Congressman Lee Zeldin's Statement On His YES Vote To Repeal AHCA

The American Health Care Act Passes House

Washington, DC – Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) just voted YES on the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), which passed the House of Representatives, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. After this vote, the Congressman released the following statement:

“Over the past several years, I have heard from many constituents who have shared their thoughts and ideas on how to improve healthcare in America. Their perspectives span across the ideological spectrum and vary greatly. I sincerely appreciate each and every person who has taken the time to express their opinions on this very important topic.

Almost everyone agrees that our current system is deeply flawed. For example, just yesterday, Iowa’s last major insurer through the ACA, Medica, threatened to remove itself unless something is done to stabilize the markets. Imagine no option at all for an entire state? None! There are too many other examples of how this law is deeply flawed. We all agree healthcare must be improved and that doing nothing is not an option. We are the greatest country in the world and we can and must do better for all citizens.

One of my top priorities in Congress has been to improve healthcare in America. I have always supported the repeal and replace of Obamacare and a smooth transition to a better reality that will improve affordability, access, quality of care and options, while continuing to cover Americans with pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay on their parent’s policy.

The American Health Care Act provides relief from billions of dollars of crushing taxes and mandates enacted under the ACA. Additionally, the bill repeals the individual and employer mandates, taxes on prescription and over the counter medications, health insurance premiums and medical devices.

This bill would help Americans access healthcare in ways they previously could not, by increasing competition in the marketplace and offering plans that will be tailored to individual needs. The bill provides flexible options for coverage, such as increased access to health savings accounts, which would allow individuals to set aside pre-tax dollars to help cover health care costs. The bill also creates a Patient and State Stability Fund, endowed with billions of dollars, to increase access to necessary services and to help keep costs down. I am also strongly supportive of the Collins-Faso Amendment, also known as the Property Tax Reduction Act, the single greatest act of fiscal relief ever provided to the County of Suffolk and its taxpayers. Shifting the local share of Medicaid costs to the state, this amendment was included in the legislation that passed the House today. There are also many other very positive aspects of this bill.

There are so many outright lies attacking this legislation, like the social media campaign absurdly claiming that 310,000 NY-1 residents with pre-existing conditions would lose their health care under the AHCA. That’s not within a million degrees of accurate.  The amount of outright lies about the AHCA that have been manufactured and echoed by individuals and entities have been insane. The bill protects people with pre-existing conditions, and gives states greater flexibility to lower premiums and stabilize the insurance market. The lies about this bill are being perpetuated by the same people who told us if you liked your plan, you could keep your plan, if you liked your doctor, you could keep your doctor, and that premiums under the ACA would decrease by $2,500 per family.

Passage of this bill is an important step in a multi pronged effort to improve health care in our country.

There is still much more work ahead to improve healthcare for all Americans in addition to the passage of this bill. The next steps of this process include administrative action to further ensure a smooth transition, as well as additional legislative action, which started with the passage of the Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101) and the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (H.R. 372), to allow the pooling of policies across state lines and reform current law to increase competition in the health insurance market. There are also other necessary reforms to healthcare that can’t be accomplished through the budget reconciliation process that still should get done: lowering drug costs for patients, providing additional flexibility in Medicaid for states to manage their own programs as effectively as possible, and medical legal reforms.

A smooth transition during this period is critical. I will continue to follow all developments on this process closely over the coming months.”

Smithtown Fire Fighters Respond To Explosions At Smithtown Home

Info and photos available At Smithtown FD Website 

(photo and info courtesy of Jeff Bressler Smithtown FD)

The Smithtown Fire Department responded to a call at 98 Sunrise Lane, Smithtown at 8:20 pm on May 3, 2017, A number of neighbors reported hearing two explosions from the two story home.

Two Smithtown Firefighters who live in the neighborhood quickly called dispatch to upgrade the alarm to a working structure fire. 

An explosion from the rear of the dwelling, possibly from a propane tank,  started the fire which rapidly spread through the entire interior of the home.

Kevin Pearsall of Engine Company 3 who lived a few doors downs was the first on scene. He entered the home before the fire spread and escorted the homeowner from the premises. The homeowner was later taken to the Stony Brook University Medical Center. Her injuries are unknown at this time.

A search of the residence proved negative for any addition residents in the home.The fire was brought under control at 9:21 pm.  The fire caused severe damage to the home. There were no reported injuries of fire or EMT personnel at the scene. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. The fire is being investigated by The Smithtown Fire Marshal, Suffolk County Fire Marshal and the Suffolk County Police Department Arson Squad.

see Smithtown FD 

Accompsett Student Ryan Slattery First Place Winner In "We The People Essay Contest"

Accompsett student takes first in Constitution contest

Ryan Slattery, a student at Accompsett Middle School in the Smithtown Central School District, was named a first-place winner in the Suffolk County Bar Association’s We the People essay contest.  

As part of an extra credit assignment, Slattery submitted a 250-word essay about what the words “we the people” mean to him. He was presented with a certificate and a $300 prize for his winning submission during the Suffolk County Bar Association’s annual meeting on May 1.  

Photo: Ryan Slattery, a student at Accompsett Middle School in the Smithtown Central School District, was named a first-place winner in the Suffolk County Bar Association’s We the People essay contest. He is shown here with Accompsett Middle School Principal Paul McNeil. 

Photo courtesy of Smithtown Central School District

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - At 96 Harriett Crippen Brown Gumbs Still A Princess

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

She is a 12^th generation descendent of Chief Wyandanch, the premier chief or sachem on Long Island in the 16^th century, who gifted to Lion Gardiner what became the land on which the Town of Smithtown is situated. Lion Gardiner later conveyed the land to Richard Smythe, and thus Smithtown took form.

As an infant on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, Harriett Crippen Brown Gumbs was given another name—Princess Starleaf.

The other day, sitting alongside his mother, Edward A. Gumbs spoke of the tradition of providing such an honor when a child is deemed very special, when “a sparkle in her eyes” and other signs indicate “this baby is going to be very smart.”

“I’m still a princess,” said Ms. Gumbs with her warm, sweet smile.

Ms. Gumbs, who turned 96 last month, is the oldest female Shinnecock. She is the matriarch of the tribe. (The oldest male Shinneock is Lubin Hunter who’ll become 100 next month.)

And her life has demonstrated how she truly deserved the title of princess. She’s brilliant, a fount of information—and there’s still a sparkle in her eyes.

I recall decades ago Ms. Gumbs and I giving a presentation together on the history of Long Island—she about its earliest years and I about modern times. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of the original inhabitants of this island. Through the years, she has given presentations here and elsewhere in the United States and also abroad representing the League of Women Voters with which she has long been active.

She is spunky. For instance, when we spoke recently on the reservation, she was challenging the designation of native people as “Indians.”

This derives from the quest by Columbus to sail west to get to India and encountering a continent in between and thus the natives got to be called Indians. Ms. Gumbs said she prefers the term “aboriginal natives of the soil.” (This corresponds with the dictionary definition of aboriginal—“inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists.”) And she believes “of the soil” is important, too, reflecting the intimate relationship Native Americans have had with the land. Indeed, her family—there were 10 brothers and sisters and she is the last—farmed.

Originally, there were 13 tribes on Long Island. The Nissequogue was the tribe in what today is the Town of Smithtown.

There are two reservations on which these original inhabitants still live—the 800-acre Shinnecock reservation, west of Southampton, and the Poospatuck reservation in Mastic, containing less than a tenth the land and with a quarter of the population of the Shinnecocks.

Ms. Gumbs was speaking about how “they put us on a small reservation. We were pushed back”—an issue she has raised through the decades. Here like all over what became the United States, the land of native people was taken from them in outrageous ways. This was facilitated by the natives never perceiving land as a commodity, something to own, but as sacred. Originally, before the Europeans arrived, the Shinnecocks lived ocean-to-bay. 

As Ms. Gumbs told The New York Times in 2000, “We feel that we are on the verge of extinction and annihilation if we do not defend ourselves and stand up for our rights.” That was in the midst of a battle with a developer building a 38-house subdivision on acreage near the reservation’s disputed northern border.

Since 2010, it’s been the Shinnecock Indian Nation—with the tribe receiving, after a 30-year effort, federal recognition. Ms. Gumbs had a lot to do with that. Starting in the 1970s, she did extensive research which was key. Previously, it had state recognition.

The history of the Shinnecocks is well-presented at the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum. Its pow-wow every Labor Day weekend, which started in 1912, has been ranked by USA Today as one of the 10 great pow-wows held in the U.S.

Ms. Gumbs has three sons—and now 52 great-great-grandchildren!

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Southampton College with a degree in history/education. She has been the historian of the tribe, and also a business entrepreneur and teacher.

The Southampton school system recently decided to include elements of Shinnecock culture in all classes—in partnership with the Shinnecocks. The state requires schools to teach about Native Americans but it has been mostly about upstate tribes. ‘They want to know something about us,” smiled Ms. Gumbs.

“My mother loves life, loves youth,” Edward was saying. “When she sees youngsters—and they call her grandma and Aunt Harriet—it makes her day. Warmth comes from it. It’s like a ray of sunshine.”

Princess Starleaf herself is a ray of sunshine.

Bank Robbery At Kings Park Bank Of America

Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Kings Park bank today.

A man entered Bank of America, located at 1209 Saint Johnland Road, at approximately 11:45 a.m., displayed a note and verbally demanded cash. The teller complied and gave the suspect cash from the drawer. The robber fled on foot. 

The suspect was described as white, in his late 20s, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall with a thin build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, a black baseball cap, jeans and sneakers. 

The investigation is continuing. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-6555 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.