Westchester Congressman Mike Lawler voted yes last week to reopen the Federal government. Lawler said, “The reason we know this is a Democratic shutdown is because of how angry they are that we’re about to reopen the government, period. That’s all you need to know in 2023. Jerry Nadler said shutdown is really an extremist policy designed to appeal to an extremist base and hold the whole country hostage.
“That is exactly what the Democrats have done over the last 43 days. They have held the American people hostage, trying to extract insane things like free health care for illegal immigrants if they were serious about tackling the health care affordability crisis in this country, than they would address the fundamental problem with Obamacare. Since Obamacare took effect, health care premiums have risen by 96% and on the open market by 114%.
“When I asked Leader Jeffries to sign on to the one year extension of the premium tax credit, he refused. He stuttered, he stammered. He couldn’t answer a single question because this shutdown was never about health care.
“It was always about appeasing a far left radical base, Chuck Schumer said. Every day gets better for us. Katherine Clark said, of course people will suffer. We want to use this as leverage. It is an embarrassment to this country. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for inflicting this pain on the American people. Taking away food stamps from 42 million Americans, defunding Wick, not paying our troops, our federal employees, our air traffic controllers. It’s a disgrace and you should all hang your heads in shame. Vote yes to pass the bill and reopen the government,” said Rep. Lawler.
Westchester Congressman George Latimer voted no on the bill.
Rep. George Latimer has advocated for reopening the government, but voted against a specific Republican budget proposal he argued would have harmful consequences, such as increasing healthcare costs. He stated that his vote was due to concerns about the bill’s potential to cut funding for programs like veterans’ healthcare and housing for seniors, and to take away food and healthcare assistance from millions of Americans.
Vote: Latimer voted against a Republican-led budget, citing it as a partisan bill that included “disastrous policies” and would not receive Democratic support.
Reasoning: He stated his opposition was because the bill would increase healthcare costs for millions and cut funding for vital programs.
Advocacy: Despite his vote, he has continued to push for reopening the government and supported efforts to prevent rising healthcare costs.
Alternative: He and his colleagues proposed an alternative bill that would keep the government open without implementing the cuts they opposed.
The bill passed the House by a 222–209 vote, with only six Democrats voting yes, and the only Democratic congressman from New York to vote yes was Rep. Tom Suozzi.
