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Stefanik votes against tax bill

Wants to keep state-local tax deduction, blames Albany for making NY a high-tax state

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville (Official photo)

PLATTSBURGH — North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik voted against the Republican-backed tax plan in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.

Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said the plan did not meet her goals of obtaining tax relief for New York taxpayers, and she vowed to continue the fight for a better deal. Specifically, she opposed provisions that would eliminate state and local tax deductions for New York taxpayers.

“I am optimistic that we will be able to find a fix for state and local tax deductions when the bill works its way through the Senate and comes back into conference,” Stefanik said Thursday afternoon.

“I was concerned about the elimination of state and local tax deductions, and my goal in tax reform is to provide tax relief for New Yorkers and for constituents I represent. I am committed to finding a solution and standing up for New York taxpayers when the final bill is concluded in the conference process.”

House gives OK

The tax plan was approved by the Republican-controlled House, 227 to 205.

The Senate will vote on its version of the tax plan in the next week or so.

If it is approved, a conference committee comprising both House and Senate members will work to match up any discrepancies between the two bills before it goes to President Donald Trump for his approval.

Lobbying efforts

Stefanik said she lobbied colleagues to vote against the plan.

“We spent a lot time among delegations from high-tax states,” she said. “The New York delegation had extensive conversations, the California delegation had extensive conversations, same with New Jersey and some other members who had concerns from other states.

“We are all committed to continue the fight to protect taxpayers from high-tax states.”

“Albany has failed”

Stefanik said that while she voted against the tax plan because it does not serve New Yorkers well, state leaders in Albany have to do better when it comes to tax relief.

“It is important to remember that Albany has failed in terms of reining in spending and cutting taxes,” she said. “It is my job to protect taxpayers at the federal level and ensure that when we pass federal tax reform that New Yorkers don’t see a tax increase. But much of this fault lies with Albany.”

Educating senators

Stefanik said she will urge the Senate to come up with a better deal for New Yorkers.

“One of the challenges we have with the Senate is that we don’t have Republican senators from blue [Democratic] states, so it is going to be dependent upon House members to really work to educate senators about the importance of standing up for constituents that we represent in high-tax states,” she said.

“I will continue to work as this bill works its way through the legislative process. Passing in the House is one step. The Senate obviously has to pass a bill, and it then has to go to conference.

“My goal is to work with the conference committee to ensure that taxpayers I represent in New York’s 21st District see fundamental tax relief, and that it is a fair bill regardless of whether you are from a high-tax or low-tax state.”

“Absolute disaster”

Potential Democratic opponents of Stefanik in next year’s election said her no vote was not enough when it comes to protecting New York taxpayers.

“This Republican tax plan is an absolute disaster for our district,” said Don Boyajian of Saratoga County. “People in the North Country deserve better than what they are getting from Washington.

“While Congresswoman Stefanik voted against it, she didn’t take on her leadership and fight to stop it.

“It’s not enough for Stefanik to accept the pass given to her by Speaker Paul Ryan to vote the way her district wants her to on this one bill. We deserve a leader who is going to fight for us, not someone who goes along to get along.”

Emily Martz, a Democrat from Saranac Lake, said Stefanik is passing on the blame for high taxes.

“Once again, Elise Stefanik is blaming someone else for her failed leadership. This time, she is blaming New York state,” Martz said.

“Stefanik’s fingers are all over the House tax bill, despite her vote. She should have been actively fighting against a bill she knew would be bad for her constituents.

“She never fought for meaningful tax breaks for small businesses, nor did she speak out against the overall problem with this bill — that it gives much more to those who already have, on the backs of people working hard to make ends meet.”

Martz said Stefanik was largely silent in the debate about tax reform.

“Stefanik once again failed to stand up for the North Country,” Martz said. “Where was she on Capitol Hill speaking up in our defense? Not once has she come to the North Country to talk about the need for fairer taxes for working families.

“This is a tax plan that will require drastic cuts in services that are needed most in our region — Medicare, Medicaid, heat-assistance programs, job training and job opportunities for veterans. A true leader of the North Country would have fought to defeat this bill.”

Democratic candidate Katie Wilson, from Keene, didn’t go after Stefanik directly but called the bill “nothing short of a direct assault on the American middle class” and said “the impacts of this ill-conceived legislation will be devastating for hardworking families around the country, and especially those right here in the North Country.”

She said elimination of state and local tax deductions will leave New Yorkers “to face dramatically higher tax bills each year, in exchange for a new tax code that overwhelmingly favors the richest Americans while offering little to no relief for those who need it most.

“This is exactly the kind of lawmaking that has made Americans so acutely aware of the disconnect between the issues they live and breathe every day and the Washington insiders who legislate solely to benefit their moneyed special interests. We need real reform that rewards hard work and gives tax relief to those who most desperately need it.”

“Wrecking ball”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said voters will not forget next year if the tax plan should become law.

“There’s a wrecking ball coming straight for the middle class in New York’s 21st Congressional District, thanks to Speaker Ryan and Washington Republicans’ tax scam,” spokesman Evan Lukaske said in a statement. “This is a Republican tax scam, and the victims are the millions of middle-class families who will see their taxes go up while corporations and the wealthy laugh all the way to the bank.

“Rep. Stefanik’s constituents will hold her accountable for this middle-class tax hike next November.”

(Editor’s note: Four daily newspapers in the North Country — the Enterprise, Post-Star of Glens Falls, Watertown Daily Times and Press-Republican of Plattsburgh — are sharing content to better cover New York’s 21st Congressional District.)

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