Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano as he continues into the 15th year of his leadership as chief executive of Westchester's largest city and the third largest city in the State of New York, Yonkers.

Mayor Spano is the longest currently serving mayor of a major city in New York State, guiding a municipality of over 200,000 residents and running the largest police department, fire department, sanitation department, parks and recreation programs, senior citizen centers, every area of municipal services, and more.

Mike and I served side by side in the Westchester County Board of Legislators, and we worked together in the New York State Assembly.

As mayor of the largest local government, we worked closely together during my tenure as Westchester County Executive on a myriad of programs, from reducing crime to improving green spaces for all to enjoy.

Mayor Spano has shepherded the improvement of Yonkers' public education programs with higher graduation rates and new school construction. He has shepherded an economic development boom in the city, including, among other things, an expansion of the film industry, giving Yonkers the nickname of Hollywood on the Hudson. Mayor Spano has overseen the expansion of housing, both affordable and market rate, attracting new residents.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, I salute a leader who proves that government can still work and achieve for everyone when led by a true leader.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mike Spano for his service.

Mr. Speaker, in the ever-changing landscape of community media, I am pleased to salute the 17th anniversary of the launch of Scarsdale10583, the online source for local news and information in the village of Scarsdale and in the neighborhoods of Hartsdale and Edgemont in the town of Greenburgh.

Joanne Wallenstein, an advertising and marketing professional with a background in magazines and internet experience, is the driving force for the team that includes Wendy MacMillan and Stacie Waldman. All three are committed Scarsdale volunteers for organizations like the local PTAs, the League of Women Voters, and numerous other community groups. This gives them the grassroots contacts and feel for what is happening every day that they report on regularly. They report on what is happening by being there in person at event after event.

The publication is truly local: high school sports stories, local meetings, recreational activities, and neighborhood associations and their activities.

We recognize the hard work of Joanne and her colleagues, and from the

floor of the House of Representatives, we salute this terrific effort to bring the whole of the community together.

Recognizing Village of Dobbs Ferry

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the outstanding programs provided by the village of Dobbs Ferry that benefit the senior citizens of that community.

Under the able leadership of Abby Connett, in a new center designed for their use, Dobbs Ferry Seniors serves hundreds of seniors annually with a daily nutrition program at lunchtime 5 days a week and activities and programs to engage seniors of all ages.

There are fitness classes daily, from tai chi and dance to chair yoga and mental fitness programs; my favorite, sports trivia; and a variety of board games, mah-jongg, bridge, Rummikub, along with the classic senior staple, bingo.

Abby and her talented crew host annual events, as well, such as an art show in May and the recent 20th annual Seniors Week in October with multiple activities. There are trips planned to shopping locales and tourist sites, as well.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the work of the Dobbs Ferry Seniors and the active and energetic members who show that age is more than just a state of mind.

Recognizing Bronx Community Board 10

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding work of the residents of the Bronx who labor tirelessly on behalf of their neighborhood, active in Bronx Community Board 10. Most of the area is represented by my colleague, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, places like Throggs Neck, Pelham Bay, Westchester Square, and the like. However, Community Board 10 also includes the major complex of Co-op City in my 16th Congressional District.

Co-op City benefits from the leadership of Joseph Russo, chairman of the community board, and the excellent district manager, Matt Cruz. Co- op City residents on Community Board 10 include Board Secretary Nancy Rosario; Stephanie Woods, who chairs the Youth and Education Committee; and board members Janine Thomas, Stefani Hazell, and Maritza Fludd.

The board has vibrant citizen committees engaged in every aspect of neighborhood life: economic development, housing and zoning, municipal services, parks and recreation, planning and budget, youth services, education, health and human services, and veterans services, with board members and community volunteers engaged together in dialogue and action to serve the overall region.

I am pleased that Co-op City is a major contributor to the work of this board.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute Bronx Community Board 10 and its crew from Co-op City, serving the Boogie Down Bronx.

Mr. Speaker, every day I hear from small business owners about the challenges of operating in this economy. In the past year, small businesses have faced unrelenting attacks from this administration on everything from tariffs to immigration enforcement.

According to a recent survey from the Small Business Majority, 47 percent of small business owners say that increased Federal immigration enforcement has had a negative impact on their business. Many small businesses have lost revenue or had to modify their operations because employees and customers are afraid to come to work or to patronize their business.

When masked ICE agents in full tactical gear inflict violence against American citizens and then show up at businesses without identifying themselves, small businesses pay the price.

Most businessowners support commonsense immigration reform to modernize the legal immigration system to make it easier for qualified workers to come into the U.S. legally, but in Minnesota, following the tragic shootings, more than 60 Minneapolis-based business leaders called for cooperation to de-escalate tensions and achieve durable immigration reforms.

It is important for this body to hold Federal immigration officials accountable and ensure that small businesses do not bear the brunt of this administration's immigration enforcement abuses.

Mr. Speaker, during the government shutdown last fall, OMB Director Russell Vought announced that the Trump administration would be pausing billions of dollars in funding for the Hudson River Gateway Tunnel project.

This critical project creates a much-needed passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River, supplementing existing tunnels that were built over 100 years ago, and will deliver thousands of commuters in and out of New York every day in the busiest Amtrak corridor in the United States.

For several months, the White House has held these funds captive over misleading claims that the project's contracting policies violate administration policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Last week, the Gateway Development Commission announced that construction will have to cease if President Trump does not swiftly restore the project's funding. If construction is delayed, thousands of union construction workers will lose their jobs, and timely completion of this project will be in jeopardy.

Mr. Speaker, I implore the President to end this vindictive quest to hurt people in the Northeast and immediately unfreeze project funds to allow for the construction to resume.

Mr. Speaker, it is reported that members of the Trump administration have held meetings with representatives of a group from the Province of Alberta that want to break away from Canada and form their own nation.

Why any American government would give aid and comfort to a group that would divide and destabilize an ally and peaceful neighbor like Canada is beyond reality.

Yet, those who speculate we should invade and take Greenland by force are operating with Vladimir Putin's ambition to create some illegal and unholy American empire fueled by ideology to force Canada as well into submission to America.

Making common cause in any way with those who would destroy the Canadian nation reminds me of Germany's efforts to encourage Mexico to attack the United States during World War I.

Do we really think in our competition with China and Russia that alienating Canada and Europe is smart geopolitics? No. It is stupidity, letting arrogance blind us from rational policies. Stop before we do permanent damage too great to fix.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great concern about the current state of service in the Social Security Administration.

Last year, the so-called department of governmental elimination, DOGE, diminished the agency's workforce, forcing thousands of employees to quit or be fired. This has left inexperienced staff to handle rising workloads and call volumes with minimal training.

The Social Security Administration has also created new roadblocks to service in the name of efficiency and fraud prevention, requiring seniors and people with disabilities to complete some transactions in person or online, rather than by phone.

Yet, reduced staffing levels at field offices have made it more difficult to schedule a timely appointment.

In my district, the Social Security Administration closed the White Plains hearing office, forcing constituents in Westchester to travel farther distances at a greater expense to receive in-person service.

I implore this body to hold the Social Security Administration accountable and ensure that our constituents receive good, convenient, quality service.

We must immediately provide more funding and reinstate positions that were lost. We will be held accountable by the voters if we fail this task.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the civic commitment of an organization of active and concerned citizens in Scarsdale who labor to involve everyday residents in the important issues of the day, the Scarsdale Forum.

The organization traces its roots back over 120 years to 1904, with a charitable and educational mission at its core. The forum sponsors events and seminars addressing the issues, choices, and solutions that directly impact the community. The floor committees study substantive issues, produce reports for discussion, and interact directly with elected officials.

The leadership team, President Jill Spielberg, Vice President Karen Brew, along with Elaine Weir, Madelaine Eppenstein, and a large cadre of talented neighbors in key roles, provide a strong base of abilities all committed to the benefit of Scarsdale.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute the men and women of the Scarsdale Forum who have made the level of voluntary, active citizenship envisioned by our Founding Fathers come to life in the village of Scarsdale.

Trump Administration's Attacks on Families

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the Trump administration's recent attack on childcare and family assistance. This administration has decided to freeze funding for three critical programs in New York and four other Democratic States. As usual, they are putting their politically motivated agenda on full display.

The targeted programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care and Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant program. This move threatens over $3.4 billion in annual funds that New York depends upon to provide critical resources, including childcare, public assistance, domestic violence services, homeless shelters, and emergency payments for families and children.

This action only serves to intensify the massive affordability crisis that New York and the rest of the country continue to face. Playing politics with people's lives, let alone vulnerable children and families, is unacceptable.

While this administration continues its cruel and vengeful behavior, my Democratic colleagues and I remain committed to protecting vulnerable children and families.

Polio Resurgence and Rotary

Mr. Speaker, I address this Chamber today as a longtime member of Rotary International. Rotary's top priority is eradication of the deadly disease, polio. Its members have invested billions of dollars and countless volunteer hours in polio vaccination campaigns in countries around the world.

In 1988, Rotary helped to create the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and the vaccine alliance, Gavi, with additional critical funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which no longer exists. Yet the entire effort is threatened by the administration's plan to defund key GPEI partners.

Just at the time when this disease is closer than ever to being eradicated, the risk of outbreaks is greatly increased. We must do all in our power to protect the gains already made, and finish the job, including appropriating the funds required.

People from my generation remember the terrible consequences of polio, often paralysis and even death for those with this highly contagious disease. Many Americans still live with long-term post-polio syndrome.

Still, outbreaks continue around the world and other countries that are just a plane ride away. Complete eradication depends on continued vaccination of children everywhere and constant surveillance.

Founded in Chicago in 1905 with the motto of Service Above Self, Rotary International is the headquarters organization for a vast number of Rotary Clubs. It is one of the largest nonreligious and nonpolitical civil society membership organizations. It provides people-to-people assistance reaching the community level with vital programs.

Rotarians have a wide range of political and partisan leanings, but they are united in their commitment to serve their communities and they share a common determination to end polio. We must hear their voices, and we must not let them down.

Mr. Speaker, I want to go on record standing beside my colleague, Congressman Pat Ryan, opposing plans by ICE to establish a facility in New York's Hudson Valley in the town of Chester, Orange County.

The proposed site, currently an empty warehouse formerly used by Pep Boys, is opposed by Republicans and Democrats of that area, including Republican County Executive Steve Neuhaus, a U.S. Naval Reserve officer, and State and local officials on both sides of the aisle.

The mission to warehouse large numbers of humans is the exact opposite of what the President and DHS Secretary

Kristi Noem constantly proclaim: to root out the most dangerous thugs and criminals. In fact, ICE is targeting the least violent people in the greatest numbers, who pose minimal pushback, with the real mission to scare all immigrants, legal or otherwise.

America has existed for 250 years without mass detention centers, but apparently, Noem and her cohorts plan for a different America to start the next 250 years, one where masked, unmarked agents seize people without judicial warrant, whisk them away to remote detention centers en route to uncertain final destinations. When such things have been done in other countries they are called pogroms and ethnic cleansing. This is not America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and salute the exceptional life of M. Christina Selin, known as Chris to all of her friends, a resident of New Rochelle, and a tremendous community leader.

Chris is, by profession, a lawyer with a practice in business and commercial law. She is an active member of the New Rochelle Bar Association as part of that commitment to the law, but Chris' work goes well beyond that.

She served for over a decade as a councilwoman on the New Rochelle City Council, representing the city's South End, service as president of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation, active in her neighborhood Sutton Manor Residents Association, and an ever-present participant at major community events, like the summer concerts and all of the other programs that always happened with Chris present and participating.

In testimony to her community impact, she was named grand marshal for the 2025 New Rochelle Thanksgiving Day Parade, the largest such parade in the county, and she has received numerous awards and recognitions.

This week, Chris celebrates her 80th birthday at a soiree at Alvin & Friends, the popular downtown New Rochelle establishment, where she will be surrounded by friends and well-wishers.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute this neighbor and friend who is making a tremendous contribution every day to her profession and to her home community.

Mr. Speaker, there is a dynamic energy going on in my Westchester backyard in the world of scouting in the village of Port Chester. It deserves our attention and appreciation. Boy Scout Troop 400 and Troop 420 are growing in membership and service.

Under the tremendous leadership of Modesto ``Moe'' Acevedo, the young men and women of this community have flocked to involvement like never before.

Based at the Port Chester Carver Center, home to many other worthwhile efforts, Troop 400 serves boys and Troop 420 serves girls. This is a recent change in Scouting America policies. They are reaching kids growing up in an urban village, who are now learning the joys of outdoor life such as camping and hiking, expanding their sense of citizenship with merit badges in a host of disciplines that make for better adults and better citizens.

The troops draw from the heavily Hispanic youth of Port Chester and have developed incredible numbers of qualified Eagle Scouts who have taken their oath to Eagle and completed worthwhile Eagle Scout projects that benefit the community.

I have attended five separate Eagle Scout Courts of Honor to see five outstanding young people in the last year alone make their first mark on responsible leadership. Moe assures me there are more on the way.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute Moe Acevedo, his team of Scoutmasters, supportive parents, and community leaders in Port Chester that have shown Troop 400 and Troop 420 to be a sign that scouting is thriving in the 21st century.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the 20th anniversary of MyRye.com under the editorship of Jay Sears, for its service as an online chronicler of the life and the times of the Rye community.

In addition to an active business career and family obligations, Jay Sears somehow finds the time and energy to attend and report on community comings and goings of the people and the organizations in Rye. The high school sports scene, boys' and girls' sports, are well documented with photos and stories of the athletes, as well as scores of games.

MyRye has regular features, such as Rye GPT People of Note--the celebrities who live here or have a connection to Rye; a platform to feature the nonprofits of Rye, the Rye YMCA, The Rye Arts Center, the Rye Nature Center, the Historical Society, and the Rye Free Reading Room, amongst so many others. He also highlights the inevitably sad news when a longtime Rye neighbor passes away for a final salute.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, I thank Jay Sears and MyRye.com.

Ardsley Environmentalists

Mr. Speaker, permit me a shout-out to the many volunteer environmental activists in the village of Ardsley who work tirelessly to advance good environmental policy.

Two groups meet monthly to plan and implement efforts to make Ardsley greener and cleaner in air, water, and land resources: The Ardsley Green Task Force and the Ardsley Pollinator Pathway Committee.

In attending Zoom meetings, I have seen the energy and dedication of these volunteers. With the strong voice of Dr. Carol Sommerfield, they are making a difference in their community of 4,500 residents.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, I thank them for backing up their commitment to the environment with hard work.

Saluting Toba LaCrown

Mr. Speaker, I want to salute the work of Dr. Olo-run- toba Ah-du-yem'-ee LaCrown, who is president of the African American Association of Co-Op City, and the members of that organization as they prepare to celebrate The Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this coming Monday, January 19, at the Church of New Vision, Einstein Loop North of Co-op City in the Bronx.

We all know him as ``Toba,'' and he and his organization have sponsored important cultural events that unite the African-American population in shared moments of pride.

Aside from honoring the legacy of Dr. King this weekend, the organization held a recent December celebration of Kwanzaa that drew a crowd to the Bartow meeting hall.

Toba's leadership has been on display in many forms: as a United States Air Force veteran who served in Afghanistan and, later, headed The American Legion Post in Co-op City; as a former NYPD police officer and, later, as leader of the 47th Precinct Community Council; active in Bronx Community

Board 12 and the Wakefield Taxpayers Alliance.

The legacy of Dr. King is carried down to this day by Toba and all those who gather this weekend who, in the words of Dr. King, are judged and appreciated not merely by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Mr. Speaker, from the floor of the House of Representatives, I salute Toba LaCrown and the African American Association of Co-op City.

Mr. Speaker, this past December, the Department of Veterans Affairs released a proposal to cut 25,000 openings nationwide for much-needed nurses and medical staff.

In the New York City area, this would mean a loss of approximately 380 positions. While the VA claims these are unneeded openings left from the pandemic, its own inspector general reported last August that 94 percent of VA facilities reported severe staffing shortages for medical officer occupations, and 79 percent of facilities reported severe shortages for nurses.

It is baffling, but 250 years on, this Nation still struggles to reconcile the way that it treats the men and women who fought for our country after they have traded their swords for plowshares. The same can be said for the caregivers who tend to their wounds, both physical and psychological, in the years after their service.

Scrimping on veterans' medical care or diverting its availability is un-American, and it sends the message to our citizens that this government will not keep its part of the bargain.

I demand that this government invest in the VA system rather than seek its demise. The brave men and women who sacrificed to defend our country deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, in the Holy Bible's Book of Exodus, a book which is sacred to both Christians and Jews, it is written that Almighty God hands down, through Moses, Ten Commandments that represent the bedrock of ethical behavior and rules that govern human conduct.

My colleagues in Texas and Louisiana have State laws that post them inside public facilities. In one form or another, secular laws are written with these commandments in mind to provide civil sanctions against those who would commit murder or lie in a court proceeding under oath. Such laws govern against stealing what others legitimately own, their property and possessions.

We now face one of the most important tests of our democracy in over 150 years: Whether the Federal Government will blatantly steal the assets of an independent sovereign nation, who is our ally, for no legitimate reason other than lust for land.

In the rhetoric of coveting thy neighbor's goods, the President of the United States is fixed on coveting the sovereign land of the kingdom of Denmark, the island of Greenland. The President has spoken about it in his frequent public ruminations, and we have learned he has tasked our military to plan how he might take Greenland by force without the consent of Denmark.

This would open a shameful chapter, as we celebrate the 250th year of our own independence, that we would turn our backs on the principles established by the Founding Fathers and act as if we are one of the thug nations of the world ourselves.

Saddam Hussein's Iraq seized Kuwait. Vladimir Putin's Russia launched war to take over Ukraine. Adolf Hitler grabbed Poland and Czechoslovakia and, for a while, all of continental Europe. Mussolini took Ethiopia, and Chairman Xi has long coveted Taiwan. Each presented their flimsy reasons for their actions, justifications that fooled no one.

Is this who America wants to emulate? Putin, Hitler, Hussein?

The flimsy reason offered by the President and his minions, notably Stephen Miller, references our ability to protect America from an Arctic region threat.

With that very thought in mind, in 1951, we signed an agreement with Denmark that allows us to place military assets in Greenland that we feel we need with the support and agreement of Denmark. They have not reneged on that deal or thrown up roadblocks to American defense needs. We are trying to burst into a room by force when the door is set wide open and the welcome mat is displayed.

Denmark, a NATO ally, owns Greenland legally. If it doesn't choose to sell it, it remains legally theirs. Thy neighbor's ox and house, not ours.

Any U.S. military action against Greenland breaks the NATO rule and puts us at odds with our allies, allies that in the post-World War II era have helped us restrain Russian aggression for nearly a century. Denmark, as an ally, responded to our action in Afghanistan. They lost 43 men there simply because they honored their NATO commitment and stood by their friend, the United States of America.

Perhaps this President hates NATO so much that he has rallied against elements of it before, and in that he supports the wishes of Vladimir Putin that sees NATO as an impediment to his empire building, the desire for retaking Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Ukraine.

We have, as of late, decided that it is okay to insult European leaders at the U.N., threaten the countries of Latin America, disrespect our closest friend, Canada, and generally act with an arrogant swagger. We have the world's greatest military, but it is not a toy to be used to glorify any one man's lust for an expanded control of land. It is not the Department of War. It is the Department of Defense. That is how Americans view our role in the world, to defend ourselves and to defend freedom in a world with dictators and thugs who would subjugate us all if they could.

God stop us if we become the thug, if we become the dictatorship that uses our economic and military strength to bully this world.

The power of any President is not about what one man thinks is moral. It is guided by constitutional limitations, including three branches of government, not a dominant dictator and a subservient politburo and judiciary.

Harry Truman understood this. Dwight Eisenhower understood this. John F. Kennedy understood this, and so did Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. These men, whether you deem their Presidencies good or bad, understood what it is to have allies across the globe and how to keep America as the shining light to guide this planet.

Attacking Greenland for no strategic benefit that they don't already have puts us in a league with Russia and China. We will regret such a decision every day that we live thereafter.

Let this Congress make a strong, unambiguous statement that America does not take land for some trumped up reason.

We stand for the rule of law and for freedom and respect for others. That is what sets our Nation apart. If we snatch Greenland as a show of power, we give no reason for the people of the world to side with us when some other nation confronts us in a future year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn Secretary Kennedy's recent assault on children's health.

Last week, against universally recommended guidelines, the Department of Health and Human Services slashed the childhood immunization schedule from 17 vaccines to 11. Among those removed are vaccines to protect against RSV, COVID-19, and hepatitis B.

Americans deserve accurate information that is based on established science to make decisions about our children's health. I am perplexed by this latest ambush on the lives and future of our children. What is the crisis

that requires us to challenge settled science?

The universally recommended vaccine schedule that families have relied on and trusted for years to protect their children has saved countless lives. I shudder to think about the children who could die from preventable diseases at the hands of this administration's so- called guidance. We are simply pandering to skeptics who want to impose ideology in place of intelligent research.

Since taking office, this administration has made every effort to dismantle public health. These unacceptable and baseless challenges only deepen the growing cracks in our health system.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of the exceptional life of John Cunningham, a resident of Rye for nearly 60 years, who passed away last week at the age of 93.

He was not only a familiar face around our community, but he was a familiar face on Broadway, on TV screens, and in movie theaters. John's acting career included roles too numerous to mention, but many are memorable to those anywhere in the Nation. He was the father in ``Mystic Pizza,'' Mr. Anderson in ``Dead Poets Society,'' and the character Sylvester Rheinback in the Christmastime movie ``Silver Bells.''

He was on the Broadway stage as Captain E.J. Smith of the ship in ``Titanic'' and as John Adams in ``1776.''

He had TV roles on ``30 Rock,'' ``Miami Vice,'' ``Law and Order,'' and ``The Good Wife,'' among many others.

His success as an actor notwithstanding, his role in the community was warm and friendly to all. Despite his status as a celebrity, he was approachable. He used his talents to help raise funds for local organizations, including dramatic readings with other actors, such as Frances Sternhagen, a New Rochelle resident, in the well-loved ``Players and Playwrights'' series at the Rye High School Performing Arts Center.

John and his wife, Carolyn, who served as a member of the Rye City Council, raised three children, all Rye High School graduates, with six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

John served in the U.S. Army and achieved a master's degree from Yale School of Drama. He was an active congregant of Rye Presbyterian Church, where a memorial service will be held this weekend.

From the floor of the House of Representatives, we salute this neighbor and friend who made a career in the arts and, in so doing, brought honor to his profession and to his home community.