Here's where the candidates in the close NY-17 House race stand on key topics
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Few, if any, House races in New York will be as closely watched on Election Day than the 17th Congressional District contest between Democratic incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney and Republican Assemblyman Mike Lawler.
The money and star power descending on the Hudson Valley district signals the importance of the race as Democrats try to hold onto House control. The Democratic Congressional Committee, which Maloney leads, bought $600,000 in ads, for example, and politicians like former President Bill Clinton and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have recently stumped for the candidates and raise more money.
The USA TODAY Network New York reached both candidates with questions on important topics in the campaign, such as abortion and inflation.
Here are the unedited answers and some details about the candidates.
Mike Lawler
Party: Republican
Residence: Pearl River
Age: 36
Q: Would you seek the adoption of any new gun control measures following the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court? If yes, what? If no, why not?
My record in the New York State Assembly on gun safety is bipartisan and common sense, and includes a number of measures I would support on the federal level, such as: supporting certain red flag laws to keep guns out of those who are likely to harm themselves or others, banning ghost guns, prohibiting gun purchases by anyone with an outstanding warrant, and increasing penalties for the threat of mass harm. In addition, I led the effort to pass legislation that would include the use of panic alarms as part of school safety plans and believe we need to fund school resources officers nationwide for those districts that would like to have them.
What, if any, restrictions should be put on abortion? Should abortion laws be left to states or federal government?My position on abortion is clear and mainstream. While personally pro-life, I oppose a federal ban on abortion, and believe abortion should remain legal in cases of rape, incest, or if the life or health of the mother is in jeopardy. My opponent supports expanding access to abortions up to the moment of birth, opposes parental notification for minors seeking an abortion, and supports non-doctors performing abortions. All three ideas are far out-of-step with people across the political spectrum.
How specifically would you address inflation?
By slashing government spending. Listen, everyone knows that the federal government has been spending way more than it should be in an effort to keep the economy going. We are currently teetering on the brink of a massive recession, with bubbles existing in the labor market, real estate market, and elsewhere. Cutting government spending can head off both inflation and a potential recession and should be a priority regardless of who controls Congress after November’s election.
Should members of Congress and their family members be banned from stock trading? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Yes, they should be. The position of an elected official should not be used to enrich oneself, as my opponent has, but rather to serve the people. Part of why there is a political class in this country is because members of the House and Senate are able to use insider information to profit greatly. That has to be put to an end. The same goes for their family members.
Will you accept the election results in November?
Yes, absolutely.
Who won the 2020 presidential election?
Joe Biden.
What is your top policy priority, how do you intend to achieve it and why do you think you deserve to be elected in November?
My top priority is getting inflation under control and bringing down the cost of goods and services that people need to survive every day. Sean Patrick Maloney voted with Joe Biden 100% of the time. Together, Biden and Maloney wrecked the economy with reckless economic and fiscal policies that turned a booming economy into one hurtling towards recession. I would fix it by restoring the SALT deduction to lower property taxes, expanding domestic oil production to lower gas prices, passing meaningful tax reform that puts more money into the pockets of the middle and working class.
More:Maloney, Lawler race sees national attention, money, flow into 17th Congressional District
Sean Patrick Maloney
Party: Democratic
Q: Would you seek the adoption of any new gun control measures following the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court? If yes, what? If no, why not?
It’s unacceptable that we live in a country where our kids get gunned down in classrooms, at Fourth of July parades, and even in grocery stores. I support commonsense gun safety measures to reduce gun violence including universal background checks, banning the sale of new assault weapons, and raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons. While I helped pass the first bipartisan gun safety law in thirty years, my opponent has consistently voted against gun safety reforms, including just days after the tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde when he voted against reforms to keep assault rifles out of the hands of teenagers.
What, if any, restrictions should be put on abortion? Should abortion laws be left to states or federal government?
I support enshrining protections for reproductive rights into federal law to ensure extremist, anti-choice politicians like my opponent aren’t able to ban abortion, state by state or nationally.
Health decisions belong between a woman and her doctor, not politicians and the government as Mike Lawler would have it. Lawler supported the decision to strike down Roe and rip away women’s rights. He voted repeatedly against protecting reproductive freedoms here in New York.
I want to return to the standard of Roe v. Wade which protected women’s rights while allowing limitations based on viability. For example, here in New York abortions are not allowed after 24 weeks except in cases where the life or health of the mother are compromised or the fetus isn’t viable. My opponent should be ashamed of himself for politicizing the tragic and rare circumstances where abortions occur late in pregnancy.
How specifically would you address inflation?
It’s no secret that prices are too high right now, and I understand what that means for working families. Growing up, if costs rose, it meant we had to make do with whatever was left on Friday night because the budget had to work until Saturday. But, unlike my opponent, I have real plans to lower your costs - from expanding affordable housing, to bringing down the cost of healthcare, and lowering the price of groceries and other household items.
I’ve helped increase Social Security payments and lower costs in Medicare by capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs — something my opponent opposed. I’ve helped pass legislation to lower your medical bills, cut energy costs, and fix our supply chains. And I’ve introduced bills to get oil prices down, lower costs at the grocery store, and build things in America again so we aren’t reliant on foreign countries for our essentials. I’ll keep working to fix the problem and deliver for working families.
Should members of Congress and their family members be banned from stock trading? If yes, why? If no, why not?
I believe that Members of Congress are elected to serve the people of their communities, not themselves. That’s why I support legislation to prohibit Members from profiting from their position in Congress by trading individual stocks. I also support proposals to require Members to place their investments in blind trusts while they are serving the American people.
Will you accept the election results in November?
Of course I will accept the election results, as I always have and always will.
Who won the 2020 presidential election?
President Biden won a free and fair election in 2020. This wasn’t an issue until the MAGA Republicans, led by Donald Trump, began spreading the Big Lie and undermining faith in our elections. This rhetoric is dangerous and exactly why we can’t elect more MAGA Republicans and Trump delegates like Lawler to Congress.
What is your top policy priority, how do you intend to achieve it and why do you think you deserve to be elected in November?
I have real plans to deliver for working families here in the Hudson Valley — plans to lower the cost of gas, groceries, healthcare, and housing; to make our communities safer with more funding for good policing and by passing gun safety legislation; and to protect your freedoms from voting rights to reproductive rights. I’ve introduced or co-sponsored legislation to deliver on all these priorities and, if you send me back to Congress for another two years, I will fight to get them into law.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY-17 House race: Where candidates stand on abortion, guns, inflation
