Dear Neighbor,
I had a busy week at home in Westchester and the Bronx and am starting three straight weeks of time in Washington, DC.
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I am honored to sit on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and this week we held a shadow meeting with Democratic members about the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Committee Republicans held one hearing earlier this year. But we need many more hearings with USAID staff, which must also include Republican members, to hear about the important work they were doing and how devastating losing this agency has been to vulnerable children and families and the world. You can watch the hearing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzmY9KWK0xg
In the foreign affairs space, I spoke with CBS NY about this week’s news that high-level national security officials were discussing attack plans via the commercial messaging app Signal. You can watch that interview here: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/video/fallout-continues-in-washington-over-war-plans-accidently-shared-with-journalist-on-messaging-app/
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I had the pleasure of meeting with multiple constituents and groups from our district including Tracy from Rye who is with the Garden Club of America, students from Yeshiva University, and several members of Hadassah.
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This week I also had the honor of meeting rescued hostage Andrei Kozlov. He described his harrowing lived experience, and I reassured him that I will continue to advocate for all of the hostages to be returned as soon as possible. It is unconscionable that they still have not been brought home.
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At Home: Westchester and the Bronx
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This past weekend, I was joined by over 250 advocates, union members, and seniors for a press conference against the closures of Social Security offices and cuts to staff and services at the Social Security Administration.
More than 10,000 Boomers like me become eligible for Social Security every day. Wait times are already long and will become longer if these cuts and closures go into effect. I have signed onto several letters to the Social Security Administration pushing them to reverse course and not close the White Plains hearing office or other offices around the country. And I have signed onto two bills, the Keeping Our Field Offices Open Act (H.R. 1876) and Protecting Americans Social Security Data Act (H.R. 1877) that will keep offices open and prevent private citizens from accessing sensitive information on the Social Security systems.
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Last week I held a virtual roundtable with local 1199 to discuss Medicaid’s vital role for injured workers, seniors, and people with disabilities. The House Republicans’ budget plan includes $880 billion that needs to be cut from Medicare or Medicaid. They have said that the cut will not be to Medicare, so the fear from many is that cut could be all from Medicaid. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 196,000 people in Westchester and the Bronx rely on Medicaid and if this cut becomes law, they could lose their healthcare. I voted against this once and I will vote against it again.
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This past weekend, I attended several events in the Bronx, including speaking at the Co-Op City Branch of the NAACP’s monthly general membership meeting.
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Speaking of the Bronx, my constituent services team will be in the Bronx for the next stop of our Mobile Office Hours. They will be at Bronx Community Board 10 on Friday, April 11th from 12-4pm.
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My casework team had a great time assisting constituents at our first Mobile Office Hours event at the Doles Center in Mt. Vernon on Thursday.
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Rep. George Latimer
Member of Congress
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