STATEN ISLAND, NY — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Congressmember who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, held two press conferences on Wednesday, Oct. 15, concerning the government shutdown.
The shutdown went into effect on Oct 1, 2025 and it’s the first government shutdown in seven years. This went into effect after representatives were unable to reach an agreement while passing a bill to allocate funds.
Republicans proposed a short-term funding bill through Nov. 21, but many Democrats argued that it failed to address critical health care concerns.
Specifically, Democrats are pushing to reverse Medicaid cuts included in President Donald Trump’s summer legislation and to extend tax credits that help millions afford health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Republicans dismissed the demands, estimating the cost to taxpayers would exceed $1 trillion. As of now, both sides remain firm and without compromise.
Rep. Malliotakis held press conferences with veterans at Fort Wadsworth warning of economic impacts to GDP, stock market and 401Ks.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
At the Staten Island press conference, which took place on the lawns in front of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector of New York on Fort Wadsworth, the congressmember was joined by veterans of New York’s 11th District while calling upon Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to deliver the votes necessary to end the government shutdown. Earlier in the day, she held a similar press conference at U.S. Army Garrison on Fort Hamilton in South Brooklyn.
“There is no reason for this to continue and we call on Senator Schumer to do the right thing, vote for the same bill you voted for four times before, the same bill that you negotiated and you’ve extended three times,” she said.
While Schumer’s offices didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, The Guardian, reported that Schumer said: “Let’s be blunt: nobody’s forcing Trump and Vought to do this. They don’t have to do it; they want to. They’re callously choosing to hurt people – the workers who protect our country, inspect our food, respond when disasters strike. This is deliberate chaos.”
A spokesperson for Senator Gillibrand issued the following statement to the Advance/SILive.com:
“Congresswoman Malliotakis serves in the Republican House majority. Republicans control the House, Senate and the White House. The Republicans in control of the entire federal government have forced this shutdown because they refuse to help avoid the looming healthcare premium spikes that will soon hit thousands of Staten Islanders.”
“At a time when President Trump’s tariffs are raising costs even further, House Republicans should be working in a bipartisan manner to help make sure healthcare doesn’t become even more expensive than it already is. Unfortunately, they have left Washington for an extended, taxpayer-funded vacation. When they were asked to give giant tax breaks to the top 1% of richest Americans, they jumped right to it. Now, they refuse to even show up to work to help regular folks struggling to pay their essential bills.”
Rep. Malliotakis held press conferences with veterans at Fort Wadsworth warning of economic impacts to GDP, stock market and 401Ks.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
Rep. Malliotakis held press conferences with veterans at Fort Wadsworth warning of economic impacts to GDP, stock market and 401Ks.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
The Republican, who cosponsored a bill that ensures members of the U.S. Armed Forces continue receiving pay and benefits in the event of a government shutdown, raised concerns about service members receiving their paychecks on time. She also spoke of the impacts of the shutdown on services, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children federal assistance program, the VA medical centers, air traffic control and National Parks.
“It’s not just the service members that may go without future paychecks. It’s not just the women and children that may go hungry because the WIC program is not being funded. Traffic, transit delays, particularly air traffic, will happen because of shortages of staffing levels,” Malliotakis stated. “We’ve already seen some of that happening throughout the country. I’ve been going through our national parks. They’re being maintained, but that can swiftly change if this is prolonged.”
Rep. Malliotakis held press conferences with veterans at Fort Wadsworth warning of economic impacts to GDP, stock market and 401Ks.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
Rep. Malliotakis held press conferences with veterans at Fort Wadsworth warning of economic impacts to GDP, stock market and 401Ks.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro
According to Malliotakis, while many of these services are currently running efficiently, their future is in jeopardy if the funding bill is not passed. She also stated that President Donald Trump allocated certain funds to keep funding for the WIC and payments for service members continuous.
Along with these programs, the representative discussed the economic impact of the shutdown. “It’s costing taxpayers $400 million a day,” she claimed. “The GDP, gross domestic product, will be affected. The stock market could potentially be affected. People’s 401K’s can be affected.”
Along with these conferences, the congressmember also wrote an op-ed expressing how a shutdown would impact her constituents and individuals across the country, especially small businesses and service members.
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