In their first major public action since we passed the budget in early April, Democrats in the Senate and Assembly convened a virtual hearing on May 13 for small-business owners, advocacy groups, and lawmakers to discuss the federal government’s economic response to the COVID-19 crisis. You would be hard- pressed to find a legislator who […]
In their first major public action since we passed the budget in early April, Democrats in the Senate and Assembly convened a virtual hearing on May 13 for small-business owners, advocacy groups, and lawmakers to discuss the federal government’s economic response to the COVID-19 crisis. You would be hard- pressed to find a legislator who is more about listening to our small-business community than I am, but I thought the focus of the hearing was a bit confusing.
Why wouldn’t state Democrats want to focus on the state government’s response?
If you want to change things for the better, I believe it’s more important to look in the mirror than point fingers. Since the beginning of the outbreak, our Assembly Minority Conference has not been blaming Washington, D.C. We have been doing the work we were elected to do. Our Small Business Emergency Recovery Act would’ve used the state’s $890 million settlement reserve fund to distribute needed capital to small businesses. It would have offered 0-percent interest recovery loans, repurposed all existing development tax credits specifically for small businesses and delivered real regulatory relief.
Our conference sent a letter to President Trump on behalf of New York’s farmers. The administration responded by granting our request that it extend the H2-Visa program for farmworkers. We also sought federal reimbursement for lost agricultural revenues. The administration responded by creating the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance program, $16 billion of which is earmarked for “direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers.”
We rejected the idea of a one-size-fits- all approach to reopening our statewide economy and pressured the state to authorize a regional approach to getting back to work. We joined teachers, parents, and administrators in speaking out against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reimagine our statewide education system by eliminating classroom learning. Most importantly, we reject the notion that government should continue to be a one-man show. It’s time for the governor to relinquish his emergency authority, and it’s time for lawmakers across the state to return to Albany and get to work.
There is so much to do in the coming weeks. We should be holding bipartisan hearings to investigate the crisis in our nursing homes. We should be holding bipartisan hearings to find out why the state Department of Labor has taken so long to process urgent unemployment claims for individuals who are out of work through no fault of their own. And we should be working to make sure we’re getting our local economies moving again as quickly as we can and as safely as possible.
Assembly Republicans are ready to get back to work. We don’t have any interest in blaming Washington. We want to get results for the people who matter most to us — our constituents.
Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C–Canandaigua) represents the 131st Assembly District, which encompasses all of Ontario County and parts of Seneca County. Contact him at kolbb@nyassembly.gov