Dear Constituent, 

Below please find my latest update on news from Albany and around the district. 

Intern Application 

Thank you to everyone who has encouraged interns to apply for positions in my office. A reminder that our intern application remains open, and that we accept interns on a rolling basis throughout the school year. Click here to access the form to apply and/or share with the students in your life.

Senator Chuck Schumer’s office is also looking for interns. Click here to learn more about their internship and apply. 

National News with Implications for New York

Federal Funding Pause: Last night, the president issued an order pausing federal funding for certain activities, apparently believing that he has unilateral authority to block funding authorized by Congress. This is obviously not a constitutional action, and our Attorney General has joined a coalition of state Attorneys General in filing suit to block this order. My office is keeping track of this development, and we will share more about any potential impacts to New York State as that information is known. In the meantime, know that the order is not understood to apply to funding received directly by individuals, such as Social Security or student loans. 

Climate Preparedness: My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by the wildfires in California. The loss of property and life is just staggering. This is a reminder of the importance of emergency preparedness. Click here to watch a brief video from Westchester County Emergency Services about how to prepare a “go bag” and an evacuation route for your family in case you should ever need one.

This is also a reminder that climate change is real, and that we must continue working to forestall the worst possible scenario while also preparing ourselves for what is now inevitable because of years of climate inaction. More frequent disasters in places like California and Florida will start to encourage more internal migration as well as immigration from other countries, and places like New York will need to be ready for this. We are already starting to see this type of migration as a result of the wildfires in Los Angeles; we need to start preparing as soon as possible so that we are not overwhelmed in the coming years. I have recently reintroduced legislation with State Senator Rachel May, A. 272, the Climate Relocation Planning and Preparation Act, for this purpose. 

Condemning Political Violence: I condemn the president’s decision to issue a blanket pardon to all who were convicted of crimes connected to the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, including the perpetrators who injured more than 140 police officers. No one, regardless of their political views, should feel empowered to commit acts of violence to further their goals. Know that political violence remains against the law in New York State, and that presidents remain unable to pardon those convicted of state crimes. 

Sincerely,

Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg

Being officially sworn in during the first day of session

For those who are new to this process, here is a brief overview. The release of the Governor’s Executive proposal is the first step, typically coming in mid- to late January. The two houses of the legislature then review the Executive proposal and gather input from constituents and advocates before issuing their own proposals, called the “one-house” budgets, toward the end of February. At this point, the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the Assembly engage in a three-way negotiation process, influenced by legislators like me as well as the public at large. The agreement that results from these negotiations is the final state budget, due on April 1. 

My staff and I are currently digging into the details of the Executive Proposal to find areas of agreement with the Governor, as well as items where improvements can be made to better serve us here in AD95 and New York State as a whole. In the coming days and weeks, I will share more of my opinions on different aspects of the budget on my social media pages, as well as upcoming e-newsletters and on my website. If you are not already following me on social, I encourage you to do so. I am @AMDanaLevenberg on Facebook, Instagram and most recently, Bluesky. 

There are a variety of ways for you to let me know your thoughts on the state budget during this process. On Friday, January 31, I will be teaming up with my colleagues in the Westchester Assembly delegation to host our annual state budget forum on Zoom from 10 AM - 2 PM. If you would like to give testimony, click here to register for a speaking slot. If you would like to submit written testimony, please email urbanl@nyassembly.gov. The Town Halls I will be hosting in February are another opportunity to share your thoughts; view the flyers below or click here for more details. My contact form continues to be the best way to share your opinions; click here to access it. You can also call the office at (914) 941-1111 during normal business hours. 

Affordability Town Halls

Open Topic Town Halls

You should also be sure to reach out to your federal representatives during this process. In order to have a budget that enables all New Yorkers to thrive, we need to make sure we get our due from Washington. A significant part of our budget each year comes from the federal government, particularly from programs like Medicaid and Medicare. Early signs indicate that this will be a big fight. A leaked memo prepared for the chair of the House Budget Committee shows that Republicans are looking at major cuts to programs that our state depends on in order to fund additional tax cuts for corporations and billionaires. The memo also shows that they are considering eliminating tax provisions that many middle-class families rely on, like the mortgage interest deduction and the SALT deduction, while refusing to consider raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy. Now is the time to make sure your federal representatives know where you stand on these issues, before these proposals become law. Links to their contact information can be found below, so that you can contact their offices directly. 

Congressman Mike Lawler: https://lawler.house.gov/contact/

Senator Chuck Schumer: https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

Joining youth advocates at a rally promoting legislation to protect due process rights for immigrants

Aside from the budget, my other big focus right now is protecting New Yorkers from federal overreach. Last Wednesday, we passed two bills to protect the right to privacy and abortion medication from right-wing attempts to undermine reproductive freedom. Once they become law, A. 2145A will protect the privacy of doctors who prescribe abortion medication, and A. 2141 will allow New Yorkers to reclaim control over their health information from tech companies. 

Immigration is another issue that I know many of you are worried about. I share these concerns, especially in light of the president’s unconstitutional attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship earlier this week. New York State has joined a multistate action to stop that executive order, and as of this writing, a federal judge has blocked it. There are also disturbing stories emerging from places like Newark, where local officials are outraged following an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid conducted without a warrant, during which U.S. citizens and a U.S . veteran were reportedly detained along with undocumented workers. 

It is more important than ever for everyone - regardless of where you come from, whether you are a citizen or not - to understand our rights and to insist that the rule of law be respected. Agents of the federal government are not entitled to behave unlawfully even if they suspect that someone in an establishment might be undocumented. Neighbors Link has put together a Resources page to help people learn how they can protect themselves and others; click here to access it. 

I will continue to work with my colleagues on this and other issues; this is just the start of our efforts this year to defend our communities. In the meantime, please continue to make your voices heard, both to me and to your other elected representatives, and encourage people in your networks to do the same. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in my most recent Issues survey. There were 346 total respondents. Climate change, democracy, gun violence, healthcare costs, and infrastructure were the top 5 issues respondents chose when asked to select the issues that matter to them. Click here to view the full set of results, including what people thought about specific pieces of legislation. 

Speaking of surveys, Westchester County is conducting a survey as part of a waste reduction study that is underway. Click here to read more about the study, and click here to take the survey. 

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