New York lawmakers react to State of the Union
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — This week on Empire State Weekly: President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address touted his accomplishments and targeted his political rival in the November election. New York lawmakers had differing reactions to the address.
Paul Tonko, a Democrat Congressman, representing New York’s 20th congressional district, had an optimistic take on the address and on the topics President Biden focused on.
“It was high on energy high on achievements and high on a vision for American opportunities that still exist unfinished business that he wants to go forth with,” said Tonko.
Marc Molinaro, a Republican Congressman, representing New York’s 19th congressional district, called the speech divisive but conveyed optimism for future relations.
“I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful that we can navigate through this period of time where Americans do need us working together to solve problems not vilifying one another I wish the president would have taken that tact last night, he didn’t but he’ll still find somebody in me willing to honestly and earnestly work to solve problems if that’s where he wishes to meet,” said Molinaro.
Also this week, Cheyanne Daniels a race and politics reporter for political news website The Hill, explained the likely next steps in New York’s reparations process. Top state officials named appointees to the nine-person commission to study reparations. They will study what reparations could look like in the state and then make recommendations to lawmakers.
“They’ll determine exactly how far back that will look, determine who would qualify, so do you have to be a direct descendant of a slave? Do you have to be a direct descendant of someone who was negatively impacted by these policies? And then they’ll start to go into what, for instance, are the financial ramifications of being affected by that? And that’s then when we’ll start to see what a number could look like,” said Daniels.
To see these interviews and more, here is a list of how you can watch Empire State Weekly in your area of New York:
