Issue Position: Addressing COVID-19: Fighting for New York and "Mom and Pop" Businesses

Issue Position

In times of crisis, Long Islanders deserve leaders, like Congressman Suozzi, who is fighting for his constituents, New York, our country, and the common good.

Suozzi has made delivering federal aid to our municipalities in New York one of his foremost priorities in DC. He has repeatedly fought Mitch McConnell and other Republicans who continue to delay federal funding for States and local communities. The House passed Heroes Act, the latest COVID-19 stimulus package, included three of Suozzi's biggest priorities: a special fund based on "rate of infection' for the hardest hit states, the elimination of the cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions, and billions for local municipalities both with populations over 50,000 people and under 50,000. New York would receive more money than any other state as a part of this legislation and Suozzi will continue to fight to ensure its passage in the Senate. The longer Mitch McConnell waits, the more New York suffers.

The first four COVID-19 relief packages passed by Congress included hundreds of billions of dollars in direct relief for individuals, expanded unemployment insurance, small business loans, aid to our hospitals and frontline healthcare heroes, testing, and much more. During the self-quarantine period in NYS, Suozzi traveled to Washington, DC to ensure passage of each of these bills, while fighting for more to be done for New York state and local governments, hospitals, and small businesses. Suozzi successfully led a bipartisan coalition in Congress to push back against Mitch McConnell saying that some states should file bankruptcy before getting more federal aid. This would include the states that were hardest hit by COVID-19, like New York, which Suozzi found unacceptable.

Suozzi believes the COVID-19 crisis is about both healthcare and economics. He believes that before we reopen the economy in New York, there will need to be an increase in testing, to establish contact tracing, and to procure more PPE for our frontline workers. The federal government must do more to help New York through more federal funding, massive infrastructure investment, and repealing the cap on SALT deductions.

Suozzi has led multiple initiatives with the entire New York congressional delegation (Republicans and Democrats), which has resulted in federal money for hospitals being allocated based on the number of COVID-19 positive cases in a state. He led the entire Long Island congressional delegation in convincing the Federal Reserve to allow Nassau and Suffolk Counties to access hundreds of millions of dollars in federal relief. Suozzi has been one of the loudest voices in Congress in calling on banks and financial institutions to ensure that every small business has access to loans and grants provided for in the CARES Act, regardless of size.

On Long Island, Suozzi has personally helped deliver thousands of gowns, masks, and gloves directly to frontline workers and meals to the elderly and vulnerable. He has also worked to keep his constituents updated on the latest news regarding the pandemic, sending messages and hosting town halls to keep more than 100,000 NY-03 residents up-to-date on best practices, the latest federal action, and the resources that are available to his constituents. Congressman Suozzi believes that by fighting this together, we can come out stronger than ever before.

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