By Dan Murphy
President Joe Biden paid a visit to Westchester last week, with a stop at Westchester Community College on May 10. The President delivered his speech to a number of NY Democrats, including Governor Kathy Hochul, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who all introduced the President.
Also in attendance was Westchester Congressman Mike Lawler, a republican. President Biden’s speech was about reaching an agreement with congressional republicans on an increase to the debt ceiling, and Biden addressed Lawler in his speech.
“And Republican Congressman Mike Lawler is here as well. Mike is on the other team. But you know what? Mike is the kind of guy that when — when I was in the Congress, they’re the kind of Republican I was used to dealing with. But he’s not one of these MAGA Republicans, which I’m going to talk a little bit about.
“I don’t want to get him in trouble by saying anything nice about him — (laughter) — or negative about him. But I — thanks for coming, Mike. Thanks for being here. This is the way we used to do it all the time. (Applause.)”
Lawler commented after Biden’s speech, stating, “I have long said that I have 3 parameters in the debt ceiling that must be met – one, the President and Senator Schumer must negotiate with Speaker McCarthy in good faith, two, we must enact long-term spending reforms and reduce overall spending, and three, we must not default.”
“In meeting with President Biden today, I conveyed my thoughts on the debt ceiling discussion and encouraged him to continue meeting with Speaker McCarthy to find common ground. We both agreed on the need to avoid default and the importance of working together,” continued Congressman Lawler. “While I disagree with his overall assessment of the Limit, Save, and Grow Act and strongly oppose the White House’s messaging on it, I believe there is common ground to be found in negotiations as we move forward in capping long-term spending and lifting the debt ceiling.”
“Another item I raised with the President is the crisis at our Southern Border and I was heartened to hear he recognizes it’s an issue that must be addressed as well,” concluded Congressman Lawler. “With the expiration of Title 42 happening tonight at midnight, it is imperative that the President work with House Republicans to identify a solution to this immediately.”
The auditorium at WCC where Biden spoke is not among the larger venues available in the county. But it was packed with many local democrats, and members of the Westchester Democratic Party.
“I made it clear: America is a not a deadbeat nation. We pay our bills. (Applause.)…..And I was pleased but not surprised by the Republican Leader in the United States Senate, McConnell, who said after the meeting in the White House — and he went to the press — he said, “The United States is not going to default. It never has and it never will,” said Biden.
The President was also able to highlight some of the positive things his administration has been able to accomplish, including:
- “We said the price of insulin and other drugs — the price of insulin would be reduced to $35. Well, guess what? The price of insulin went from four, five, six hundred bucks a month down to $35 a month — (applause) — for those on Medicare.
- “Look, I proposed a billionaire minimum tax…The average tax paid by the thousand billionaires in America — individual — the average tax paid is 8 percent. E-I-G-H-T. Eight percent. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher or a firefighter. (Applause.)
- “And there’s nothing radical about this. That’s why my budget also fully funds the Internal Revenue Service. You know, and it’s kind of interesting: Republicans have been consistent for the last 10 years, cutting the number of IRS agents. I wonder why. (Laughter.) So we now have legislation that passed that’s going to — that’s in our budget — that says we’re going to beef up the number of IRS agents to thoroughly look at the taxes of billionaires in America. According to the Congressional Budget Office, a bipartisan office, they estimate that just that alone would raise another $200 billion a year.
- “Unemployment is at 3.4 percent, the lowest in 50 years. (Applause.) We’ve made enormous progress. Just look at what we’ve done so far. Over the past two years, we’ve created a record 12.7 million new jobs — (applause) — more than ever in that period of time — including 800,000 manufacturing jobs.
- “I signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which I felt very strongly about — (applause) — to bring back key parts of our supply chain back to America…we went from producing up to 40 percent of the world’s chips to producing only 10 percent, despite leading the world in research and design. Now we’re turning that around. (Applause.)
Understanding that the President’s speech was about the Debt ceiling and the economy, Biden made no comments about the migrant crisis in New York City, and how it is affecting Westchester. And after watching the speech, and speaking to those in attendance, the President was “sharp” and “mentally on his game.”
The President attended a fund raiser in New York City after the speech. Last year, Biden delivered a speech at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers.
Other media reports claimed that Biden came to Westchester because it is politically “in play” between both parties. With only 4 republicans or conservatives representing Westchester in Congress, the State Assembly and Senate, and the County Board of Legislators, and 26 democrats, we don’t agree with that analysis.
One correction to the President’s speech. Federal spending over the past three years has produced, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, deficits of 3.1 Trillion in 2020 (COVID, 2.8 Trillion in 2021, and 1.4 Trillion in 2022, and an expected deficit of 1.5 Trillion this year 2023.
–
