Governor Hochul is a Guest on NCPR’s “Northern Light”

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on NCPR’s “Northern Light.”

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: Governor Kathy Hochul is visiting Saranac Lake today. She'll be discussing the potential impacts New York State residents could face as a result of President Trump's policies and his federal budget proposal, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Governor Hochul is joining us this morning by phone for a conversation ahead of her visit. Good morning, Governor.

Governor Hochul: Good morning. How are you?

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: Doing well. So you're going to be in Saranac Lake this afternoon. What impacts are you highlighting today?

Governor Hochul: Well, there's multiple impacts and I just want to engage with the communities, as I've done all over the State, and talk about the impact of what could happen under the bill that was supported by the Republicans from our delegation from New York, but across the country.

So here's a couple of concerns. This will result in $104 million being cut from the North Country health care system. Now, that's extraordinary. We have a lot of rural hospitals that rely on these federal dollars, and I don't think they can sustain cuts like that. So that's going to be the primary concern. It'll knock about 40,000 North Country residents off their insurance, and I'm talking about Medicaid cuts where one out of three North Country residents depend on Medicaid. You take $100 million from the hospitals, you cut SNAP benefits for almost 90,000 families, families and children will not get the food they need.

And we also look at the fact that there's just been so much devastation to our communities in the North Country and even Western New York because of the Canadian impact — the Canadians who viewed us as their best friends, we've always had that relationship, who are now curtailing their travel dramatically, which is having a negative effect on our tourism industry. Our culturals are not being visited, our hotels and restaurants.

So there is a broad-based effect here on health care, on tourism and agriculture. What is happening to our farmers, that's a big industry for us. Dairy is big in the North Country as well. So I just want to gather people and find out what's happening already. The tariffs are already having an impact. The lack of Canadian visitors is having an impact already. But this bill will hit the heart of people who live in the North Country.

And for people in nursing homes, their parents and grandparents and others, people with disabilities who count on Medicaid, these are just — people need to know what they're in store for, and it can be stopped. It truly can be stopped if even one or two members of our delegation Republicans stand up and say, “No, this hurts my district. This hurts the people I represent. This hurts the people who elected me to office. I'm not supporting it.” And unfortunately, they already did support the first version, but it's still alive and I think there's still an opportunity to stand up and show some courage.

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: Like you said, some of these policies are having impacts now and some could in the future if this bill passes. What is the State's role in dealing with these impacts if and when?

Governor Hochul: That's the concern. We receive about $93 billion from the federal government, from all kinds of programs, whether it's law enforcement safety grants, whether it's child care funding and nutrition programs, education, health care. It touches every aspect of our lives. And when they cut this — and they're proposing to cut, for example, $13.5 billion from money we rely on to provide health care to our residents when that disappears — I have to be honest with everyone, if this is not stopped dead in its tracks, and again, there's still an opportunity if our Republican representatives will stand up for us, we will never be able to make that up. I need to let people know that loud and clear.

Our State Budget does not have the capacity to be able to offset these horrible cuts. So if we don't sound the alarm now and get people to stand up and call on their legislators and demand that they support them and not their own political interest or support their party, they have to do what's best for the district, then we are going to have major problems in New York and we'll have to come back with another special session if necessary. I just had a briefing on the concerns our Budget Director has right now. But it does not have to be this way. This is all self-inflicted and it must be stopped.

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: Governor, you mentioned that the tariffs are disrupting our ag industry, but so has President Trump's immigration crackdown. Up here, we've seen raids at farms, nail salons, homes. What are you doing to protect the people and industries of New York while these federal operations continue to happen?

Governor Hochul: Well, this is a federal enforcement issue, and I'll tell you, a lot of people ask questions about what our sanctuary state status means. And I had to go to Congress for eight hours and got a lot of harassment from what was basically political theater down in Washington. We endured it. But what I was able to explain was all it means is that the State of New York will help you when it comes to removing criminals, people who are harming others, the traffickers, people involved in drugs, people who've assaulted individuals.

None of us want people who are going to cause harm to individuals in our state. We want them gone. That's number one — protect New Yorkers. But also, our economy relies on so many tens of thousands of people who've come here in search of a better life, just like my grandparents did and faced discrimination. My own grandfather was a migrant farm worker out west because no one would hire him. But over time people become assimilated and they get an education and their kids do better and the grandkids do better. So what's happening in New York State now is really contrary to who we are as New Yorkers, we rely on these hardworking people.

And one story that just broke my heart a few months ago, Tom Homan, the head of ICE, has a home in Sackets Harbor. I've been to that community countless times. And in that very community, there was a raid at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, ICE agents come in with guns in hand, masks on their faces, take a mother, a third grader and her twin brothers out of their beds, throw them in a truck and take them down to Texas for two solid weeks.

Now the father wasn't there. Why? Because he was already out milking cows on the farm at 6:00 a.m. That's what they do. They’re hardworking. And the farmer called me and the community rose up and there were protests. And I called Tom Homan and I said, “I want this family reunited. They did nothing wrong. They're not the criminals that you said you would be going after. And why are you harming these families? They're working hard. They're performing an important service for our agricultural community.”

And so finally they were reunited. But I have to say, there've been so many cases where we've been trying to follow it, but we don't have a lot of control over the situation.

So we've been working with the Farm Bureau. We're very close to the Farm Bureau. My head of agriculture is always out there trying to help find people, when individuals are removed from a farm who are involved in the planting, the harvesting, the dairy work that goes on year-round. And we're trying the best we can, but these policies are cruel.

They're not who we are as New Yorkers.

We can find a path, but these people, if they had legal status or they removed their Temporary Protected Status — a lot of people came here seeking asylum legally, and now they're being told that they're criminals. We have to stand up and say, “No, that's wrong.” And I've done that countless times.

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: Governor, as I'm sure you're aware, there's an election next year, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said she's mulling a possible run against you. Stefanik is really popular here in the North Country, and meanwhile, Democrats have been losing ground here. What's your pitch to rural voters in this red district?

Governor Hochul: I'll say, when I was a member of Congress, I represented a very similar district. It was the most republican rural district in the State. I represent the entire State, but I worked closely with agriculture and people who live in these communities, and I've been to the diners and the VFWs and the fire halls. I can understand what they're going through, and my job has been to deliver.

And that's why we have a Budget that I just enacted that puts $5,000 back in the pockets of hardworking families. As New York's first mom-Governor, I know what families are going through, and they have to pay for diapers and formula and the kids keep outgrowing their clothes. And so I said, “Let's put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets.” And so that is resonating when you talk about those accomplishments — inflation rebate, cutting middle class taxes, child tax credits for kids, covering the cost of school lunches and breakfast so families don't have to worry about that. $5,000 is a big deal when people talk about affordability. It's not a concept to me. We've delivered on that.

And another issue that I know resonates with a lot of parents, we are now the largest state in America that is going to have a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools in September. And I will tell you, when I talk about all my public safety initiatives and what I've done on affordability, people love it. But when I tell them that their kids will finally be free from the clutches of a cell phone, that's keeping them from learning or engaging with other students — I think this is something that people understand that as a parent myself, I'm going to be out there fighting for their families so they have more money, but also taking care of their kids' mental health, something that's personal to me.

And once people know more about who I am, and I spent a lot of time in the North Country from my childhood to taking my own children up there, I've spent a lot of time all over the North Country. I think it's a magnificent part of our state. And when you can talk to people about how we are delivering for them. And their families and keeping them safe. That's how people will be paying attention next year.

Catherine Wheeler, NCPR: We'll have to leave it there. We've been speaking with New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She's meeting with leaders in Saranac Lake this afternoon to talk about the local economic impact of the recent Trump administration policies and NCPR will have a journalist at that meeting, and we'll report back to you about those conversations. Thank you, Governor.

Governor Hochul: Thank you very much. Bye-bye.