Representative Adriano Espaillat Responds to Trump Cuts to Essential Federal Programs and Services

NEW YORK, NY – Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement in response to the profoundly concerning memo issued by the Trump Administration’s Office of Management and Budget, which aims to unilaterally freeze federal funding that has already been allocated.  

“I am deeply troubled by the Trump Administration’s memo issued late last night by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that directs federal agencies to freeze nearly all of the critical federal assistance and aid funding for vital programs,” said Rep. Espaillat. “This, following the Trump Administration’s most recent attack on families, minority communities, students, and seniors is not only flagrantly illegal but is inherently rooted in racism and a contempt for our nation’s most underprivileged communities. We will not remain silent in the face of such flagrant disregard to the fundamental values and ideals of who we are as a nation. The United States is a democracy, not a dictatorship. My colleagues and I stand united and firmly in opposition to this unlawful memo, and I look forward to working with my Democratic counterparts on the House Appropriations Committee to ferociously fight back against this brazen attack on my constituents and millions of Americans across New York City and the nation.”  

This latest, illegal OMB memo issued by Trump would negatively impact more than 7,000 households that rely on Section 8 vouchers might lose their housing. The 104,000 households that rely on food stamps to put food on their table might go hungry. The more than half of NY-13 residents that rely on Medicaid will go without health coverage. This recent directive is an incitement and chaos move, which again proves that President Trump and Republicans are intent on prioritizing the interest of billionaires and corporations over those of working families, minority communities, students, and seniors.

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov