Transcripts For CSPAN New York State Of The State 20180106

All of us. Rabbi, i reverend and thought were extraordinary. Lets give them a round of applause. [applause] before i begin i would like to knowledge my partners in progress who are here with me on the stage today. Lieutenant governor, lets give her a great round of laws. Eaker carl hes deep. Leader client. Leader brian cole. We had with us today our court of appeals, judges, and the great chief judge. Lets give them a round of applause. ,ts not that they are unhappy the judges. Its by protocol they dont applaud for anything. I didnt realize that the first couple of years, but i now got it. Another round of applause for not applauding for anything. [applause] my friends, looking back to 2017, it was a tough year by any measure. Also, new yorkers rose to the occasion. We had frightening incidents of terrorism in new york city, as mayor bill de blasio well knows. We also have the best police and First Responders in the country. And some of them are here today. Lets give them a round of applause. Lets see you stand, please. [applause] gov. Cuomo thank you, thank you. We also had antisemitic threats that were made to our Jewish Community Centers Across the state. The state stood with them. We were supportive, but the operators were heroic. They refused to yield to intimidation, and they are here with us today. Let them know we stand in solidarity with our jewish brothers and sisters across the state and we applaud their heroism. Please stand. [applause] gov. Cuomo Mother Nature has tested us, it seems, time and time and time and again. We saw flooding on lake ontario like we had never seen before. We saw flooding along the st. Lawrence river, the mohawk valley. We had wind stones in rochester and frigid temperatures all across the state. Once again our state employees , were there for us. We have some of them here today. The department of transportation, the department of general services, railway thruway authority, and our First Responders. Lets give them a round of applause and thank them for the great work they do. [applause] gov. Cuomo they are forecasting another possible snowstorm on thursday on long island, which will once again see the county executives out there. I can promise you, all of the glamour of the inauguration will be gone at the first snowstorm. [laughter] my advice, gloves and boots. Gloves and boots. Lets give the new county executive a round of applause. [applause] gov. Cuomo but my friends, Mother Nature saved her worst fury not for new york, but for puerto rico. I am proud of the help that new yorkers offered the people of puerto rico. It was [applause] it was bipartisan, all across the state of new york. We asked for donations. The outpouring was incredible. Tons of materials were donated from new yorkers. We asked for volunteers and they came in every possible way. We had the National Guard there, we had Health Care Workers from 1199, from the new york state nurses association, the Greater New York hospital association. We had utility workers from all across the state. I went down on one visit 500 utility workers. More from new york than from any other place, literally getting the power back. [applause] we had the New York Power Authority that did a great job, unicef did a great job. They all came together. But we want the people of puerto rico who are still suffering today 60 still without power today we want them to know that new york will stand by them every step along this journey. We are their friends, brothers and sisters. Somos uno, somos uno, somos uno, we will be there for puerto rico. Today marks the eighth time ive gotten the opportunity to discuss the state of the state. Serving as your governor has been the privilege of my life, especially as ive had the good fortune to serve with legislators who have the political will and talent to tackle the great issues. And we have the history books will show that thanks to the actions of the officials assembled here today, our state has made unprecedented progress. Our economy is stronger and we are once again the nations beacon for social progress. As governor al smith used to say, lets look at the record. The record says crime is down statewide, we have a cleaner environment, a fairer criminal justice system, more High School Graduates attending colleges. We have conserved more land than ever before, enacted a more progressive tax code, launched the most Ambitious Building Program in the country. Weve also made historic investments in education, health care, and economic development. Upstate new york is no longer treated as the forgotten stepchild of albany as it was for so many years. [applause] and my friends, State Government is back. It is reengaged as a vibrant partner of progress in every region of the state of new york. And they got ahead of me we ended the drought in buffalo returning to the playoffs for the First Time Since 1999. [applause] go, bills. Go, bills go, bills [applause] we have honored the taxpayers historic and achieved historic fiscal discipline. For the first time in 50 years, thanks to the assembly in the senate, we passed seven timely, responsible budgets. Think about that. Without 2 fiscal discipline, we actually did more with less, and it is working. Every new yorkers tax rate is lower today than when i took office. The highest Credit Rating in 40 years. Unemployment is down to 4. 7 , and it is down in every single region of the state of new york. [applause] because, my friends, the greatest success is shared. Today, new york has 8. 1 million private sector jobs, the highest number that has existed in the history of the state of new york. Period. [applause] gov. Cuomo in fact, our record is better. Listen to this. You will be pleased and proud to know we have created more jobs than any administration in 75 years. Look at this chart from the federal bureau of labor statistics. We created one million new jobs in six plus years. Since governor dewey was elected in 1942, no state administration has created more jobs for a higher percentage of jobs, or created jobs faster. Congratulations, that is your record, and it is truly a record to be proud of. [applause] now you will notice on the chart that governor mario cuomos numbers are reacted. [laughter] there is no constitutional or legal or regulatory reason that would justify that redaction. However, i did it for a couple reasons. First, because my mother is here. [laughter] and if i ever compared myself to my father and said i had a better set of numbers, i could never go home again. It would be that simple. You dont know my mother. It would be no meatballs for andrew. God for bid chris became the favorite son. That would really be terrible. [laughter] even i dont think she will go that far. Second reason i did not do it is because if i compared myself to my father, you would see him send a lightning bolt through the ceiling to strike me dead where i am. Also, i didnt include his numbers because, in my opinion, there is no comparison of any governor to governor Mario Matthew cuomo. [applause] gov. Cuomo besides all these fiscal accomplishments and more jobs than ever before, weve accomplished something else. We have indicated the promise of vindicated the promise of progressive government, because progressive government requires citizen confidence and management competence. Progressive leaders must be dreamers and doers, the visionaries and achievers. We followed fdrs aggressive progressive philosophy. Real change for real people in real time. My fathers philosophy he called himself a pragmatic progressive. Restoring confidence in government by actually delivering practical accomplishments. People need food, housing, education, justice. They dont need theoretical progressive politics. They need practical politics, actual politics that makes a difference in their lives because they are suffering today and they need life to be made better for them. [applause] and that, my friends, is what we have done. Marriage equality, paid family leave, 15 minimum wage, gun safety, climate coalition. No other state has done what we have done. We are once again the nations vanguard for social progress, and you should feel good and proud of that accomplishment. [applause] and my friends, you should feel confident in our ability to govern, and to do what many people believe cannot be done. Because you have done it over and over again. And we have been told over and over, we cant do it. At it is too hard. But we did it. We will need that confidence, because 2018 may be the toughest year new york has faced in modern political history. The job you will have to do may be the job that is the hardest job done by any legislative body to sit in modern political history. We have unprecedented challenges ahead on every level. With these challenges at this moment, it requires stark and bold action. We are facing a three front war. First, we have the old challenges of discrimination and sexism that have plagued society for years, but have recently been exposed for their prevalence and virulence. Society has rightly expressed its outrage. But outrage is not enough. Enlightened government must seize this moment to attack these social diseases that have long been institutionalized and cultural eyes, and end them once and for all. Women and minorities still face abuse and prejudice. We must acknowledge it, stamp it out, and do so here and now. [applause] gov. Cuomo second, we face new challenges threatening our safety and quality of life. Terrorism, climate change, environmental threats. Including to the drinking water. The growing opioid epidemic. A scourge that has claimed 3000 lives just last year. And lastly, we have federal and economic challenges never experienced before. They threaten the essence of our economy. Shortterm, we have a 4 billion deficit and 2 billion in cuts in federal aid. Even more challenging longterm, our federal government has hurt our States Economic position both nationally and internationally, by taxing our state and local taxes. They made us less competitive. And they are helping other states at our expense. They are continuing their divisive politics and evolving it into an even more divisive government. Just think about it. While we in this state, together, have been working for economic and social progress, our federal government is working to roll back so much of what we have done. They are trying to roll back new yorks position as an economic leader, to roll back a womans right to choose, to roll back environmental protection, health care for the poor, access to college loans, to roll back rights, labors right to organize, our historic tax cuts weve done over these past seven years. And with daca, to roll back an immigrant childs opportunity to be an american. We cannot and must not let those things happen in the great state of new york. [cheers and applause] gov. Cuomo thank you. Let us start our agenda by addressing the first challenge. The old, ugly persistent problems of sexism, racism, and homelessness. The most important element of new york social progress agenda is a quality. It is guaranteed by the constitution and our belief in human rights. Our country is finally taking a long look in the mirror in how we treat women, and we are disgusted with what we see. And we should be. Our challenge is to now turn societys propulsion into reform. Carpe diem to seize the day, to , learn, grow, change. That is what we did with gun violence after sandy hook. What we did with Sexual Assault on college campuses. Thats what we should do now after the exposure of the abuse of women in this society, new york should lead the weight once the way once again, and we will. I begin by proposing that no taxpayer funds should be used to pay for any Public Officials Sexual Harassment or misconduct, period. [applause] gov. Cuomo it is the bad act of the individual. Let the individual pay. I propose that no state or local government enter into a secret nondisclosure agreement. We can protect [applause] gov. Cuomo we can protect a victims identity and privacy, but the taxpayers have a right to know that that agreement exists and their funds were used to pay for that agreement. I propose that any company that does business with the state disclose the number of Sexual Harassment adjudications they have had and the number of nondisclosure agreements they have executed. [applause] i propose that the state of new york Pension Funds only be invested in companies that the controller determines has adequate female and minority representation in management or on the board of directors to constitute good corporate leadership. Personally, i believe a company cannot have Good Management by definition, if it is effectively excluding women and minorities. [applause] gov. Cuomo i propose the legislative contraceptive care act, and finally pass roe v. Wade. [applause] i propose the Legislature Pass a governmentwide, independent and anonymous whistleblower process , so victims are free to communicate complaints without fear of retaliation. [applause] and i propose that we really seize the opportunity. That new york enact a strict new uniform code of Sexual Harassment policy, binding on all state employees in all branches and all authorities and agencies, and on local governments. And set a new National Standard of respect for women, and we set the bar high. Let new york stand and say we are not the state of denial. We acknowledge the longstanding bias and abuse against women, and new york says it stops now. We will set the standard for other governments and industries to follow, and that is the new york way. [applause] gov. Cuomo the truth is, racism and discrimination still exist. , i sued the kuud klux klan for televised racist assaults. Men with hoods spewing venom. Today it is more insidious. Discrimination is marbleized throughout our society and government. We must ensure the people of our state, that our democratic foundation, which is our justice system, is in fact just. I spoke to this in my fathers eulogy and promised him we would improve the failings in our justice system, and we will. We have made many reforms, but we have many more to do. Let us be honest. The truth is our lady justice is still not colorblind, and her scales are still not balanced. Our bail system is biased against the poor. Too many jails are cruel and inhumane, and our court system is too slow. That is the painful truth. [applause] gov. Cuomo to begin, our jails are filled with people who should not be incarcerated. Punishment is supposed to be imposed when one is found guilty. Incredibly, 75 of people in the new york city jail have not been convicted of any crime. A similar story exists in other jails across the state. [applause] gov. Cuomo from the blunt, ugly reality is that too often, if you can make bail, you are set free. If you are too poor to make bail, you are punished. We must reform the bail system so that a person is only held if a judge finds either a significant slight risk or a real threat to Public Safety. If so, they should be held at preventive detention. Poor,r they are rich are black or white. If not, they should be released on their own recognizance, whether they are rich or poor, black or white. That is only fair. [applause] wealthomo race and should not be factors in our justice system. Its that clear. Discovery reform and speedy trial reform. We need to move cases faster. We have people sitting in jails for years waiting to be heard. Trial court must operate from 9 00 to 5 00, no more half days. Performance must be an essential criteria and advancement. Judicial vacancies must be filled on a timely basis. Cleared andmust be we must address it in this years budget. It just takes too long to try a case now. To compound this injustice, people are held in facilities wouldder conditions we condemn as Human Rights Violations if they were occurring in another country. Our tolerance for the ongoing injustice is repugnant to our position as a progressive government. Some jails in our states have long records of violations that continued for years. Complacentn too about the suffering of the powerless and the voiceless. That is the truth. A gentleman named khalif browder, an africanamerican, spent three years in rikers waiting for his day in court to be heard on his charge for allegedly stealing a backpack. Three years waiting to be heard for the charge of stealing a backpack. He was 16 years old. His abuse while jailed was so traumatic that he ultimately determined taking his own life was the only way to stop his continuing pain. Akeem, khalifs brother, is here with us today. I would ask him to stand. [applause] gov. Cuomo akeem [applause] gov. Cuomo akeem, i want you to know that your brother did not die in vain. Sometimes the lord works in strange ways. But he opened our eyes to the urgent need for real reform. The state correction law authorizes the state to regulate local jails. We must act with a new urgency to safeguard the rights of all new yorkers, new yorkers who have been too long neglected. It is a statewide problem. We will address it. And you have my word on that. Im directing the state Corrections Commission to develop legally binding , corrective action plans for closure orders on jails that are out of compliance because enough is enough. We will not continue to endure this abuse. [applause] thank you for being here. Thank you. As Martin Luther king junior said justice too long delayed , is justice denied. That is not justice in new york. Thank you for being here, akeem. And we will make it right. You just watch. Give him a big round of applause. [applause] nationwide, minority and womenowned businesses lag behind the norm, but here in new york our program is a model for , the nation. However local governments have , not been as progressive. No local government in the state has even approached our nwbe performance. Lets extend our mwbe goals through local governments and make them a reality and bring Economic Justice to all. [applause] gov. Cuomo our minority youth Voucher Program provides private employment and training subsidies. It works. Unemployment among our young minority men and women has decreased 8 from 25 to 17 . That is great news. Go to the bronx and let the borough president show you the 8000 young people, minority men and women, who are now employed, earning their own land off the street. I am also buy you lunch when you are there. [laughter] [applause] lets expand it this year to serve 8000 more young people and fund my brothers keeper to make opportunity and hope a reality for all. [applause] gov. Cuomo homelessness is on the rise in our cities and worse than ever before. It pains me personally to acknowledge this reality. I begin my public work at 26 running a notforprofit to help homeless families. East new york, thats where it was. It became the largest in the nation. My sister, maria, runs it now. In 1992, i headed the mayors homeless commission. When i was secretary, we completed president bill clintons plan to solve homelessness. We always believed this was a momentary problem. That it was just an anomaly. That this cannot go on. And in many places in the country and in new york, there was much progress. Now, the problem has come back with a vengeance. The homeless numbers are at record highs. Looking forward, with the federal government threatening to cut money for homeless programs, it will get worse. We must act. The most difficult issue is Homeless People on the street. The ultimate need is Affordable Housing and Supportive Housing , and our budget has commitment in these areas. Its also an issue about philosophy and expectations. We have grown to accepting im old enough to remember that at one time, there were no Homeless People on the streets. It doesnt have to be that way. What does that tell you about us as a society that we now pass men and women lying on the street with the same speed we pass light poles . It has become part of our new normal, but it is abnormal and it is wrong. We must remember that while we aggressively protect an individuals civil liberties, we believe in helping people in need. Leaving a sick person to fend for themselves is not progressive, charitable, or ethical or legal. [applause] gov. Cuomo we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. It is our obligation as a caring compassionate society, to reach out and provide whatever social services or address whatever needs the individual presents. That is our job. New york state will ensure that every local government is effectively outreaching to Homeless People or they will not receive state funding, period. Im also directing the mta and the Port Authority and cbt a to to do the same. We must do more and we must do better. Yes, we have outreach programs that currently exist. But the numbers are going up, which means the job we are doing is not good enough. Some jurisdictions say case law prevents them from helping mentally ill street homeless. If that is their excuse, they should tell us what law stops them from helping sick Homeless People, and we will change the law this session. [applause] this sadd societal failure. Lets show our children that this is not who we are as a society. This is not how we treat our fellow human beings. We are better than this and smarter than this and stronger than this and we are more compassionate than this. Lets end this nightmare once and for all and lets do it this year. [applause] gov. Cuomo with all we have to do as a government, its more important than ever that we have public trust. I know the legislature feels we have done much on Ethics Reform and they are right. I know they feel that whatever we do, it will never be enough in this political atmosphere, and they may be right. But we must do more anyway. The single best Ethics Reform is to ban outside income and remove any possibility of conflict and let legislators say i work for the public, period. And there are no possible conflicts presented. [applause] step two is to focus on the new problems. Rising terrorism, environmental change, the Opioid Crisis, the federal threat to the labor movement, and the distortion and manipulation of our election by big donors, foreign advertising, and social media advertising. And alienation of our citizens. We start with protecting the environment and recognizing the growing threats to our drinking water. The growing concentration of chemicals and pollution in some areas is literally poisoning the water. In upstate new york, in the beautiful lakes of upstate new york, we now have a toxic algae that is spreading and literally endangering the drinking water. In long island, theres something they called the plume, and discharge from the old that carries 30 years of industrial stain and contaminants and its literally moving to the south shore of long island where it will poison thousands of homes. We must attack these growing Health Threats now. Because we will not poison our children. Weve been talking about them for years. No more procrastination. Lets resolve these issues and lets do it this year. [applause] gov. Cuomo we call an end to any investment in fossil fuel related activities in the pension fund. We will work with the comptroller because the future of the environment, the future of the economy, and the future of our children is all in clean technology, and we should put our money where our mouth is. Lets give the comptroller a big round of applause and thank him for his work. [applause] gov. Cuomo last year, we announced one of the largest offshore wind projects in the nation. This year, im proud to announce that we will be putting out two rfps for every 800 megawatts. Enough wind power to power 400,000 york state households with clean energy. That is a great and clean step forward. We are excited about it. I hope you are, too. [applause] the hudson river is one of our greatest and most scenic waterways in the nation. For years, ge polluted waterways pcbs. Theres been progress in cleaning it up, but the job is not done. The report says the cleanup is complete. We will sue the federal government to stop it because we will not end our efforts until our future generations can fully enjoy the beautiful river. [applause] gov. Cuomo nationwide, we are witnessing a shocking phenomenon. We are dying younger. Last year, Life Expectancy for americans declined for the second year in a row. The first time that has happened in 50 years. The reason . A staggering 21 increase in drug overdoses. For americans under 50 years old, drug overdoses, mostly opioid related, are the leading cause of death. We must face it headon. We are committed to a comprehensive solution, more prevention, more education, more treatment, but we also want to advance a new approach this year. The ultimate follow the supply chain strategy. Big corporations may own washington, but they dont own new york. [applause] gov. Cuomo the Opioid Crisis was manufactured, literally and figuratively. Unscrupulous distributors developed a 400 billion industry selling opioids and they were conveniently blind to the consequences of their actions. They pumped these pills into society and created addictions. Like the tobacco industry, they killed thousands and did it without warning. We will make them pay for their illegal and reprehensible conduct. We will sue them and stop the spread of opioids. Too many lives have been lost. The time for action is now before we lose another single life. [applause] gov. Cuomo a case before washington in the Supreme Court seeks to effectively and public nd public labor unions. We will await the decision but we must do all in our power to protect collectivebargaining, right to organize and preserve workers rights. [applause] we believe labor unions built the middle class. We are proud that new york state is the highest percentage of Union Workers in the country today. Today, let us all pledge that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Union Brothers and sisters in this fight and we will not give up and we will protect Union Workers in the state of new york. We stand in solidarity and we will not lose. [applause] thank you. At this time, a citizen alienation and outrage the best thing we can do is let people know their voices are heard. That they matter and they should vote. We should make voting easier, not harder. With sameday registration, nofault absentee ballots, and early voting. [applause] gov. Cuomo we should increase loopholes andng opening up the electoral process with Public Financing. Not our Public Financing system that has Public Financing but private loopholes. I mean a true Public Financing system in which the exception does not swallow the role. The rule. Thats what we need to do to regain the trust of our citizens in this state and across this nation. Social media has revolutionized our elections. While we respect the freedom of the internet, it cannot subvert the law. Foreign countries like russia and big anonymous donors cannot jeopardize our democracy. Social media must disclose who or what pays for political advertising because sunlight is still the best disinfectant. [applause] gov. Cuomo disclosure must apply to social media of same way it applies to a newspaper ad or tv ad or radio ad. Anything else is a scam and the perversion of the law and an affront to democracy. Lets stop this abuse. While washington talks about it in dithers, let new york leave lead the way and this effort to meet this challenge and lets do it this session. [applause] gov. Cuomo terrorism is morphing in unpredictable ways. The internet now provides easy access to isis instruction manuals and lone wolves are a new threat. Its getting worse, not better. The Internet Companies must search their hearts and minds to determine their obligation to Public Safety when they know who is visiting terrorist sites and they know who is learning to kill americans, that is their issue. In the meantime, our issue is to better protect ourselves. The state owns many of the places of potential vulnerability. Our bridges, tunnels, buses, airports, and transit hubs like penn station and grand central. Our Transportation System must be better protected and we must do it now. We have had warning. The past incidents shook everyone to the bone. We dont need to understand anymore. We will do just that. In this years budget, you will see more and better Trained Police and more stateoftheart surveillance equipment because governments number one job is to protect its people and we will do exactly that. [applause] gov. Cuomo penn station is especially hold a vulnerable. The most heavily traveled transit hub in the hemisphere. More people go through penn station every year than go through kennedy, la guardia and new york airports combined. On top of the volume, the architecture and configuration of penn is substandard. I call it the seven levels of catacombs. They dont like it when i say that, but its true. [laughter] gov. Cuomo i have directed the npa, and Port Authority to work on a redevelopment plan with the neighboring private building owners so we can restructure and rebuild penn station. They are cooperative and they understand our needs and they support our goal. We are now constructing a new penn station right across the street. As that becomes operational, that will give us the flexibility to move operations from the old penn the new farley. We will be Court Meeting with amtrak and federal government and city officials to complete this comprehensive redevelopment that will improve the operation, aesthetics, and Security Systems in penn. The threat of terrorism is real. I take it very seriously as one prime responsibilities as governor of this state. Theres no time for politics, bureaucracy, or delayed. The state has the power of Eminent Domain for just such a purpose. We must make penn better and safer. We must coordinate with all of our partners. We must do it now. Theres no time for politics, no time for delay. We must fix penn now and we will. [applause] gov. Cuomo theres been a Great Success in our downstate tunnels. Its not just faster and better for the environment, but it is more secure. The new electronic toll structures are designed with stateoftheart devices. They have license plate readers. Police are on site and are electronically notified in three seconds of a violation or a suspicious plate from the license plate reader. It is in place and it works very well. Today, we call on the Port Authority to do the same and install cashless pulling on their crossings, the George Washington bridge, holland and lincoln tunnel. Lets have the same cleaner environment, faster commute and more security on those Port Authority passthroughs. [applause] let the world know that they may consider new york a premier target, but its also the best protected state on the globe. That is a fact. [applause] gov. Cuomo we must improve the new york city subway system. We have failed to maintain and engineering marvel that was a gift from our forefathers. Are 100yearold system needs an overhaul. We have 40yearold subway cars and 80yearold tunnels. Electric signals. Hurricane sandy accelerated the decline because salt water and electric currents are a corrosive cocktail. There is no mystery. We have to fix the system. We know how to fix the system. Its a question of funding. We need shortterm funding this year to do emergency repairs and install the new technology for a longterm solution. We also need longterm funding that is fair to all and also addresses the goal in traffic and population problems. The growing traffic and population problems. The Fix New York Panel will shortly present a report that will have several options for the legislature to consider. We will have new technology installed, which will offer a variety of alternatives defining an exclusive zone in manhattan where additional charges could be paid. These are difficult choices. Not geticult choices do easier by ignoring them. They only get harder. Politicalntime, cheap slogans are just that, cheap political slogans. Its not a real policy or policy discussion, and thats what we need. Santa claus did not visit the state capital this year. I was watching. Funding must be provided in a very tight budget and funding must be provided this session , because the riders have suffered for too long. Politics has gone on for too long. We cannot leave our riders stranded anymore, period. [applause] gov. Cuomo our third challenge is in many ways the greatest. Economictary and challenges we faced shortterm and longterm, compounded by the federal assault on new york. This is literally going to define the future of this state. President ford may have metaphorically told new york to drop dead in 1975, but this federal government is the most hostile towards new york in history. It has shot an arrow aimed at new yorks economic art. Heart. We start the year with a 400 allion deficit compounded by 2 billion cut from the federal government in health care. Even worse, the federal tax bill reshapes the nations economy. Is trickle down on steroids. It didnt work in the 1980s and it wont work now. The rich will get richer. If the federal government really wanted to help workers, which is what they said all along, they wanted to help the middle class, if thats what they wanted to do, the law they passed would have mandated that the corporations tax cut windfall goes to pay workers higher wages or go to create jobs. [applause] thats what they would have done. When you write a law, you write a law to do what you want it to do. They didnt include any of that in their tax bill. And the omission speaks volumes. This tax cut handed rich corporations a blank check. Now, even federal republican senators are criticizing this. All this will do is increase income inequality and the pain and frustration and anger of our middle class and poor. At the same time, washington has launched an all out attack on new yorks Economic Future by eliminating deductibility of new york state and local taxes. This effectively raises middleclass and working families property tax to 20 all across the state. It raises the state income tax 20 to 25 all across the state. There is no conceivable justification. New york is already the number one donor state in the nation. We pay 48 billion more to washington then we get back. Than we get back. No state contributes more to the federal government and gets back less than new york state. On top of that injustice, washingtons tax plan uses new york and california as piggy banks to finance tax cuts for republican states. New york will pay an additional 14 billion on top of the 48 billion that we currently pay. Remember the old ad, robbing peter to pay paul . They changed it. They are robbing the blue states to pay for the red states. It is crass, ugly, divisive, partisan legislating, and an economic civil war. Make no mistake. They are aiming to hurt us. This could cause people to leave the state of new york. It could reduce our ability to attract business. We must take dramatic action to save ourselves and preserve our states economy. We have a threepoint plan to address the federal assault. First, we believe it is illegal and we will challenge it in court as unconstitutional. [applause] thank you. We will challenge it in court as unconstitutional. The First Federal double taxation in history, violative of states rights and the principle of equal protection. Thank the attorney general and give him a round of applause for his good work in representing us. [applause] gov. Cuomo second, we will lead the resistance to this injustice and start our own repeal and replace effort, launching a tax. Lan we begin today and we will not stop until Economic Justice is restored for every state and every taxpayer in the state of new york. In the immortal words of john paul jones, we have not yet begun to fight, my friends. [applause] gov. Cuomo third, as washington has shot an arrow aimed at new york States Economic heart, the best plan is to get out of the way before it hits. We are exploring the feasibility of a major shift. Different states have different tax structures. Some use a gross receipts tax. Some have a severance tax. We are developing a plan to restructure our tax code to reduce reliance on our current income tax system and adopt a statewide payroll tax system. Payroll taxes are legal. The federal government currently has a federal payroll tax system. We are creating additional charitable organizations so that contributions to those charitable organizations would be taxdeductible. We are also addressing the wall street giveaway called the carried interest loophole, which is another device to give away revenue to people who dont need it. We are working with our legislative partners and local government partners. We are discussing this restructuring. You will hear more about it in our budget presentation. It is complicated. It is difficult. But, it is clear that we must protect new york taxpayers from this assault. It is clear [applause] gov. Cuomo and it is clear that we must not allow big corporations to enjoy a windfall at the expense of our middle class and working families. [applause] it is not going to be easy. It is going to be complicated. But, i believe working together, we will get it done because working together, we must get it done to represent in good faith the people of our great state , and i look forward to making it a reality with all of us together. Life is options. On this one, it is simple. We have no choice. If we do not fix this problem, it is a question of the state of new yorks economic viability longterm. It is a question of our competitiveness longterm. And preserving the strength of new york state and new york states economy at a time when we have a federal government that is giving other states a structural competitive advantage against us. We are not going to let that happen. We are new york state. We have faced challenges, internationally, domestically, and the threat from this federal government is not going to derail the great state of new york. That, i will promise you. [applause] gov. Cuomo its important as we face this next year, which is going to be a tough year, its important that you remember that we are up to the challenge. We forget all the good work that we have done. We forget all of the times that weve been told, no, you cant. We showed that we can. We are going to do the same thing this year. In the meantime, we need to do a fiscal plan for this year in this budget. The best way forward is to continue the same path we have been on. Our philosophy rests on two pillars Economic Growth and social progress. We must maintain those new york priorities. We must continue our historic investment in Public Education and expand prek and afterschool sciences. Everything we do is for their future. [applause] gov. Cuomo we must address Education Funding inequities and dedicate more of our state poorer districts. [applause] gov. Cuomo this year, we should even take it a step further and make sure the local education districts that we are giving the grants to are distributing the aid to their poorer schools, because that is the point. Trickledown economics doesnt work. Nor does trickledown Education Funding. Local district must give funding to their poorer schools. That is only right and only fair. [applause] gov. Cuomo we must continue our investment in health care and preserve the Medicaid Program and chip program and Health Insurance for poor children because health care is not just for the rich, it is a human right. We are going to protect it and we are going to preserve it and we are going to keep our Health Care Industry in new york strong and vibrant and the economic engine of Public Service that it is. [applause] gov. Cuomo we have been, we are the nations leader in building infrastructure. The infrastructure is growing our economy. We are ahead of every other state in the nation in terms of infrastructure development. We must increase our vantage our advantage this year and double down on our investment. We also must continue our groundbreaking social progress to advance equality and opportunity for all because we are all immigrants and we are all equal under the eyes of god and the laws of new york. We can and must achieve all of these goals and we will. On the economy, are economic focus is going to remain on helping the working men and women by continuing our middle class recovery act. We start by giving them immediate relief, not with words or slogans, but with action. And cutting taxes for the middle class. From 6. 45 to 5. 5 my friends, this will be the lowest middleclass tax rate since 1947. [applause] gov. Cuomo that is so long ago that even i wasnt alive then. [laughter] gov. Cuomo while the federal government is making college less affordable, we must expand our program that helps children of the middle class and tells every child in new york their dreams can be realized and their future can be brighter. If they get into college, they will not be denied because they cannot afford it because they are children of new york, rich or poor. We will pay their tuition. [applause] gov. Cuomo in the same spirit, we must include our young new immigrants and we will pass the dream act this year. [applause] gov. Cuomo we must continue to attack the highest tax burden in the state. Not a state tax, but the cause of local governments. Our local property tax. Railed against by fdr who thatlly prophesies to that the growing local property tax would be a Major Economic problem for the state. And it is. Property taxes nearly three times what the state income tax is. Its always been an obstacle to growth. Today, with the federal assault provision, it is an economic cancer. Property taxes have been raised 25 . It will be an unbearable financial burden for many. Look at the response already. Last week, we announced an emergency executive order allowing people to prepay their property taxes. Thousands of new yorkers stood in line for hours in frigid temperatures to prepay next years property taxes so they can get the deduction. All across the state, that is the level of fear, that people would go to that extent. That is what we are dealing with. We must increase the efforts by local government to reduce costs. I know it is politically difficult. I know in every town and every village, everyone has their own rights and obligations. I also know its a matter of economic survival. We know it can be done. Last year, for the first time, we told county executives you bring those local governments together and put them in one room and talk to each other and come up with a plan to save funding. You know what . They did it. They stepped up. 34 counties submitted plans that will lead to more than 200 million in savings. But, we must do more. Property taxes are now toxic to our economy and stability. That is going to be at the top of our agenda for this year. Working with local governments, working with county executives, finding ways to get those property taxes down so that federal increase does not derail the progress of the state of new york. We must continue to attract and create new jobs of tomorrow. We must do it today. Every president has told us the same thing, its about improving our infrastructure. The new york difference is we dont promise it, we do it. Good government is about action. [applause] gov. Cuomo we must continue to exercise our new york muscle and imagination. The new york spirit that build the tallest building and longest bridges that defied gravity and pessimism and the naysayers, we proven we can do it and do it well. Now, we must do more of it. We must accelerate the modernization of our airport. We must accelerate our air train to laguardia. Every city in the world has a train to the plane. We must open our transportation deserts and explore whether redhook is enough transportation alternatives or if they should study the possibility of a new subway line to stimulate the Community Development the way we did on the west side of manhattan. We should continue to pursue a tunnel from long island to westchester, connecticut. Dot has determined it is feasible. It would be under water and invisible. It would reduce traffic on the impossibly congested long island expressway. It would offer potential significant private investment. We will accelerate the Long Island Railroad modernization. It is long overdue but is critical to the economy. In 2018, as part of our 6. 6 billion transformation plan, we will finish the double track on the line and finish it 16 months ahead of schedule and we will then [applause] gov. Cuomo and we will then begin construction of the third track along the mainline, which carries 40 of the lir riders. We are rebuilding 39 stations. Altogether, 100 projects which will transform the Long Island Railroad and transform the quality of life on long island, finally, thanks to you. [applause] gov. Cuomo we also had really good news several weeks ago when it was announced that the new York Islanders are moving back home to long island. [applause] gov. Cuomo and they are going to build a 1 billion hockey stadium at belmont racetrack. Thats how much they believe in long island. [applause] gov. Cuomo we have with us the owners of the islanders, scott and john. Would you please stand . Lets give them a round of applause for believing in new york. [applause] gov. Cuomo thank you. We also have calvin and nikolai. Lets give them a round of applause. Thank you for being here. [applause] gov. Cuomo welcome back to long island. In new economy is growing up state. We cannot allow the federal tax plan to derail our progress there. The Regional Economic develop Development Counsel has done a great job with 6300 Development Projects underway. Every region has seen a drop in unemployment and underemployment. This year, we will start by continuing the programs and bring cashless tolling to the new york state thruway system because we should make it faster and cleaner, the way it is working so well in downstate new york. [applause] gov. Cuomo we have new projects like rock the riverway in rochester. It will transform the genesee waterfront to a destination center. In the southern tier, our development of the hemp industry will begin by developing a new Hemp Processing facility. In syracuse, we will build a route 81 tunnel so we can look at both options. We will proceed on the inland port because they have been talking for too long and doing too little and we will make a reality. We also have great news in syracuse. I want to congratulate syracuse and Central New York today. We are proud to announce that the aaa new york chiefs will soon be the aaa new york mets playing in syracuse. [applause] gov. Cuomo they are here with us today. The mets owner, jeff. Please stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo richard brown, managing partner of sterling equity. [applause] gov. Cuomo mets general manager, sandy alderson. Mickey callaway, the mets manager. Left infielder, the bronxs own dj rivera and the mets outfielder, brandon. [applause] gov. Cuomo thank you, guys. Welcome to Central New York. Congratulations, county executive mahoney. That is great news. The i love new York Campaign has revealed the secret that we kept for too long. The secret is the history and beauty of our state. Since 2011, our 200 million Tourism Investment has seen tourism spending increase 18 billion. That is an investment, my friends. [applause] gov. Cuomo we should continue. New modernization investments in bel air to make them first rate ski resorts. We are proposing a new history trail leading to the hudson valley. Expediting the do Exposition Center in syracuse which will be the largest Exposition Center in the northeast to continue to attract tourism. Its about jobs, jobs, jobs. Tourism means jobs for upstate new york, so lets do it. Thats where we need the jobs. [applause] gov. Cuomo while our federal government is deconstructing parks, we believe they are a national treasure. We will increase our commission to our state parks. 63 Million Investment in upstate parks. We will build a new state park in brooklyn, new york. [applause] gov. Cuomo 407 acres on jamaica bay. It will be the largest park in new york city. [applause] gov. Cuomo we have the Hudson River Park in new york city, which is on the Manhattan West side. It was started by my father and the mayor. It was supposed to be finished in 2003. It was derailed by ongoing disputes. We have settled the disputes and now have a full completion plan that completes the park from Battery Park City to 59th street. We should complete the vision and manhattans west side. Lets do it this year. [applause] gov. Cuomo now, ladies and gentlemen, i am a realist. I know that this is an ambitious agenda. I know it is probably the most challenging agenda i have ever put forth. But, these are challenging times. And we have to rise to the challenge for the very survival of our state. The 4 billion deficit, economic challenges, social wrongs and the federal assault, all at once. The small minded and naysayers will forecast gloom and doom. Negativity is the dominant feeling in todays political environment. But, this is new york. That is not the new york way. The new york way is to make the seemingly impossible possible. You say we can do it, we will only get excited to show you that we can. We have done it time and time again and we have the track record to prove it. I want you to remember and appreciate what you have done. When you are looking at these challenges this year saying i dont know if we can get it done, remember what we are doing. Remember what we have overcome. You have done and you have accomplished more than any administration in modern history. Just think about it. We are building new airports at laguardia, jfk, rochester, syracuse, stuart, new train stations connecting niagara falls, rochester, moynahan train hall at penn, the Exposition Center at the state fair, in new convention center, the Albany Convention center, cashless tolling all across the state, the woodbury transit hub, the university of buffalo medical school, the buffalo childrens hospital, a new utica hospital, in new bridge, a National Comedy center in jamestown, four new upstate tourism resorts, state of the art from the ground up, tesla, panasonic plans in buffalo, a legoland theme park in the hudson valley, the rochester data consortium, we are revitalizing jones beach, updating belair, expanding the southern tier, expanding gm in western new york, expanding welsh island, attracting companies to utica, a Defense Company to syracuse, the north titanium plant to plattsburgh, and new Health Care System in brooklyn called vital brooklyn and we are building the new governor Mario M Cuomo bridge. [applause] gov. Cuomo so, dont tell me we cant do it, because we can. Theres nothing we put our mind to that we havent accomplished. Its not just about the projects we have built. That is great. That is great for the economy. But, in some ways, what is even more special to me is the lives we have changed. The civil rights that we have created. The dignity that we have given people. We have some of them here today. I would ask them to stand and when they were acknowledged. Those we helped when we said love doesnt discriminate and we passed Marriage Equality for all new yorkers. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we helped when we said we believe people deserve a fair wage for a fair days work and you shouldnt have to choose between paying rent and paying for food and we passed the minimum wage. Stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we helped when we said, live your life in dignity and we passed paid family leave. Stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we helped when when we passed raise the age and gave them a second chance. Stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we protected when we passed enough is enough and stop Sexual Assault. Stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we helped when we passed the excelsior scholarship program, stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo those we helped when we passed the First Special prosecutor in the nation against Police Violence and minorities, stand up. [applause] gov. Cuomo lets thank them all for being here today. Give them a big round of applause. [applause] gov. Cuomo thank you. We thank our legislators. Our members of the senate, our members of the assembly. [applause] gov. Cuomo let me tell you why. [laughter] gov. Cuomo we thank our legislators because they understand that political extremism leads to polarization, paralysis and gridlock. In gridlock, everyone loses. They understand that government is about doing good things for people and moving the state forward. Theyve had the professionalism to remember that we may be democrats or republicans, but we are new yorkers first and thats how we act. We find Common Ground and move forward. Senate assembly, stand up. Thank you for everything youve done. Thank you for all the laws he you have passed. Thank you for passing the budget on time. Thank you for 15. Thank you for all the lives youve changed. [applause] in closing, a few weeks ago i turned 60. There is no good news about turning 60 years old. Say, 60 is the new 50. Too. Inks there is nothing to even look forward to. The only thing you can say now is that it is better than the alternative. Most days, it is. When you turn 60, life gets simpler and clearer. You are living in the world you are living in now that is frightening at times. Challenging at times. And you start to think about what really matters and what is the best thing we can really be doing to help each other and help the state. I will tell you the truth. I am not afraid about the economics and federal assault and 4 billion. We know how to do that and we will do that and we have done it before. My greatest fear is the division that is spreading among our people. Semitism,en more into more racial attacks, more religious tensions than in decades all across the state. I understand the emotions. The country is searching its way through a challenging and confusing time. The economy is changing. , the is terrorism unnerving constant pace of change in society. Pitch. Is at a fever you can feel it up at your neck. And now there is this sense that we are out of control. That feeds the fear and fear reads anger and anger breeds division. That division makes us small and weak. Division, its a cancer to our body. Our federal government is furthering the division. They governed by dividing. It is winners versus users, rich versus middleclass and poor, red versus blue, white versus black, gay versus straight. It is always pitting one group against another. There is always conflict. Or. Is always either much harm has been done. Abraham lincoln said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Our obligation is not just to say what we are against, but what we support. Our obligation as leaders is not just to criticize, but to offer an alternative. And we do. New york follows a different path. New york believes that there is no future built through division, but only through unity. The new york way is to believe that diversity is not a liability, it is the opposite. Diversity is our greatest asset. We celebrate it. The new york way is that tolerance is expected from all and inclusion is our operating principle and forging community is our ultimately ultimate goal. 18 million new yorkers from 190 countries, all immigrants, virtually all poor and in search of opportunity, all invited here by the same invitation. The great lady who stands in our harbor. Ireland and the , russia,nd italy invited to forge one family. The family of new york. Gay, straight, white, black, brown. All working together, focusing on what unites us rather than what divides us. And then building on that commonality. Its not a democratic or republican idea. We can mid the middle. Its a idea it is the andons founding premise enduring promise. Its our Founding Fathers central wisdom summed up in just three words e pluribus unum. Many, one. So fundamental to the american 1782, they stitched the words on the great seal of the united states. That seal ande those words are on the flag that is hung in the oval office every day. Read behind president trumps forward, tod a way find a way forward, the president only needs to turn around. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] gov. Cuomo thank you. Thank you. Gov. Cuomo that, my friends, is the true formula for what makes america great. A simple yet profound idl idea that made america the greatest country on the globe. New york was the laboratory for that. It worked in 1782 and it works today. This year, let us show what new york is at its best. Let us show the nation the new york lesson that it times of trouble and anxiety, the premise that made america a great still guides us, that we do not seek to raise ourselves by pulling another down but rather believe by we succeed by raising each other up. That is the new york way, true north. Boucher north is to follow the credo on our great seal of new york. Always hear our better angels, always aspire to unify, and always point up. Excelsior. Thank you and god bless you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our program. Thank you for joining us. And incredibly inspiring presentation. Onward to 2018. Thank you very much. [applause] [chatter] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] spendingent trump is the day at camp david. Republican congressional leaders are meeting to discuss this years agenda, including the economy, national security, the budget, and the Opioid Crisis. Lawmakers have a number of items left over from 2017, such as federal spending, which expires january 19. Republicans and democrats are separately negotiating an immigration bill that would legalize people web arrived in the u. S. Illegally as children known as dreamers in exchange for Border Security and other Immigration Reform provisions. Sunday night on after words, looking back on a 38 year judicial career. Years, judge of 45 having gone from that active life, making decisions and going to judging,ing was that a difficult transition for you . Did you ever miss the life of advocacy . It was not difficult. It has been for some. I have known people who have become judges and so disliked the decisionmaking process that they left the bench. I was an advocate. I was glad to be an advocate. I found the decisionmaking process enormously challenging, enormously satisfying. While i liked being an attorney, i loved being a judge. The opportunity to resolve disputes, large and small, they all matter to somebody, but some of them have large public significance, that is a very satisfying role. Watch after words on book tv on cspan 2. Saturday, American History tv on cspan3 takes you to the american historical Associations Annual meeting in washington dc. Join us as historians and scholars talk about civil rights in 1968, watergate, and the rise of partisanship, commemorating civil war reconstruction in national parks, and the New Birmingham Civil Rights National monument. Live coverage saturday on American History tv on cspan3. Next on cspan, we take you to montpelier, vermont for the state of the state address. Republican governor phil scott addresses the challenges his state faces and his initiatives to drop people back to the state. This is about 40 minutes