Rep. Mike Lawler: Federal government won't fund New York's 'reckless spending'

Albany — Since the 2025 legislative session began, New York's top lawmakers have often had a common theme when discussing budgeting, and that's calling on New York's Republican Congressional delegation to "protect New Yorkers" from federal budget cuts.

CBS6 spoke with one of those Republican Representatives this week, NY's 17th District Rep. Mike Lawler:

CBS6: "What are you doing to protect New Yorkers, as they say, when it comes to budgeting this time around?"

Rep. Lawler: "Well, funny enough on that, the Governor and our legislative leaders have really done nothing to reach out to us and actually engage in a conversation. So, they might want to do that themselves as we work through this process. Number one. Number two, the Governor has proposed a $252 billion budget. The State legislative One-House budgets are in, you know, the $260 billion range. This is unsustainable. New York has increased state spending by over $100 billion in the last decade. If somebody can explain to me how they intend to pay for that, I'd love to hear the explanation, because if their sole basis is that they're relying on the federal government to fund their reckless spending, it's not going to happen. The federal government is facing a $36 trillion debt. We are spending $7 trillion a year. The federal government itself is unsustainable at that at those rates, and so we are working through a process called reconciliation, which will focus on a number of key areas at the federal level. Number one, border security. Number two, strengthening our military and defense. Number three, increasing domestic production of energy. Number four, reining in the size and scope of the federal government across all agencies and departments. And number five, a tax bill that will focus on extending many of the provisions of the tax cuts in the JOBS Act and making them permanent, while also increasing the cap on SALT. I've been very clear about that. That is a top priority for me. But understand one thing, if we don't pass a tax bill, it will be the single largest tax increase in American history, the standard deduction that was doubled for individuals and families that will go away and it will go back to what it was prior to the tax cuts and JOBS Act. So there's a lot riding on this bill. And my Democratic colleagues in New York need to recognize that as they continue to increase state spending at the levels that they have over $100 billion in a decade, that's unsustainable, and it's why New Yorkers are leaving in droves. It's why New York leads that nation in out migration. People cannot afford to live in New York under the reckless one party rule."

CBS6: "There are some key areas of funding that they're concerned about. And I know that you have raised concerns. Social Security has been something that you've been outspoken about trying to protect, Medicaid is another big one of those. That's one of, I think maybe a lot of top priorities. I know you said that you will work to protect that. How do you work to protect that, but also while voting for a continuing resolution that many say would gut that?"

Rep. Lawler: "So few things here. Number one, social security cannot be touched under reconciliation, and I've been very clear about protecting Social Security. In fact, in the last Congress, I championed the Social Security Fairness Act to make sure that those seniors who rely on Social Security are not impacted by a separate pension that they may have and funds taken away from them. So we are working to protect these vital programs, Social Security, Medicare, to make sure that our seniors have the resources that they need and get the benefits that they're entitled to that they paid into."

CBS6: "Do you think social security is a Ponzi scheme, as Elon Musk has been saying?"

Rep. Lawler: "No, it's not a Ponzi scheme. But the challenge is that if we don't figure out how to ensure long term funding, it will go broke, and people are going to be negatively impacted by that. So, it requires both parties to actually work together to address the issue of long term funding for Social Security, rather than using it as a political weapon, which is oftentimes what my Democratic colleagues have done, especially just this last campaign, my opponent used it as a political weapon...kept saying that I was going to cut Social Security when I made it very clear that I was not. Number two, with respect to Medicaid. Medicaid, obviously is a vital program, but it is a means tested program, and you have to qualify for it, and so we have individuals who are reliant on it, long term care, seniors, those in the IDD community, pregnant women, children, that absolutely need these programs. But there's no question in the State like New York, where they're spending $1.2 billion on non-citizens and illegal immigrants, giving them health benefits, where they are allowing able bodied adults to collect benefits without working, that is a challenge, and there is a cost affiliated with that. And when you look at the fact that the system is paying out roughly $50 billion a year in misallocated and misappropriated payments under the system, that is a challenge that we have to grapple with long term, and we want to protect this program for those who need it, those who rely on it. As I've said many times, you know, folks in the IDD community, we want to make sure that they have the resources that they need. And you see right now what the Governor is proposing with the CDPAP program, that is a Medicaid program, the Governor is proposing significant changes that will kick upwards of 100,000 people off of the CDPAP rolls. So you know, as the Governor and other Democrats attack Republicans down in Washington, I'm curious why nobody is asking them questions about the impacts of the CDPAP changes, and how that will impact those on Medicaid here in New York. The fact is, New York spends about 83% greater on Medicaid than the average of the other 49 states in the country. It's the most expansive Medicaid program in the country. New York's rapid increase in Medicaid spending, as they have expanded, it obviously has driven up cost, and that's part of the reason why the Governor is trying so desperately to change the CDPAP program. She wants to rein in cost. So to attack Republicans when they're saying, 'hey, we need to look some of the issues surrounding Medicaid,' is laughable. The fact is that it is, it is a program that we need to make sure is available and sustainable for the people who are eligible for it and rely on it, not for people who are milking the system or those that are scamming it, and certainly not illegal immigrants. That is not a good use of taxpayer money."

Stay tuned for more from this conversation, including on tariffs, Elise Stefanik, Andrew Cuomo, and the Signal app issue.