Hurricane Irene Coalition, which crosses the aisle to ensure that our counties, and the entire Northeast, receive all of the federal assistance to which they are entitled to recover from last year’s devastating storms. I’m proud to have been the first member of our New York congressional delegation to have asked President Obama—successfully—for full disaster-relief designation for all of our counties in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

In the face of challenges like natural disasters and man-made pollution, I’ve worked to protect the beauty of our Hudson Valley and to keep our air and water clean in common-sense ways. Last year I received the highest score among our Republican Members of Congress from New York from the League of Conservation Voters. I was also recently recognized by the Sierra Club for my strong voting record in support of clean water. My record on the environment has led observers to recognize me as one of several federal legislators willing to “take the pro-green position during floor and committee votes spanning more than 100 bills and amendments.”

It’s a great privilege to serve our friends and neighbors across the Hudson Valley. I’d appreciate your helping me and our team by letting us know how we can help you or your community. You can contact us, as well as learn more about the issues I’m working on, at http://hayworth.house.gov.  Thanks for joining us to make our Hudson Valley an ever better place to live and work.

Sen. Charles Schumer today said workers in the lower Hudson Valley would probably pay closer to $1,500 more next year in payroll taxes if no extension is passed before the current measure expires at the end of the year.

At an event in Carmel today, the Democratic senator called on the House to approve the two-month extension passed by the Senate. He said it’s too late to start a new process in hopes of passing something by Dec. 31.

“What we’re saying is we have a good bipartisan agreement in the Senate and the House should simply pass our two-month extension,” Schumer said. “This has to get done.”

The House this week rejected the Senate bill, with GOP members saying the extension should be approved for the whole year.

House Speaker John Boehner named Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, to a committee that will try to resolve the differences over the payroll tax cut extension bill that passed the Senate in a heavily bipartisan vote but was rejected by the House this week.

“In the midst of a terrible economy, our hardworking families should not face increased taxes next year. House Republicans are determined to continue our work in Washington until we come to an agreement that lifts burdens for taxpayers while protecting the Social Security Trust Fund; continues help to our unemployed while assuring sound long-term reforms; and ensures seniors’ access to their doctors under Medicare. We call upon the Senate to join us in working toward a solution that offers long-term relief to struggling families and job creators,” Hayworth said in in a statement.

But with the Senate out of town already and the House adjourned for for the holidays, as USA Today reports, it’s not clear when lawmakers will take any action. The payroll tax cut is set to expire Dec. 31, resulting in the average worker paying $1,000 more next year in Social Security tax.

The Senate version called for a two-month extension; House Republicans wanted to pass a measure that extended the cut for all of 2012 instead of having to take up the matter again come February.

Hayworth, who is in her first term, took criticism yesterday from two Democrats who want to unseat her.

Richard Becker, a Cortlandt Democratic Town Board member who wants to unseat Rep. Nan Hayworth, R- Mount Kisco, next year faulted the congresswoman today for being among those who rejected a bill extending the payroll tax cut beyond Dec. 31. The measure recently passed the Senate.

“Today my opponent, Congresswoman Hayworth, voted in lock step with the Tea Party once again by voting to kill a bipartisan agreement to extend the payroll tax cut for the middle class and unemployment insurance – a bill that was overwhelmingly passed in the Senate by an 89 to 10 vote,” Becker said in an email.

The 229-193 vote in the House also called for setting up a negotiating committee so the House and Senate can develop mutually acceptable legislation. The Senate version called for a two-month extension, which many House Republicans said was an inadequate step. If an extension isn’t approved by the end of the year, the average worker is expected to pay about $1,000 more in taxes in 2012.

Matt Alexander, the mayor of Wappingers Falls and another Democrat vying to challenge Hayworth, this afternoon also criticized Hayworth’s vote. He pointed to a statement he made yesterday.

“ . . . The fact is Congresswoman Hayworth and her Tea Party caucus had an entire year to propose a solution, yet failed to do that. Instead, Nan blocked and opposed every single proposal to extend the payroll tax cut. Well, time’s up. You don’t get elected to lead Congress only to put the country in reverse.”

State Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, made two appearances in the 40th state Senate District today. First, he stopped at the Mount Kisco train station to call for a forensic audit of the MTA—a request he has made several times—on the heels of the MTA payroll tax being mostly repealed.

“After years of leading the charge to repeal the MTA payroll tax, I am thrilled with the governor’s leadership on making this initial repeal a priority and reality,” said Senator Ball who spearheaded the bill (S50002) that currently repeals the job-killing MTA payroll tax for 80% of the businesses that pay it. That bill was successfully passed by the New York State Senate on December 9, 2011. “The repeal of the MTA payroll tax was just the first step, I will continue with my demands for forensic accounting to protect middle class, working families like mine who are struggling,” Ball said in a statement.

Then he headed to Patterson, where town officials were welcoming the reinstatement of an on-again, off-again, on-again grant to help pay for a new courthouse. Patterson officials had announced the money on Wednesday.

“The Town of Patterson received notice today that the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York ( DASNY) has approved its application for
$1,000,000. The funds will assist in the cost of construction of the $2.8 million Patterson Courthouse, which was completed earlier this year. The grant was initially secured by Vincent Leibell, and approved by the NYS Senate Finance Committee in 2008. Due to economic times and changes in
the political landscape this grant had been rescinded, or placed on hold several times. Each time the Town has pressed the State to restore the funding through the concerted efforts of Supervisor Michael Griffin, Councilman Kevin Burns and Town Planner Richard Williams,” according to a Patterson press release.

“Had these dollars been lost, the taxpayers of the Town of Patterson would have been forced to absorb this debt. It’s critically important that all levels of government work together to cut taxes and create jobs,” Ball said in a statement.

Within four minutes of each other last night, both Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out dueling press releases on the House vote extending the Social Security payroll tax cut that will expire at year’s end. Hayworth was among the 234 representatives who voted in favor Tuesday night of a bill that extends the tax cut for one year but also pushes along the Keystone XL oil pipeline project that will run from Canada to Texas.

“Our hardworking families and taxpayers cannot be faced with further burdens this January.  That is why I joined colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support an extension of the payroll tax reduction and unemployment insurance in a responsible manner that protects the integrity of the Social Security trust fund and prevents more debt from being piled on future generations of taxpayers,” Hayworth said in a statement.

Democrats have opposed linking the two items, saying the pipeline project needs more environmental study. The House bill is expected to die in the Senate. By voting for a bill that is expected to go nowhere, the DCCC argued Hayworth is forcing a $1,000 tax hike on middle-class families. That’s the amount in additional taxes an average family is expected to pay in 2012 if the extension isn’t approved.

 

 

 

Democrat Justin Wagner, who wants to unseat Republican state Sen. Greg Ball in 2012, called for the state to keep a tax in place on those making more than $1 million a year. New York’s millionaires tax, which affects individuals who make more than $200,000 a year, is set to expire at year’s end.

“It is fundamentally unfair to cut taxes for millionaires and at the same time expect poor and middle class New Yorkers to do more with less. We cannot allow that to happen,” Wagner said in a statement

Wagner on Wednesday proposed allowing the tax to remain on those earning seven figures. Two-thirds of that revenue, he said, could be set aside and used for education funding. The money would be outside the usual budget process and available through an application process.

“The long-term solution to the problem of income inequality is an education system that prepares all of our children for the new economy, and the need to provide our children with a quality education is greater than ever.  The pace of economic and technological change requires a newfound commitment to education” Wagner said.

The rest of the money could be used to close the state’s budget gap.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has long said he’s opposed to letting the millionaires tax continue. But on Wednesday he spoke of possibly making changes to the tax code and, as my colleague Joseph Spector pointed out, that may include proposing higher taxes on the wealthy.

Justin Wagner, a Democrat who wants to unseat state Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, next year will unveil a plan Wednesday that prevent tax cuts for New Yorkers making more than $1 million a year. His policy announcement comes about a month before the state’s millionaires tax — which affects individuals who make more than $200,000 a year — is set to expire. Gov. Cuomo has opposed extending it, even as a poll last month showed most New Yorkers support it.

Wagner says his proposal will divert those tax revenues to education, which, he added, will make the choice one about cutting taxes for millionaires or funding education. He will detail his plan Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Mount Kisco Library.

State Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, will hold a “Storm Response Round Table” next week to talk about how the best storm and natural-disaster response can be provided “to our constituents and customers throughout the Hudson Valley Region.”

The gathering comes after the Hudson Valley suffered through a tropical storm and then an October nor’easter. Topics to be discussed, according to Ball, include:

•            Why do so many of our fellow neighbors lose electrical power in their homes and businesses during a natural disaster like a snow or rain storm?

•            What must be done to enable the homes and businesses in our region to retain electrical power during and after a natural disaster or storm?

•            How can we improve response times for service to constituents and customers from all government agencies and utility companies?

•            What can we learn from the October 30th Nor’easter and Hurricane Irene?

•            How can the local municipalities, utility companies, first responders and state officials work better together to ensure all residents are safe, and services are restored in a timely and efficient manner?

The round table will take place December 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Yorktown Town Hall.