Issues

Joe Biden and Sean Patrick Maloney’s reckless inflationary agenda is crushing senior citizens on fixed incomes, small businesses, working families, and young people just starting their careers. Biden’s and Maloney’s hidden tax has led to penny-pinching and long nights at kitchen tables across the Hudson Valley and elsewhere. As Congressman, Mike will make getting inflation under control a number one priority.

In the State Assembly, Mike supported a gas tax holiday to reduce pain at the pump for millions of New York families, pushed legislation that would establish a tax credit to offset utility bill increases, created the Blown Tire Tax Credit to give drivers a $1,000 personal tax credit for damage sustained on state and local roads, supported eliminating state sales tax on everyday necessities such as housekeeping supplies, personal care products and prepared food, and introduced legislation to double the STAR Property Tax Relief benefit for seniors.

Mike also delivered on his promise to create a true 10% property tax exemption for our volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel, helping pass a statewide bill to provide real relief for those who serve our communities and keep us safe.

He also led the charge on historic middle-class income tax cuts which will put billions of dollars back in the pockets of taxpayers across the Hudson Valley.

In the New York State Assembly, Mike fought hard against radical progressives demanding the defunding of the police. He introduced legislation to repeal the catastrophic cashless bail law that returns dangerous criminals right back on the streets, worked to restore judicial discretion in holding violent criminals in custody, and called out Democrats like Sean Patrick Maloney, who previously said passing cashless bail was his number one priority, for making our communities less safe. As Congressman, Mike will fight day and night to stop the radical agenda that is endangering communities all across the state. 

Mike is proud to have the strong support of law enforcement and our first responders, and he will always work to keep our communities safe.

While in the State Assembly, Mike has fought for more aid to schools across the Hudson Valley — and delivered. In just two years, he delivered hundreds of millions in state funding to improve education in the 17th District. In Congress, he’ll work to increase funding for our schools in the Hudson Valley, support school choice, and empower parents to push back against age-inappropriate curriculum within their school districts. We need to teach our country’s history – the good, the bad, and the ugly – but we must do so in a way that teaches our kids not to hate one another and to love our country.

As the husband of an immigrant from Eastern Europe, Mike Lawler understands the importance of legal immigration and the positive impact it has on our country. As a member of Congress, Mike will work to fix our broken immigration system, so that those seeking to come to America in search of a better life, economic opportunity, and freedom, can do so legally.

However, Mike will fight tooth-and-nail to get our borders under control in order to halt the flow of illegal immigration. The current situation is a mockery to the rule of law and a genuine threat to national sovereignty and the health and well-being of our citizens.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden, Sean Patrick Maloney and his colleagues in Washington have opened our borders to millions of illegal crossings, with more people pouring across the border every day. 

What’s worse, Maloney and his allies in Washington and Albany have enacted radical policies in which undocumented immigrants are given free iPhones, billions in cash assistance, and a free middle-of-the-night plane ride into New York airports, including Westchester County Airport and Stewart International. These undocumented immigrants are then secretively bussed into New York communities that are forced to accommodate them with housing, schooling, healthcare, and other services.  

Additionally, the failure of Biden and Maloney’s open border policy has been a dramatic increase in dangerous and illegal fentanyl pouring across the border and into our communities in New York and across the country.  This has only exacerbated the existing heroin and addiction crises gripping towns and counties across the Hudson Valley. 

It must stop.

In the State Assembly, Mike supported dozens of pieces of legislation that improved the quality of our drinking water, cracked down on pollutants and contaminants, and protected our parks and open spaces. In Congress, Mike will work to protect the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley while ensuring energy costs don’t spiral out of control due to a radical climate agenda.

As a strong proponent of expanded domestic energy production, including clean natural gas, Mike believes America must pursue an “all-of-the-above” energy policy that strikes a balance between a push for renewable and alternative energies, with the reality that pie-in-the-sky promises to end the use of all fossil fuels within the next 10-15 years threaten to drive energy costs even higher, representing a regressive tax on those who can least afford it at a time when inflation is surging to its highest levels in 40 years.

Recent federal government reports that Social Security’s combined trust funds won’t be able to pay full benefits to recipients in 2035 is alarming, and represents a total failure of career politicians like Sean Patrick Maloney and Joe Biden. Moreover, Medicare is also facing long-term financing shortfalls and will grow faster than the nation’s GDP through the mid-2030s.

Mike Lawler understands that, for tens of thousands of his constituents, Social Security and Medicare are the difference between getting by and literally falling into poverty. Mike will fight to protect Social Security and Medicare and work with people of goodwill from both parties to develop a long term plan to keep these programs solvent and functioning.

Mike will be a staunch ally for Veterans in Congress, and he’ll fight for increased funding for V.A. hospitals and Veterans Organizations across New York. As a member of the State Assembly, Mike fought to fully fund the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer to Peer program in the state budget; voted to create the state department of Veterans Services; and introduced legislation to create a $100 million fund to support Veterans Organizations.

When their country needed them, our men and women in uniform put aside everything for this nation. Many have been critically wounded. Now that they’re back home, they deserve the best available care. Period. 

Mike Lawler believes in “Peace through Strength” because it has protected Americans from danger since the end of World War II. That means ensuring our military is the best-funded, equipped, and trained in the entire world.  Bar none.

There are bad actors around the globe eagerly watching for signs of weakness in our elected leadership.  Unfortunately, that has been the case during the Biden Administration.  Their catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal was an embarrassment to the country and an insult to all those who had served and sacrificed there, including the 13 soldiers who perished in a suicide attack at the Kabul Airport.  Predictably, Sean Patrick Maloney put partisan politics ahead of what is right, and defended President Biden’s handling of the situation.

In regard to the war in Ukraine and hostile actions by Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, Mike will advocate for strong sanctions and resolute cooperation with our NATO allies in pushing back against aggression in all its forms.

Mike firmly believes that as a society, we have an obligation to provide for our most vulnerable populations, especially those in our communities who are underserved or in need of critical care.

Whether one identifies as having a disability, is a senior or a veteran, or one of our low-income EBT/SNAP families who are struggling to provide for their children during these difficult economic times, Mike believes we must expand economic, healthcare, educational, and recreational opportunities for those individuals and their families.

Since the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted into law in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush, we have seen significant progress towards ending discrimination against those with disabilities across the country. However, there is still more work to be done to ensure the nearly 62 million Americans living with a disability, including over 1 million New Yorkers, are treated with dignity, respect, and afforded the same opportunities as everyone else.

As a first-term legislator, Mike led the charge to stop the closure of the Rockland Psychiatric Center, which is the only such facility between the Bronx and Utica, providing a wide range of mental health services to patients all across the Hudson Valley. Mike also secured record investments for the I/DD community and has worked in close coordination with I/DD programs in Rockland County and across the Hudson Valley to ensure that their needs have been met. In addition, Mike fought to increase salaries for those providing these critical services to ensure the retention of our workforce.

Working with the Town of Orangetown and Supervisor Teresa Kenny, Mike helped secure critical funds to build an all-inclusive playground and a splash pad to ensure that children of all abilities could enjoy themselves and have fun. An initiative that Mike would like to champion nationwide.

As a member of Congress, Mike will be a true advocate for the disabled, fighting for all those with different abilities who are wishing to join the workforce, while also focusing on accessible, long term, and affordable housing, healthcare, ADA compliance, and much more.

The Seniors of the Hudson Valley will have a resilient and resourceful friend with Mike in Congress who will never tire when asked to step up and to protect their right to a happy, secure, safe, and comfortable retirement.

Finally, Mike believes that we must do everything possible to empower the low income, and to provide them with the tools that they need to succeed, while supporting the federal safety net called EBT/ SNAP food stamps. In addition, Mike supports the federal libraries Museums For All EBT/ SNAP policy which allows all low income parents to educate their children in the “Arts & Culture”, with over 900 cultural institutions currently in agreement nationwide, including 70 in New York.