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“SPEAK OUT CENTRAL NEW YORK” LAUNCHES GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN TO CALL OUT LOCAL CONGRESSPEOPLE FOR VOTES TO RAISE TAXES AND REDUCE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Large-Scale Campaign Will Hold Reps. Katko and Tenney Accountable For Supporting GOP Bills That Will Hurt Working People In Central New York

SYRACUSE – Speak Out Central New York today launched a grassroots advocacy campaign to hold Congressman John Katko (NY-24) and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) accountable for their votes to strip health care from thousands of Central New Yorkers and for the GOP tax plan, which will cost New York families $2.4 billion in 2019 alone.

Comprised of a coalition of local Central New York groups – including labor leaders from New York State United Teachers, 1199SEIU and more, local doctors, business owners, faith leaders, and elected officials – Speak Out Central New York believes all New Yorkers should have a fair chance to succeed, and that their member of Congress should not get away with their repeated votes against New Yorkers’ best interests.

“Central New York voters deserve to know that their members of Congress put a party-line vote to give tax cuts to the wealthy ahead of the needs of working families in New York,” said Lori Wahila, co-chair of Indivisible Binghamton. “New Yorkers deserve a health care and tax system that works for them, not one that just benefits billionaires and big corporations.”

Speak Out Central New York’s Advisory Board boasts members from around Central New York and from a diverse array of backgrounds:

• Mark Spadafore – Upstate New York Political Director of 1199 SEIU
• Joe Driscoll – Syracuse Common Councilman and leader of Uplift Syracuse
• Helen Hudson – President of Syracuse Common Council
• Ian Phillips – Cayuga County
• Gaye Chapman – Wayne County small business owner
• Dr. Moses Kyobe – Cardiologist at Crouse Hospital and Auburn Community Hospital in Oswego County
• John Furman – Chairman of Citizen Action Central NY and State Board Director of Citizen Action New York
• Julie Weisberg – Director of Communications for Family Planning of South Central New York
• Lori Wahila – Co-chair of Indivisible Binghamton
• Micah Barreiro – President of Broome County NAACP
• Sonia Martinez – President & Chairperson of Mohawk Valley Latino Association

In partnership with the national organizations Not One Penny and Protect Our Care, Speak Out CNY will work to educate voters across New York’s 22nd and 24th congressional districts about the impacts of Reps. Katko’s and Tenney’s votes on the GOP’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the Trump tax plan.

Both Tenney and Katko voted in favor of the GOP’s disastrous tax reform plan, even though it will force New York families to pay $2.4 billion more in taxes next year alone, and 2.4 million New Yorkers won’t see a tax cut at all. The median income in NY-24 is $56,388, and the median income in NY-22 is $52,967, while the average tax cut for New York’s top 1 percent next year is $29,890 – more than half the median annual income for both districts.

The Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act – which both Tenney and Katko supported at different stages – would have stripped 1.2 million New Yorkers of their health insurance, including 64,000 Central New Yorkers, and raised premiums 20 percent.

About Speak Out Central New York
Speak Out CNY is dedicated to educating and empowering Central New Yorkers through grassroots organizing, digital advocacy, and community partnerships. By advocating for policies that help working families make ends meet, we aim to encourage our members of Congress to protect our health care and work to expand economic opportunity.

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