Meng Secures Seat On Appropriations & Subcommittee On Homeland Security
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park), already a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced today that she has secured a seat on the panel’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
The Appropriations Committee is responsible for funding every federal agency, program, and project within the United States government. The Homeland Security Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Subcommittee is crucial to New York, helping to ensure that critical homeland security funds are allocated to New York City. The panel also plays a critical role in overseeing U.S. immigration enforcement policies.
“New York City is the top terrorist target in the nation,” said Meng. “Our brave law enforcement professionals, such as the NYPD, work nonstop to keep our city safe. It is critical that they have the funds they need to protect New Yorkers, and as a member of the Subcommittee, I will fight tirelessly to ensure that NYC receives these vital resources. I will also push for rigorous oversight of the immigration enforcement policies implemented by President Trump that the Department of Homeland Security carries out.”
In addition to the Homeland Security Subcommittee, Meng will continue serving on two other key Appropriations subcommittees: the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations (which sets funding levels for the State Department and foreign operations) and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (which determines the budget for the U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and science policies and initiatives).
Miller Supports Unlimited Sick Leave to 9/11 Civilian Responders
City Council Member I. Daneek Miller (D-Jamaica) yesterday again voiced his full support to the Council’s adoption last week of his resolution calling on Mayor de Blasio to grant sick leave to all of the City’s civilian officers and employees seeking treatment for a qualifying World Trade Center condition: Resolution 655.
“Unlike the uniformed members of our municipal workforce who receive unlimited ‘line-of-duty’ sick leave in order to seek treatment for a Ground Zero related illness, many civilian responders have been forced to either use their regular sick leave, miss work, prematurely retire, or die waiting desperately for a benefit they will never receive,” said Miller.
“Unfortunately, the Administration has ill-advisedly chosen to address this concern as a collective bargaining issue with the unions representing these ailing civil service members. I thank my colleagues at the Council for supporting this call for the City to honor the sacrifice of these heroic men and women by granting them the sick leave they rightly deserve as a matter of principle,” he added.
Addabbo Teams With American Red Cross To Hand Out Free Smoke Alarms
State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) announced yesterday that he is teaming up with the American Red Cross to bring free smoke alarm installations to his Senate District.
Every day, seven people die in a home fire, and the American Red Cross’ Sound the Alarm Campaign aims to reduce those numbers by installing 100,000 free smoke alarms throughout the United States.
“Learning that there are seven people who die each day due to home fires was really eye opening for me,” Addabbo said. “To be able to join the American Red Cross for their Sound the Alarm Campaign and bring free smoke alarms to my constituents will hopefully save lives from a needless tragedy.”
If you would like register for a free smoke alarm installation, visit http://goo.gl/forms/5ThSc0BY5o to select a date, time, and make an appointment.
Kim Proposes Bill To Protect NY Workers Affected By Fed Shutdown
State Assemblymember Ron Kim (D-Whitestone, Flushing, College Point, Murray Hill) announced yesterday he intends to introduce a new bill to protect federal workers affected by the recent federal government shutdown.
Even after thirty-five days, a new agreement to permanently reopen the government has not been passed, said Kim.
The proposed legislation would prevent unpaid government employees from evictions, home foreclosures, property repossessions, and student loan defaults. If passed, his bill will ensure that the final hardships inflicted by this episode on hundreds of thousands of individuals will not lead to dire, longer-term consequences.
“For over a month, our country has been held hostage by the White House, which chose to delay the paychecks of countless hardworking, blameless federal employees as nothing more than a negotiating tactic. The Secretary of Commerce said the workers should take loans and pay ‘a little bit of interest’ instead of going to food banks, and the president’s daughter-in-law claimed it was only ‘a little bit of pain’ and ‘so much bigger than any one person,'” said Kim.
“The degree to which this administration is out of touch with working families and the pain it has inflicted on them is obscene. It made the decision without their consent to withhold their pay for 35 days, and even now there is no permanent agreement to end the shutdown, only a three-week delay before another standoff. That is why I will soon be introducing a bill to at least protect New York federal workers from losing their homes, their possessions, or their financial good standing for as long as a government shutdown lasts,” he added.
Miller, Adams to Host Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness Forum
Southeast Queens City Council Members I. Daneek Miller (D) and Adrienne E. Adams (D) tonight will host a fires safety and emergency preparedness forum.
There have been several fatal fires in Southeast Queens over the last month. Representatives from the FDNY, the city’s Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross will be on hand to answer questions about fire prevention and provide critical information on resources available to people impacted by a fire.
The forum is slated for 6:30-8 p.m., tonight, Jan. 29 at the Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center, 172-17 Linden Boulevard in Jamaica.
