O’Mara: Senate Democrats wasting legislative session day on Washington, D.C. politics

Albany, N.Y., May 8—Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) today took to the floor of the State Senate to rebuke Senate Democrats for focusing on Washingon, D.C.-based politics over the priorities of everyday New Yorkers and working families.

“I truly believe that this is pure and simple a political maneuver to attack a sitting president of the United States to score political points in your individual districts.  This is a huge mistake and it’s all politics,” O’Mara said.  “We should be above the fray and the nonsense that’s going on in Washington that my constituents are sick and tired of and want us to move forward.”

In particular, O’Mara was highly critical of Senate Democrats for focusing today’s legislative session on measures dealing with presidential pardons (S4572) and to weaken personal income tax privacy protections by requiring the state Department of Taxation and Finance to give Congressional investigative committees access to state tax filings (S5072).

O’Mara opposed both actions and chastised Democrats for wasting another day of the current legislative session ignoring the needs for tax relief, job creation, regulatory reform, better roads and bridges, the opioid crisis, and other issues that O’Mara said matter more to most state taxpayers. 

“How does this help our constituents?  How does this help the average New Yorker?  What is this doing to improve the sad state of our infrastructure in New York State? What is this doing to help small business in New York State?  What is this doing to help the average, hard-working New Yorker who can care less about this nonsense?  We need to get to work in this chamber.  We have only nineteen days of session left on this legislative calendar. We’re wasting precious time.”

A video of O’Mara remarks on the Senate floor today can be viewed HERE.