Espaillat to Host Press Conference on NYC Childcare
Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights, Sugar Hill) will hold a press conference tomorrow about the challenges facing New York childcare providers.
Espaillat will be joined by local electeds, community leaders and childcare providers. The event will be free and open to the public.
The conference will take place today at 10 a.m. on the steps of City Hall.
Nadler Condemns White House for Refusal to Participate in Impeachment Inquiry
Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) released a statement on Friday denouncing President Donald Trump (R) for refusing to take part in the impeachment inquiry.
In the statement, Nadler claims that Trump no longer has the right to claim that the process is unfair, or that he’s not being given a chance to defend himself.
“We gave President Trump a fair opportunity to question witnesses and present his own to address the overwhelming evidence before us,” said Nadler. “After listening to him complain about the impeachment process, we hoped that he might accept our invitation. If the President has no good response to the allegations, then he would not want to appear before the Committee. Having declined this opportunity, the President cannot claim that the process is unfair. The President’s failure will not prevent us from carrying out our solemn constitutional duty.”
Stringer Releases Sobering Report on Cost of Incarceration
City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) released a report on Friday showing that the costs of incarceration in New York City are rising.
According to the report, the cost of incarceration per person reached an all-time high in the Fiscal Year 2019. It now costs the City $337,524 to incarcerate one person for a full year. Furthermore, although the Department of Correction’s budget is declining, prison-related expenses are continuing to increase. Even worse, although the overall incarcerated population is shrinking, the rate of violent incidents among prisoners is rising.
“It’s time to fundamentally transform our criminal justice system – and key to that, is an efficient, thoughtful, and modern corrections system,” said Stringer. “Although our jail system has shrunk, this analysis shows that the system has not changed, as spending, violence, and the use of force continue to rise disproportionately. For long-term savings—and the long-term good of our City—we must start seeing better all-around outcomes as our jail population declines.”
Read the full report here.
Maloney Votes to Pass Voting Rights Amendment
Last Friday, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) voted to pass H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The act reestablishes protections for voters in states with recent histories of voter suppression. It provides a new formula that determines which jurisdictions are subject to preclearance for implementing voting law changes.
“I was proud to join my colleagues today in passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act, to give the federal government the tools it needs to hold local elected officials accountable for voter suppression tactics designed to silence our most vulnerable and underrepresented communities,” said Maloney. “So many brave Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the most basic and fundamental of American rights- the right to vote.”
