Governor Hochul: “We are deeply concerned about the impending shutdown…Republicans in Washington will now be responsible for undermining our democracy and falling prey to the reign of tyranny by the few, holding the rest of the country and all of us, and as a Governor, holding my ability to take care of the people of the state, holding all of us hostage to their demands. This is exactly what our founding fathers and others have always warned against.”
Hochul: “New York State will have to make adjustments. Try to help our people as best we can. But my final message is, it does not have to be this way. Washington Republicans, stop. Stop right now. Do your jobs and help America recover from your threats.”
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed the impending government shutdown.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Let’s acknowledge something else that's happening in our Nation’s Capital. We are deeply concerned about the impending shutdown. On Monday, I was talking about the ticking time bomb, they call it the doomsday clock that would expire at 11:59 tonight. Well, we are just hours away from that moment. It looks like that train wreck will not be averted and Republicans in Washington will now be responsible for undermining our democracy and falling prey to the reign of tyranny by the few, holding the rest of the country and all of us, and as a Governor, holding my ability to take care of the people of the state, holding all of us hostage to their demands.
This is exactly what our founding fathers and others have always warned against. And as a result, some of the collateral damage of this, think about our military personnel, think about the border personnel. Think about the fact that they're supposed to show up to work and not get paid. Last I checked, they still have bills to pay. They still have mouths to feed in their houses.
So, it's even disrespecting those who put on a uniform to protect us and our way of life, and that is so egregious. We'll have 800 fewer Customs and Border Protection agents keeping us safe. Now, 800 fewer at a time when President Biden's trying to ramp up what we're doing at the border. We're feeling the effects here in New York City. Why would they do that? Because they don't care. They want to bring this country to its knees. They're so callous.
Here in New York, we have almost 20,000 active-duty members at risk of not being paid. They too, have families to take care of. They're not wealthy people. They don't have a big bank account to cover for this. Tuition bills might be due. The utility bills are due. The grocery bills seem so high. But they also say, to all the 85,000 federal employees that live in the nine districts of the Republicans who represent part of our state, 7,000 vulnerable women and children nationwide, including 400,000 who live here.
You know, the list goes on. It goes on and on and on. And it doesn't have to be this way. I served as a member of Congress. Everybody likes to bring it to the cliff, and then they do sit down, and usually sanity prevails. This time, it just seems that there's such a disrespect for institutions. And the role they are sent to Washington to play, which is to represent their districts, but also protect America, take care of America's needs.
So, I don't see any end in sight at this moment. We'll deal with it. New York State will have to make adjustments. Try to help our people as best we can. But my final message is, it does not have to be this way. Washington Republicans, stop. Stop right now. Do your jobs and help America recover from your threats.