Biden slams Republicans on debt ceiling in Westchester appearance

BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com

Westchester played a role in President Biden’s May 10 speech at Westchester Community College (WCC) and not just because of his visit to the county. He presented examples of what would happen in Westchester if the Republicans succeed in forcing a 22% cut in the proposed federal budget as the price for their agreeing to raise the debt ceiling so the U.S. doesn’t default on its debts.

“According to estimates, the Republican bill would put 21 million people at risk of losing Medicaid, including 2.3 million people here in New York State and 78,000 people right here in Westchester County,” Biden said. “It’s devastating. It’s not right.”

Biden said that Republican cuts would force the shutdown of 375 air traf f ic control towers, including at the Westchester County Airport and four more in New York state because there wouldn’t be enough personnel.

Biden described he WCC campus as “one beautiful community college. The property here is amazing.” He then explained that students at WCC would be affected because of forced cuts in the size of Pell Grants and the elimination of the grants for 5,000 New York students.

“You know, here’s what’s happened if MAGA Republicans get their way: America defaults on our debt; higher interest rates for credit cards, car loans, mortgages; payments for Social Security, Medicare, our troops, and veterans could all be halted or delayed,” Biden said. “According, again, to Moody’s, eight million Americans would lose their jobs, including 400,000 New Yorkers alone. Our economy would fall into recession. And our international reputation would be damaged in the extreme.”

It was standing room only in the theater at the Hankin Academic Arts Building on the WCC campus in Valhalla for Biden’s appearance. The White House at f irst announced that he would be making a speech on the debt ceiling in the Hudson Valley without disclosing the actual location.

Biden’s speech was designed, in part, to put additional pressure on Republicans in advance of the scheduled May 12 meeting on the debt ceiling at the White House. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had said after the May 9 White House meeting involving himself, Biden, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Chuck Schumer that there was no forward movement.

Biden had arrived at Westchester County Airport shortly after 12:45 p.m. on board the helicopter Marine One. He had come from John F. Kennedy International Airport after a flight from Washington on board Air Force One. Biden was greeted at the Westchester airport by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Traveling with Biden were Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, both of whom had flown up from Washington with him.

While at WCC, President Biden participated in a photo event with local leaders. According to the White House, Biden was photographed with Mayor Tom Roach of White Plains, New York State Senate President Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Chairman of the State Democratic Party Jay Jacobs, leaders of WCC and local union members and of f icials.

The event was reminiscent of a campaign rally at the start, with Hochul, Bowman and Gillibrand blasting Republicans for playing politics with the national debt, the creditworthiness of the U.S., and the global economy. Hochul introduced local elected of f icials who were at the event and each stood up to loud applause and cheers.

Bowman, in a f iery speech, raised the issue of recent mass shootings and gun laws.

“They’re OK with our children dying everyday from gun violence because they won’t do a damn thing about it,” Bowman shouted as the audience reacted loudly. “We need a ban on assault rifles. We need universal background checks. We need universal red flag laws,” Bowman said.

Biden had been introduced by Brian Sullivan, a seventh grade science teacher at the White Plains Highlands Middle School.

Biden began his speech by saying that it’s good to be back in Westchester, having appeared in the county just before the 2022 election at an event for Hochul at Sarah Lawrence College. He gave a special acknowledgement to Republican Rep. Mike Lawler who was at the WCC the event.

“Mike’s on the other team but you know what? Mike is the kind of guy that, when I was in the Congress, was the kind of Republican I was used to dealing with,” Biden said. “He’s not one of these MAGA

Republicans. I don’t want to get him in any trouble by saying anything nice about him.”

The speech at WCC was being followed in f inancial as well as government circles around the world as evidenced by the presence of reporters from foreign f inancial journals and other overseas news media.

“There’s a big debate going on in this country about protecting America’s hardearned reputation as the most trusted, reliable nation in the world, about how we f ix the long-term f iscal health of this nation, a debate with enormous implications for the American economy and quite frankly for the world economy,” Biden said. “It’s important for the American people to know what’s at stake.”

Biden said that it’s not a theoretical debate that’s going on in Washington.

“The decisions we make are going to have real impact on real peoples’ lives,” Biden said. “The MAGA Republicans have taken control of the House. They’re doing to the best of my knowledge what no other political party has done in the nation’s history. They’re literally, not f iguratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our nation’s debt, a debt we’ve already incurred over the last couple of hundred years, unless we give in to their threats and demands.”

Biden was in Westchester until about 3:45, when the helicopter Marine One flew him to Manhattan where he was scheduled to attend a number of political fundraising events.