U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez spoke at the WRBA meeting last Saturday, addressing a variety of topics from the passage of the so-called omnibus bill to concerns about the economy. Photo by Anna Gustafson
Praising the approximate $1 trillion funding bill passed by Congress last week, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan) told Queens residents on Saturday that the measure will send millions of dollars to New York for early childhood education and veterans.
“Congress saw the light, and we passed the omnibus bill,” Velazquez said at the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting. “…New York alone will get $500 million for early childhood education. We restored funding for the military, especially for disabled veterans.”
The bipartisan legislation – a massive document totaling 1,582 pages that is often referred to as the “omnibus bill” – greenlights government spending through September, ensuring there will not be another shutdown as there was last year.
Among numerous initiatives, it gives all federal workers a 1 percent raise and restores cuts to medical research and job training programs. The spending bill does not include tens of billions of dollars for which President Obama and some Congressional Democrats had asked.
While Velazquez said she was pleased about the budget deal, she also noted that the economy is not where she and other lawmakers would like it to be.
“The economy continues to struggle, and we have 2.3 million people looking for jobs,” Velazquez said at the meeting.
And, she stressed that while lawmakers did manage to work with their colleagues from across the aisle, she said she hopes for a far more functional Washington D.C.
“I’d hope we’d work together in a more bipartisan way – the country is tired of this bickering in Washington,” she said, noting that she wants lawmakers to work together on a variety of big-name topics, including immigration, education and the economy.
The congresswoman, along with other elected officials at the meeting, praised Ed Wendell, the WRBA’s former president who recently stepped down from his position and was replaced by Martin Colberg, the group’s first Latino president in its 42-year history.
“Ed, you were able to tackle some of the most important issues,” Velazquez said. “Martin, you have big shoes to fill but we’ll all be working together.”
State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said Wendell “made Woodhaven a better place,” and Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said the former president “really built up this block association.”
“He has set the bar so high,” Ulrich said of Wendell.
By Anna Gustafson
