Gov. Andrew Cuomo bypassed a partisan clash in the Legislature by ordering last week that the state expand eligibility for an existing scholarship program that allows the families of military service members who are killed or disabled in combat or combat training to attend any SUNY or CUNY college for free.
Assembly Republicans had lambasted their chamber's ruling Democrats the previous week for tabling a long-stalled bill that would broaden the MERIT program to apply to families of service members who die while on duty under any circumstances. Democrats, in turn, ripped Republicans for falsely implying the Assembly had blocked a new scholarship for Gold Star families, when the proposal was actually an expansion of a 16-year-old program that New York created at the outset of the Iraq war.
The ensuing media coverage and political jousting worked its way up to the White House, prompting President Trump to tweet: "In New York State, Democrats blocked a Bill expanding College Tuition for Gold Star families after approving aid for illegal immigrants. No wonder so many people are leaving N.Y. Very Sad!"
Cuomo stepped past that fray by simply expanding the program eligibility through administrative action, rather than legislation. He said on Wednesday that he had instructed the Higher Education Services Corporation to interpret MERIT scholarship eligibility more broadly.
"Military service is more than just the active military member," Cuomo said in a statement. "I believe the entire family is in service, and we will honor that sacrifice and respect that service not just in words, not just with symbols, but with deeds. That is why New York is taking immediate action to extend benefits to all those lost or disabled while on active duty, period."
"I am pleased to see that our nation's fallen heroes and their families will finally be awarded the benefits they deserve after Assembly Democrats allowed this bill to languish in committee for more than a decade," Assemblyman Karl Brabenec, R-Deerpark, said in a press release. "It shouldn't have taken a national media firestorm that included pressure from President Trump for us to finally get this done."
Maloney: Mueller report shows unethical conduct by Trump
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said Thursday that his initial take on the newly released special counsel's report before fully digesting it was that it clearly showed that President Trump's "conduct has been improper, unethical, and unpatriotic."
"Those findings are no reason to celebrate," the Cold Spring Democrat said in a statement.
Maloney, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said that aside from the questions Robert Mueller's report raised about the president's behavior, it proved "we've been attacked by the Russian government" through its covert efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
"Any doubt about Russia's actions has now been erased and dictators like Vladimir Putin need to pay a price for attacking America," Maloney said. "We should expect our president to show strength. I take my role as a member of the House Intelligence Committee seriously. It's on us to take a good hard look at all the information - the unredacted report, findings, and underlying evidence - and act now to ensure our democracy is protected from threats."
Farley announces $200K in donations and pledges
Republican Chele Chiavacci Farley announced Monday that she has collected more than $200,000 in campaign donations and pledged donations since launching her 2020 campaign for New York's 18th Congressional District seat the previous week.
Farley opened her account after the first-quarter reporting period and won't report her campaign finances until July, after the second quarter ends. Her campaign touted her first week of fundraising by saying it had set a record pace for the 18th District.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the Cold Spring Democrat and fourth-term congressman Farley plans to challenge, reported raising $218,000 in the first quarter and having $137,000 on hand after expenses as of March 31. Maloney is a prodigious fundraiser, but he diverted much of his war chest to his race for attorney general last year and did only modest fundraising afterward to fend off a challenger in his congressional re-election race.
Farley, a private-equity executive from Manhattan, waged an uphill campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand last year and lost by 34 points. She has since rented a house in Tuxedo Park and registered as an Orange County voter, prior to announcing her congressional run.
Delgado backs proposal for Medicare buy-in
Rep. Antonio Delgado has become the prime House sponsor of a bill first introduced in 2017 that would allow people under 65 to buy Medicare coverage - the "public option" for health insurance that was dropped from the Affordable Care Act before Democrats passed it in 2010.
Delgado, the Rhinebeck Democrat who unseated Republican John Faso in New York's 19th District in November, re-introduced the Medicare-X Choice Act this month. The bill would add Medicare to the menu of private health plans Americans can purchase through state insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
"As the wealthiest country in the world, there is simply no excuse for us to be the only developed country left without universal health care," Delgado said in a floor speech about the bill. "There are a lot of different ways to achieve universal health care, and I believe that a public option is the best way for us to get there."
Proponents tout the "public option" bill as a moderate alternative to the "Medicare for All" vision other Democrats have embraced. "Medicare for All" would eliminate private health plans and create a single, government-sponsored insurance system for all Americans. Neither Delgado nor Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney from the 18th District are among the 108 House co-sponsors of the "Medicare for All" bill.
Access to Medicare through state exchanges would be phased in, starting in 2021 in rural areas with one or no private plans available on their exchanges. It would be made available everywhere on the individual market in 2024 and opened to small businesses in 2025. The Medicare provider network would be expanded to include pediatricians and children's hospitals. Medicare-X premiums would be kept separate from the trust fund that serves regular Medicare recipients.
Compiled by Chris McKenna