GLENS FALLS, NY\u00a0\u2013 Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Congressman Paul Tonko (NY-20), and Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT-AL) joined advocates, union members, and community members in Glens Falls for a town hall to expose how Republican policies are harming the region, answer attendees\u2019 questions, and present a more just, equitable vision for the nation.<\/p>\n
Since January, President Trump and Republicans in Congress have pushed policies that cut essential services and increase the cost of health care, groceries, utilities, student loans, and more \u2014 all while handing massive tax breaks to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. The Republican budget law threatens working families in New York, Massachusetts, and across the country.<\/p>\n
The Republicans\u2019<\/a> \u201cBig Ugly Bill\u201d, signed by President Trump on July 4th, is expected to cost 17 million Americans<\/a> their health insurance and take food away from 4 million people<\/a> in order to funnel billions to tax giveaways for corporations and the ultra-wealthy and turbo-charge the administration\u2019s mass deportation machine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Glens Falls, NY is currently represented in Congress by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik who did not respond to the invitation to join.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans\u2019 Big Ugly Bill is an assault on every person who calls this country home and a shameful betrayal of our shared humanity,\u201d said Rep. Pressley. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was proud to join Reps. Balint and Tonko to let the people of Glens Falls, of the Massachusetts 7th, and across the country know that we refuse to accept this injustice as an inevitability, and we will always fight for you. Trump and Republicans \u2013 like Rep. Elise Stefanik \u2013 refuse to face their constituents because they know their policy violence will make people across America sicker, poorer, hungrier, and more vulnerable. We will not let them hide from their cuts to healthcare, to food assistance, to abortion care \u2013 because lives depend on it and families deserve more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was so proud to join my Progressive Caucus colleagues in Glens Falls to highlight the devastating consequences of the GOP\u2019s Big, Ugly Bill for working families here in New York and across the nation,\u201d said Rep. Tonko.\u00a0 \u201cWe heard powerful stories from so many community members who are already feeling the impact of this disastrous legislation, and those voices will guide us in Washington as we continue our fierce advocacy on behalf of those we serve. While Republicans hide from defending their indefensible budget, my colleagues and I stand firmly with our communities and stand ready to give them the tools they need to join us in fighting back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans need to hear directly from Progressives on our vision for the future. A future where life can be easier, where dreams and opportunities feel within reach, and no one worries about deciding between health care and making rent. We can build an America that truly works for working people and delivers real progress on the things that matter.\u201d said Rep. Balint. \u201cIn Glens Falls, Elise Stefanik refuses to listen to or show up for her constituents. And Americans need us to stand up for our democracy, for our rights, and for our freedom to live without the crushing burden of corporate greed. I\u2019m so proud to cross the border to New York with my colleagues to make sure every voice is heard.\u201d<\/p>\n The town hall provided a chance for community members to get their questions answered, find resources, connect to local organizations working for community justice, and hear about a progressive vision for our nation. Questions focused on the harm caused by the Republican budget bill, threats to health care, rising costs for working people, and the need for elected representatives to be truly accountable to their constituents.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so inspiring to see three Congress people show up to answer questions in a Town Hall in our district!\u201d said Doreen Miller, a member of Indivisible ADK\/Saratoga. \u201cOur Congress person, Elise Stefanik, has not shown up in years to talk to us and explain her reasoning for her votes.\u00a0 We need representation in Congress too!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlens Falls showed up tonight because folks are sick of paying higher prices while billionaires get giveaways, and they want answers,\u201d said Catherine Rowland, PCAF\u2019s Director of Government Affairs & Access. \u201cTonight was about making sure communities get those answers and giving real people a platform to demand better from this Republican Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCWA is very proud to stand with our fellow labor, community, and elected allies to help foster both discussion and a plan to fight back against these continued attacks on our jobs, livelihoods, and freedoms.\u201d said Dennis Trainor, Vice President CWA District 1. \u201cMany of those currently in power have abandoned working families and laid waste to our communities and the unions that have helped build them over generations, and we will not sit idly by while the so-called \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d deepens the country\u2019s affordability crisis and leaves millions without healthcare and out of work. We will make sure that every New Yorker understands the impact of this bill, and who is responsible for the biggest tax cuts for the wealthy, while taking away healthcare from millions of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are under attack by a cruel budget that strips health care, food, and opportunity from working people while lining the pockets of billionaires,\u201d said Ravo Root, Lead Organizer at Citizen Action of New York. \u201cWhen our neighbors come together like this\u2014sharing stories, building power, and demanding accountability\u2014we remind those in Washington that we are organized, we are watching, and we will not stop until our communities get the justice and investment we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvents like this are so important for our community,\u201d said Samantha Herman, a member of Indivisible ADK\/Saratoga. \u201cMany in the community identify as Republican, but are being harmed by the policies of those who are meant to represent them. Town halls such as these should be more common so the people can understand what is happening and ensure their voices are heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Congresswoman Pressley has been an outspoken critic of Trump and Republicans\u2019 harmful legislation since its inception.<\/p>\n Upon the passage of Republicans\u2019 Big, Ugly Bill, Rep. Pressley issued a statement<\/a> condemning the cruel legislation.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley joined colleagues at a press conference\u00a0imploring the House<\/a>\u00a0to reject the cruel and harmful legislation.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley joined the Congressional Black Caucus and over 100 colleagues in\u00a0stalling a vote<\/a>\u00a0on the Big, Ugly Bill. \u00a0<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley and Rep. Diana DeGette, Co-Chairs of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus,\u00a0filed an amendment<\/a>\u00a0to the bill to protect and expand reproductive healthcare.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley\u00a0issued a statement condemning<\/a>\u00a0the Senate\u2019s passage of the Big, Ugly Bill and vowing to continue fighting it using every tool available.<\/p>\n Ahead of the third anniversary if the\u00a0Dobbs\u00a0decision, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues stood in solidarity with Planned Parenthood and\u00a0condemned the proposed cuts to reproductive healthcare<\/a>\u00a0under Republicans\u2019 Big, Ugly Bill.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley and author Darrick Hamilton authored a Washington Post op-ed in which they discussed the regressive, ineffective \u201cTrump Accounts\u201d provision of Republicans\u2019 reconciliation bill and urged Congress to instead embrace\u00a0Baby Bonds<\/a>\u00a0to advance economic justice.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley\u00a0rallied with advocates<\/a>\u00a0from Caring Across Generations, Care Can\u2019t Wait, and partner organizations to protest Trump\u2019s and Republicans\u2019 Big Ugly Bill that proposes disastrous cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other essential programs and would leave communities sicker, poorer, and more vulnerable.<\/p>\n Ahead of the House\u2019s vote on the bill, Rep. Pressley\u00a0delivered an impassioned speech<\/a>\u00a0on the House floor in which she made a direct appeal to her Republican colleagues to oppose this cruel and harmful bill.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley\u00a0delivered a floor speech<\/a>\u00a0in which she\u00a0slammed<\/a>\u00a0the bill\u2019s proposed Medicaid cuts, which would decimate reproductive healthcare in America and worsen maternal health outcomes.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley\u00a0co-hosted a press conference<\/a>\u00a0with Color of Change to oppose the Republicans\u2019 cruel and harmful budget reconciliation package, which would gut critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP.<\/p>\n Rep. Pressley rallied with caregivers, advocates, and fellow lawmakers at a\u00a024-hour vigil to protect Medicaid<\/a>\u00a0from Republicans\u2019 cruel budget cuts that would devastate communities across this country.<\/p>\n In the House Oversight Committee\u2019s markup of the Republican reconciliation bill, Rep. Pressley\u00a0demanded Republicans answer to the families<\/a>\u00a0who would go hungry by way of this reconciliation bill \u2013 and she was met with silence.<\/p>\n In the House Financial Services Committee\u2019s markup of the Republican reconciliation bill, Rep. Pressley condemned the bill\u2019s proposed cuts to Medicaid and\u00a0shared the story of Mary Marinelli<\/a>, a 70-year-old hospice nurse from a Republican district in Michigan whose family depends on Medicaid to care for their autistic son.<\/p>\n