Carolyn Maloney
Website: carolynmaloney.com
Twitter: @CarolynBMaloney
In every political campaign, candidates will tell you what they intend to do. But it’s important to know what they’ve done already — what they’ve achieved for their community. I’m proud to say that I have a long record of achievement for this district, our city, and our country.
This past year, for instance, I was elected by my peers to become the first woman to ever chair the Oversight Committee. That has put me on the front line in the battle to take on Donald Trump — and hold him accountable. We’ve already stopped him from adding the citizenship question to the Census, and have a case before the Supreme Court to get his financial records and tax returns. We also impeached him; I was one of the committee chairs who helped lead the investigation, and signed the articles of impeachment. I’ve also held hearings on family separation, abortion access, paid family leave, harassment and retaliation in the coast guard, and facial recognition software — which is definitely not ready for prime time — and worked to hold DHS, CBP and ICE accountable for their treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers at the border.
I passed landmark legislation to make permanent the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, a $38 billion dollar, publicly-funded program for the heroes, heroines and survivors of 9/11, which I’ve been fighting for over the last 18 years.
My Debbie Smith Act was reauthorized. It funds the testing of DNA evidence – which has already helped to put thousands of rapists behind bars, and has been called one of the most important anti-rape bills ever passed.
I also pushed for a Congressional hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment – the first hearing in 36 years. And now — after it’s ratification by Virginia and a vote to remove the ratification deadline in February — we are on our way to finally putting women into the Constitution.
We passed paid parental leave for 2.1 million federal workers, an effort I led the fight on for years. It’s the first step towards universal paid family leave for every American, and I’ve already held oversight hearings on how we can make that happen.
I was also successful in securing $25 million for the CDC to finally study the epidemic of gun violence. That’s the first federal funding in more than 20 years. And I plan to keep working to enact common-sense gun reform, like background checks, an assault weapons ban, and ending illegal gun trafficking by making it a felony at the federal level.
Here at home, I’ve worked to create parks and public spaces, partnered with local officials to get rid of illegally parked garbage trucks, stood by NYCHA tenants to demand the repairs they deserve, gotten audits on postal service issues, built bridges and more, thanks to strong partnerships with members of the community and a lot of hard work.
But there is so much more work to be done. We must ensure healthcare for all — it’s a human right, and while we protect the Affordable Care Act’s protections, particularly those for people with pre-existing conditions, we must also lower drug costs and work to pass single payer Medicare for All.
We also have to make progress on the climate crisis — the greatest existential threat of our time. I’m an original co-sponsor on the Green New Deal, and a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal for Public Housing. In our district, I think the Green New Deal for Public Housing will help alleviate the housing crisis, green the housing stock we already have, create good jobs, and help build even more public housing in the future.
And we have to make sure we’re giving everybody a fair shot to succeed and thrive, through good jobs, fair wages, enabling our seniors to retire with dignity, providing free four-year college tuition at state schools, and eliminating student debt.
In my career, I’ve passed over 70 bills and billions in federal infrastructure funding for this District– and I’m not done yet. I hope the work I’ve done for our district and my ability to partner with constituents to achieve results has earned your support for 2020.
— Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Grand Street Dems asked each 2020 candidate to submit a statement ahead of our endorsement meeting on Sunday, February 2.
