HAWLEY JOINS SEN. RATH, LEGISLATOR GARY MAHA, GENESEE VETERANS SERVICES DIRECTOR BILL JOYCE, AND WNY HEROES IN ANNOUNCING DWYER PROGRAM FUNDING
(Left to Right): President and Program Director respectively of WNY Heroes Chris Kreiger and Lynn Magistrale, Legislator Gary Maha, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, Genesee Veterans Services Director Bill Joyce and Sen. Ed Rath
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) was joined today at the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency by Senator Ed Rath (R,C,I-Amherst), Genesee County Legislator Gary Maha, Genesee County Veterans Services Director Bill Joyce and Chris Kreiger and Lynn Magistrale of WNY Heroes, the organization that operates the Dwyer program in Genesee County, to discuss funding of the Joseph P. Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program and the impact the program has on local veterans.
The final enacted budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year included $4,505,000 for the Dwyer Program across New York State, with $185,000 allocated for Niagara County, $185,000 for Monroe County, and $185,000 for Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming Counties. This funding was secured even as Governor Cuomo proposed eliminating it entirely in his executive budget proposal.
“As a member of the Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and being a veteran myself, I am proud to have secured this funding for our service members after yet another attempt by the governor to eliminate it from our state budget,” said Hawley. “This funding saves lives, and operating programs such as the Dwyer program is the least we can do for those that risk their lives to defend our liberties.”
"I was pleased that the Dwyer Program funding was included in the final 2021-22 budget,” said Senator Rath. “The services that the Dwyer Program provides to our veteran community are critical. The State has continuously tried to cut or delay this funding, so I am happy that it was included in full."
“We are honored to take care of veterans and assist their families,” said Chris Kreiger, President of WNY Heroes and Iraq War veteran. “Our programs are about providing a hand up, not a hand out. It takes more strength to ask for help and even more strength to accept it. Here at WNYHeroes, we are no different than you, the veteran. We don’t dress in fancy clothing, we don’t drive fancy cars, we simply just want nothing more than to provide support while sustaining your dignity at the same time.”
HAWLEY JOINS ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS IN CALLING ON SPEAKER HEASTIE, COMMITTEE CHAIRS TO PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION FOR RESTAURANT CURFEW
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) joined his Assembly Republican colleagues in calling on Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and associated committee leaders to provide them with copies of the required notices and justifications from the governor’s office regarding a modification to an executive order that mandates a 12 a.m. curfew on bars and restaurants, and why the curfew was simply pushed back an hour from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. instead of being done away with entirely. Pursuant to Chapter 71 of the laws of 2021, the governor is now required to inform legislative leaders and relevant committee chairs of any extension, modification or alteration to existing executive orders related to the pandemic.
Hawley has been critical of this curfew for months, especially as similar restrictions were lifted on casinos, theaters and gyms. The curfew has been in effect in some form since mid-November of last year and has placed great strain on family-owned businesses and small restaurants, forcing many of them to close on a temporary or permanent basis.
“Every day we wait to do away with this senseless curfew, the more real the fear of closure for restaurant owners becomes,” said Hawley. “It is ridiculous to think casinos can stay open all night while restaurants are forced to close, and I hope our legislative colleagues in the Majority will join us in standing with restaurant owners against this nonsensical and burdensome curfew. Many of the restaurants threatened by this mandate have been built and operated by several generations of family members and for us to let this mandate drive them out of business would be nothing short of tragic. COVID-19 doesn’t suddenly grow more aggressive after midnight, and it certainly isn’t more infectious in restaurants than it is in theaters and casinos.”
HAWLEY DISAPPOINTED AS RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA BILL BECOMES LAW
“What passed in the Assembly today has no basis in justice or science, and I fear that the revenue this bill projects our legal marijuana program will bring in has blinded them to the real costs of this legislation. What we know is that in other states, driver impairment rates have risen nearly universally, and these factors have caused states like Colorado to pay about four dollars in damages for every dollar earned in revenue. The passage of this legislation will come with real consequences that we will be left to pay for in the years to come, both financially and in terms of human health and human lives. I feel this will be a decision we look back on, wishing we had given it more thought.”
HAWLEY AND ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS CALL ON GOV. CUOMO TO RELEASE $1.3 BILLION IN FEDERAL CARES ACT HOUSING FUNDING
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) joined other members of the Assembly and Senate Minority Conferences on Wednesday in calling on Gov. Cuomo to release $1.3 billion in CARES Act housing assistance funding to aid tenants and landlords. If the money were to go unused by the end of September, it is possible the federal government could take the funds back, leaving tenants and landlords without much-needed assistance. Tenants have struggled to pay rent due to the pandemic, causing many small landlords to face difficulty in paying their mortgages.
“People need this money now more than ever, and to leave it sitting around during this time of great need is unconscionable,” said Hawley. “Helping everyday New Yorkers should be our number one priority during these times, and for most people their priority number one is keeping a roof over their heads. This money will go a long way toward keeping people’s rents and mortgages paid, and I see no reason we should wait any longer in getting it to those who need it most.”
HAWLEY RENEWS CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT FOLLOWING REPORT GOV. RESERVED STATE COVID TESTS FOR FAMILY AND ALLIES
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is renewing his call for the governor’s impeachment following a bombshell report that the governor secured state-administered COVID tests for himself, members of his family and those with close political and personal ties to him during a period in the pandemic in which government labs only had the capacity to process several hundred tests each day. State police resources were also reportedly used to transport these tests to state labs for faster processing.
“It has become abundantly clear the governor is willing to take actions that benefit himself and those close to him at the public’s expense,” said Hawley. “Somebody with such misguided convictions has no place continuing as our governor, and we need to move forward with impeachment proceedings as quickly as possible. Of course he could still do the right thing and resign.”
Agriculture Literacy Week 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYiqWc-ltE&ab_channel=CornellCooperativeExtensionofGeneseeCounty
HAWLEY AND ASSEMBLY MINORITY ANNOUNCE INTENT TO INTRODUCE IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION AGAINST GOV.
“After ignoring the calls my colleagues and I have been making for him to resign, today we had no choice but to set into motion the introduction of an impeachment resolution against the governor. Our state is facing dire economic, public health and fiscal challenges that demand our full attention as a Legislature. The last thing we need is a prolonged political battle over removing the governor when everyday New Yorkers need our help more than ever, so I am hopeful we can move through this impeachment process quickly to get back to the people’s work.”
HAWLEY CALLS ON COMMISSIONER ZUCKER TO IMPLEMENT ‘3-FOOT RULE’ TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO RETURN TO CLASSROOMS FULL TIME
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) wrote a letter Thursday to state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker requesting that he and the Cuomo administration consider changing health guidelines to allow a 3-foot distance between students, as opposed to the current 6-foot standard. This would allow students to return to classrooms full-time and end remote learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics has acknowledged that many nations have been able to re-open schools with a 3-foot standard in place, without increasing the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
Hawley believes that remote learning is in many ways harmful to the development of young students, as they are deprived of the opportunity to socialize with their peers and develop critical social skills. Hawley also raises the point that for many students, home is not an environment conducive to learning, and many students who face adverse circumstances at home rely on school as a place they know they can be kept safe and fed a nutritious meal.
“The safety of our children will always be our foremost priority, but it has become clear that remote learning is taking a toll on their development in a very concerning way,” said Hawley. “We have evidence to show that the 3-foot standard can be implemented safely, and should work quickly to get our kids back in schools full-time to minimize the negative consequences remote learning will have on our children and help them become the best young citizens they can be.”
HAWLEY CALLS FOR GOVERNOR’S RESIGNATION IN WEEKEND INTERVIEWS
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) over the weekend spoke with WHAM 13 Rochester and Rochester TV 8 to discuss recent allegations made against the governor by two of his former aides who state he had sexually harassed them in private. Speaking with these media outlets, Hawley called on the governor to resign immediately in the aftermath of both these sexual harassment allegations and also following reports that his administration actively covered up the amount of fatalities in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the interviews, Hawley emphasized that amid an ongoing pandemic, budget negotiation process, a federal investigation into his cover-up of nursing home fatality data, and now an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, New Yorkers need a governor that can fully devote their time and focus on addressing the needs of everyday New Yorkers in what are unprecedented and challenging times.
“It needs to happen yesterday,” said Assemblyman Hawley in an interview with WHAM 13. “Any time there’s an allegation, it needs to be taken seriously, and we need to move forward with that.”
“[Cuomo] owes it to the people of the state of New York— his constituents, my constituents,” said Hawley, as he spoke with News 8 Rochester. “We have an awful lot going on in the state, in this nation. And the appropriate thing for him to do at this point is resign.”
HAWLEY SPEAKS ON BOMBSHELL POST REPORT THAT GOV. CUOMO’S TOP AIDE ADMITTED TO COVERING UP NURSING HOME DEATHS
“It is hard to find the words to express my frustration with the details of this report. I am incredibly saddened by how families who have already lost their loved ones have been disrespected by this administration after already going through the painful process of grief. We now know for certain that the governor put his reputation before the lives of over 15,000 nursing home residents, and we must keep all options on the table to hold him accountable, along with everyone else responsible for this tragedy and the ensuing cover-up. At this point, any excuses made to not rescind the governor’s emergency powers and immediately investigate this matter as thoroughly and independently as possible are entirely disingenuous, and we must now all put politics aside to do what’s right for the thousands of families who had their loved ones taken from them.”
HAWLEY DELIVERS “VALENTINES FOR VETS” MADE BY JACKSON PRIMARY SCHOOL FIRST GRADERS TO BATAVIA VETERANS’ HOME
Hawley drops off valentines at the New York State Veterans’ Home in Batavia on Feb. 11, 2021
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) visited the New York State Veterans’ Home in Batavia to drop-off valentines that were made by first-grade students from Jackson Primary School as part of the Assemblyman’s “Valentines for Vets” program. A veteran himself, and a member of the Assembly Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Hawley remained outside of the facility as he left the valentines due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“In what has been a challenging and isolating year for us all, it was my pleasure to facilitate the delivery of these valentines to let our veterans know how much their service is appreciated by the young people of our community,” said Hawley. “The messages written by the children for our veterans were heartwarming and an encouraging sign for our future, and I am proud of these young patriots for what they’ve done to show our veterans how much their service means to them.”
HAWLEY JOINS ASSEMBLY MINORITY MEMBERS IN LETTER CALLING ON ASSEMBLY OVERSIGHT, HEALTH, AND AGING COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO SIGN PETITION TO COMPEL COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH TO TESTIFY
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) joined his colleagues in the Assembly Minority in a press conference calling on members of the Assembly Oversight, Health and Aging committees to sign a petition that would trigger the delivery of a subpoena to New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard A. Zucker to testify and provide all data on nursing home deaths occurring during the pandemic., The subpoena would also request all communications from the Department of Health (DOH) and other parties that led to the decision to develop, implement and override its March 25 directive, and allow Zucker to provide answers as to why this information was kept from the Legislature and public for such a long period of time.
According to Section 62-A of Legislative Law, if a majority of members on a given committee sign a petition, they then have the authority to issue a subpoena for the individual in question to appear before the committee to answer questions. Hawley has sought for months to hold legislative hearings in which Dr. Howard Zucker would be compelled to answer questions regarding the thousands of deaths in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and about the attempts that followed to cover up the severity of the tragedy.
“Given the sheer tragedy of this situation, I am hopeful my colleagues in the Majority on this committee will do what’s right as human beings and compel Commissioner Zucker to provide the answers grieving families have waited far too long for,” said Hawley. “If our governor’s own attorney general was able to put aside their partisanship for the sake of truth and justice, I can only hope those in the Majority on these committees will also put their humanity before their politics.”
A TIME FOR HONESTY
A Legislative Column by Assemblyman Steve Hawley
Taking ownership of our decisions is something that we’re taught the importance of from a young age, such as when our schoolteachers told us the story of George Washington and his famous cherry tree. While that tale was just an American folk story, it taught us all that our greatest leaders are honest and take responsibility for their actions, just as we all should as citizens. That message is more relevant than ever following our governor’s inability to take responsibility for the deaths of thousands of New Yorkers in our nursing homes.
The unfathomable loss of life that took place this year is the greatest tragedy I’ve witnessed in my time as a legislator in Albany. As lawmakers and as human beings, we should all feel angry about the cover up that they tried to hide from us. In recent months, we’ve heard lots in the media about unity and coming together to do what’s right. While in this moment, we have been provided the opportunity to stand together against something we should all be able to recognize as wrong.
The issue at hand is nothing nuanced or technical. The simple fact of the matter is that thousands of people died because of decisions our governor made, and we have been presented with a choice. Lawmakers can choose to seek justice and stand with the people or defend his wrongdoings and stand for his political interests. We need hearings to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable, and despite the hesitance of some in the Majority to do so, we need to disempower the governor to prevent him making further bad decisions that could bring our state even more pain.
With our governor clearly unwilling to own up to his own mistakes, we in the Legislature need to take back our role in government to protect our most vulnerable. We all need to recognize that this tragedy was caused by the deliberate and unwise actions of our governor, and that it would be negligent of us to let him retain the emergency powers he used to hurt so many people. All eyes are on us to see if we can do the right thing, and I assure you that the countless people in this state who had the ones they loved taken from them will not soon forget who had the conviction to stand up for the people, versus those who cared more about political gamesmanship and their own well-being.
In a time when people trust their government less than ever to do what’s right, let’s come together for once to address something we can all agree is reprehensible— the intentional coverup of thousands of preventable deaths.
“FRIEND IN GOVERNMENT” AWARD FROM NEW YORK BEEF PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION
Assemblyman Hawley receives his award from the New York Beef Producers Association on February 5, 2021
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has been awarded the New York Beef Producers Association 2020 Friend in Government award, which he received during their annual meeting held virtually on Zoom. Hawley has been supportive of New York agriculture as a lawmaker and as a citizen for decades, as he is a 42 year member of the New York State Farm Bureau, has served as President of the Genesee County Farm Bureau and has been a member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Agriculture for 15 years. The award is given to legislators who have been notably vocal advocates for those in the industry of beef production, and Assemblyman Hawley is one of only two legislators to receive this award this year.
“As a former farmer myself, it has been my honor to stand up as a voice for everybody who works in agriculture in our state, including beef producers,” said Hawley. “I look forward to continuing to champion the causes of our farmers, and even as we face a challenging year ahead I look forward to working with producers to make the best of it and assure their voices are heard in our Legislature.”
HAWLEY CONTINUES PUSH FOR HEARINGS, END TO GOV. CUOMO’S EMERGENCY POWERS FOLLOWING PRESS CONFERENCE ON NURSING HOME AG REPORT
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is reiterating his demands for legislative hearings into the Cuomo administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes following a press conference held by legislative colleagues today regarding a bombshell report from the Attorney General’s Office that revealed the department was undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I-Pulaski), Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt (R-Tonawanda), “Fox and Friends” co-host Janice Dean and a Capital Region family who lost their loved one to COVID-19 in a nursing home last April were all in attendance.
Additionally, Hawley is demanding a termination of the governor’s emergency powers, and also requesting that his colleagues in the Majority compel administration officials to attend legislative hearings on the matter by issuing subpoenas against them.
“I am hopeful that seeing the real pain the governor’s wrongdoings brought to an everyday family will be an eye-opener for my colleagues in the Majority and compel them to take getting to the bottom of this matter seriously,” said Hawley. “It has become too obvious to ignore that efforts were made to actively hide the severity of this tragedy, and I am hopeful this week’s shocking developments will spur those in the Majority to do what’s right for those who lost their loved ones.”
HAWLEY DEMANDS LEGISLATIVE HEARING INTO HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOLLOWING AG REPORT ON NURSING HOME COVID DEATHS
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is demanding a legislative hearing regarding the handling of the pandemic within New York state’s nursing homes by the Department of Health, as well as the revocation of the Governor’s emergency powers, following a report from the state Attorney General’s Office that the department underreported nursing home deaths related to COVID-19 by as much as 50 percent. The report also revealed that residents and staff were not provided with sufficient amounts of PPE and COVID-19 tests, and that many nursing homes were not complying with an executive order requiring communication with family members of residents.
“What was revealed in today’s report from the Attorney General is nothing short of tragic, and, at this point, I consider it a moral obligation to hold hearings into this matter so we can get to the bottom of what caused this unfathomable tragedy,” said Hawley. “I am shocked we are only learning today of the magnitude of this unthinkable loss of life, and I am resolved to restoring proper and constitutional government in our state to ensure the Legislature has the oversight capability to assure this never happens again.”
HAWLEY CALLS FOR REJECTION OF BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW GOV. TO DETAIN THOSE VIEWED AS THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH
Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is calling on his colleagues in the Legislature to reject Assembly Bill 416, which would give the Governor or his surrogates the authority to detain individuals determined to be a threat to public health. Hawley opposes this legislation as he believes it to be unconstitutional and in violation of the right to due process.
“This bill is unconstitutional on its face and disregards all basic concepts of due process that make us free in this country,” said Hawley. “Protecting the health of our neighbors is a noble goal to be certain, but this bill forfeits our constitutional liberty in a way we can never allow. This is yet another piece of legislation from a downstate member of the Majority that blatantly disregards the constitution and causes people to distrust their government. People being detained on a whim just isn’t something that should ever happen in our country, and I will do everything I can to stop the passage of this dystopian legislation.”
