Staten Island’s Rep. Hosts 2 Telephone Town Halls: Talks Budget Bill, Veterans Affairs, Senior Wins, SALT Deductions – Second Has 3,400 Constituents Live

Note: We asked the Congresswoman a number of questions, specifically about the volunteer and education requirements and how charities can get involved, along with a number of others. The answers will be added here at the beginning when they are received, so check back next week.

Staten Island and Brooklyn constituents attended her telephone town hall in large numbers -3,400 according to her newsletter. They had many different questions and concerns, many of which revolved around the newly passed budget bill (which Rep. Malliotakis and others have been calling the “Big, Beautiful Bill” while opponents have tried out multiple names for it, including the “Big, Ugly Bill.” It can mostly just be called, in a neutral way, the budget reconciliation bill. That does sound boring, though, and very economic.

To start off, the congresswoman described the bill itself, including some of the wins that she fought hard to have included: restoration of the SALT tax deduction (so that homeowners will no longer be double taxed for their properties), the restoration and expansion of the Child Tax Credit (to $2,200 per child), and the new requirements for a specific small number of Medicaid and SNAP recipients to work, volunteer, or attend school in order to qualify for their benefits.

The allowance in this bill for volunteer hours to cover this requirement may be a boon to charities who have been struggling in recent years to find people willing to volunteer. Our own non-profit and political community has discussed the importance of volunteering, particularly for older adults. This type of volunteering, particularly among that community, has benefits to both the residents and the charities. The residents are able to socialize and make new friends, and the non-profits can fulfill their missions. However, these are not the recipients who are required to fulfill these new obligations. They apply narrowly to adults without children under 14, who are above the Federal Poverty Level, and who are not children or disabled (or, presumably, legally registered caregivers for such a relative).

She directly addressed the protesters who came to her various offices (which was organized by Citizen Action and others), stating that those who are disabled, elderly, with young children, and below the FPL are not subject to this requirement. She also mentioned, very importantly, that the matching funds have not been touched. That means that the federal government will continue to provide 50% matching funds for regular Medicaid, and 90% for enhanced eligibility Medicaid. The cuts, she said, are focused on removing people from the program who did not qualify for it, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. It is important to point out that this was a major concern, including for those who advocate for lower income residents, such as in our interview about this topic.

According to that conversation, the government can only save money by changing the matching funds or by lowering eligibility. This new work requirement, according to another story we published, may have the effect of pushing people off the rolls rather than increasing the number who work, which according to the congresswoman is 90% at the present time.

She also took questions regarding Congestion Pricing, and where that stands now. The issues that Newark Airport was having with their antiquated radar system will now be remedied with a new fiber optic system installed at the airport over the coming months.

She also mentioned that they will be rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse by getting rid of DEI programs as part of cost reduction measures.

In the second half of the video, which is the first teletown hall she did earlier this month, she was joined by Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins. They discussed concerns of local constituents over the closing of VA hospitals, declaring that no hospitals have closed or are planned to be closed. They discussed the layoffs and mandated rehires of probationary employees of the VA, and how they have been restored to the system. This means care for our veterans, which has already been riddled with complaints, delays, and problems, will not get worse. They VA secretary has promised in the past to improve the VA, and make it so that it is more able to serve members with greater efficiency. As they streamline the VA, it is hoped that patient care will improve.

Representative Malliotakis also stressed during the call that her office is here for constituents. If you can’t get through to the Social Security Administration, if your benefits have stopped and they shouldn’t have, if your application was denied when it should have been approved, or if you are having a myriad of other issues that her staff might be able to help with, you can contact her office to help you.

The phone number for the Staten Island office is 718-568-2870

The phone number for Brooklyn is 718-306-1620