June 14, 2025
Dear Friends,
Over the past several weeks, my Democratic colleagues and I have spent many sleepless nights fighting back against the GOP’s so-called “big, beautiful” budget scheme — a monstrosity of a bill that hands trillions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaires while slashing earned benefits like Medicaid and Medicare for hardworking families. According to the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Republican budget would strip health insurance from 16 million Americans while adding $2.4 trillion to the deficit. But the damage doesn’t stop there — this reckless proposal would also hit rural hospitals and frontline health care providers especially hard, threatening access to lifesaving care in communities that can’t afford to lose it.
Ever since Republicans unveiled their disastrous budget, hospitals across New York State have been sounding the alarm about its potentially devastating impact. “This legislation will decimate healthcare infrastructure in every urban, suburban, and rural community in New York State,” warned Marie B. Grause, President of the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS). Kenneth E. Raske, President of the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), echoed these concerns, explaining that the bill would dismantle revenue streams “essential to the financial viability of New York’s health care delivery system.”
The harm would be especially severe for rural and “safety net” hospitals, which already operate on “razor-thin margins” and rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursement. According to the Center for American Progress, nearly 200 of these providers nationwide — many serving underserved and high-need populations — would face immediate risk of closure if the GOP’s budget is enacted.
For well over a decade, I’ve worked closely with our local hospitals to deliver them the funding they need to better serve and provide for Capital Region residents. After that long, arduous effort and our ultimate success in bringing those federal dollars to Upstate New York, the Republican budget would be a death sentence for our hospitals, doctors, and patients.
Republicans have tried to justify these drastic cuts by touting the bill’s tax breaks — but virtually none of those benefits will reach the people who need them most. In fact, families struggling to make ends meet would lose about $1,600 per year in effective income — mostly due to steep benefit cuts — while the wealthiest Americans would rake in thousands in tax breaks. At the same time, the GOP’s cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs will leave states and municipalities scrambling to fill massive budget shortfalls — triggering a sharp increase in state and local tax burdens for millions of Americans.
Still, Republicans are pressing ahead with their budget scam, despite the catastrophic impact it would have on families and care providers in their own districts. In New York’s 21st Congressional District, represented by Republican Elise Stefanik, more than 30,000 people would lose their health insurance under the GOP’s plan. And at the Clifton-Fine Hospital in Star Lake, CEO Dierdre Sorrell warned that rural hospitals like hers “certainly aren’t in a financial position to backfill these massive cuts.” She added, “Elise is from up in this area, she certainly knows this is a low-income, heavily Medicaid [dependent] area. I hope that if she has some say at that level, she’s thinking through that carefully.”
Despite their protestations, Congressional Republicans know exactly how devastating their budget would be for their constituents. They’ve seen the same numbers I have and heard the same dire warnings from hospitals and families in their districts. That’s why, just last week, five Republican members of New York’s congressional delegation, including Representative Stefanik, urged the Senate to delay implementation of their own proposals until 2029 — no doubt worried about the political fallout from rural hospital closures and hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers losing health care coverage. But no amount of last-minute backpedaling can erase the fact that every one of them voted to advance their party’s harmful budget scheme with full knowledge of its consequences. That’s shameful — and we must continue holding them accountable.
Republicans don’t deserve credit for their halfhearted efforts to delay the damage they helped create — but their actions show one thing clearly: everyday Americans are making their voices heard. As my Democratic colleagues and I continue the fight in Washington, I urge all of you to keep speaking out. Together, we can defeat the GOP’s big, ugly budget and deliver a new plan that actually serves working people — here in our Capital Region and beyond.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates, announcements, and recommendations from governments and agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- As Donald Trump escalates his abuses of power while his GOP allies continue to advance their disastrous budget scheme that slashes the essential services the American people rely on, I want to hear directly from you about how these actions impact you and your family — and I want to let you know how I’m fighting back.
- That’s why I’m inviting you to join me for another Town Hall on Monday, June 16th at the McDonough Sports Complex at Hudson Valley Community College, located at 80 Vandenburgh Avenue, Troy, NY 12180.
- Doors will open at 4:30 PM and the event will begin at 6:00 PM.
- Pre-registration is required for all attendees to enter the venue. Spaces are limited, so please click this link to reserve your spot today.
- If you are unable to attend the event in person, you can view the event in full with real-time closed captions via the live stream on my YouTube channel.
- If you have any questions or need assistance with any federal agencies, policies, or services, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.
