U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-3) spoke directly to constituents and answered a plethora of their questions during a tele-town hall last Thursday where he addressed growing concerns with recent federal actions.
“We’re in a very big time of change. It’s the middle of a lot of tumult,” Suozzi said. “I talk to people all the time, I try to find out what people are thinking, and some of my constituents are really just freaked out.”
Nearly 10,000 people tuned into the tele-town hall hosted Thursday night and livestreamed on Facebook Live.
Suozzi started the tele-town hall by addressing the current political climate, saying how recent actions by Trump and the federal government have fueled many people’s worries.
But that’s not the full story of Suozzi’s district, he said, which is representative of the national political divisiveness in the country.
“But we have to remember that my district is kind of unique in this country,” Suozzi said of his politically split district.
Suozzi said he is just one of 11 Democratic U.S. representatives who were elected by a constituency who also elected Trump.
So Suozzi’s constituents are also supportive of the change, the congressman said.
With this divide represented within his district, Suozzi said he seeks to represent all of his constituents.
The main concerns Suozzi expressed that reflect his constituents are the cost of living, border security and budget cuts.
Suozzi said his focus currently is on finding solutions for border security and the asylum system, restoring the State and Local Tax deduction, or SALT, bringing together a “fractured Congress,” delivering federal funds to his district and addressing the concerns brought forward by DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency.
When asked what can be done to combat these issues, Suozzi said there are three methods: Congressional action, litigation and mobilization of people.
DOGE was one of the most talked about issues during the town hall, with both callers and Suozzi expressing concern with the cuts being made.
Suozzi called some of the actions taken by DOGE “reckless,” including the firing of many federal workers with critical responsibilities.
But DOGE’s cuts have also been proposed for research funding, which would directly impact medical research on Long Island such as at Northwell’s Feinstein Institute. Suozzi said these programs are among the strengths of the nation and called it “crazy” to threaten them.
“I think the bloom is going to come off the rose on this DOGE stuff,” Suozzi said. “What they’re doing is so callous and irresponsible and people are going to rise up and go to their representatives. And the members of Congress have to run every two years, so they’re going to listen to their constituents.”
Also looming is concern over the removal of the federal Department of Education, which some callers asked about and the potential impact on Long Island. Suozzi said that if the federal funding for education is cut along with the department’s removal, this would increase property taxes, which fund schools.
He denounced the actions being taken to remove the Department of Education.
Suozzi previously spoke alongside fellow Nassau County U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen (NY-4) about what the federal budget cuts would mean for Long Islanders at a town hall a week prior.
The budget bill includes $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and another $230 billion cuts to food assistance programs. Multiple callers called on Suozzi to do something to halt this, which he acknowledged he would do.
When asked how he is able to work with Republicans amid what the constituent called their attempts to destroy the country, Suozzi acknowledged how bipartisanship is always difficult.
But he said attacks don’t work in achieving solutions, and that there are “good people” on both sides.
“I’ll fight back when I have to like I’ve been, but I will always look for people to try and find common ground,” Suozzi said. “… So we have to try and find those places where can find agreement. Now can we do that with everybody? No… But we have to work at trying to get people to work together to actually solve the problems to address the real problems that people face like the groceries, like the cost of living, like inflation, like immigration, like our foreign policy issues, like the budget issues.”
Two callers expressed concern with Suozzi’s work with Republicans, with one saying he does not push back enough. An example provided was his vote to censure Texas Rep. Al Green during the president’s address to Congress.
Suozzi defended his vote, saying that if it was flipped and a Republican Congress member was being disruptive to a Democratic President he would have acted the same.
He also took issus with the statements that he doesn’t push back enough, saying he has been vocal in his opposition to all of the issues posed by his constituents as of late. He expressed a commitment to continue pushing back as he said he has been.
“I love our country, and I believe in our country, and I’ve devoted a large part of my life to public service,” Suozzi said. “Eight years as mayor, eight years as county executive, seven-some-odd years now as a member of Congress. And this is tough stuff. It’s not easy, and this is one of the most dramatic times I’ve ever experienced in public life.”
