16 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 10, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens reps sworn in as Democrats take control of House
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens representatives were sworn
in on Jan. 3 as members of the 116th
Congress with the most women, and ethnic
and religious diversity in American
history.
Th e borough’s delegation includes
Congresswoman Grace Meng, whose 6th
District is the only one located entirely
within the borough of Queens. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez also took offi ce as the new
representative the 14th District covering
northwest Queens and the Bronx; she
stunned the political establishment last
June by unseating former Congressman
Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary.
Th e other delegation members who
began another term on Jan. 3 include
Congressman Hakeem Jeff ries, whose
8th District includes Ozone Park and
Howard Beach and much of Brooklyn;
Congressman Nydia Velazquez, whose
7th District covers parts of Woodhaven,
Glendale, Ridgewood, Manhattan and
Brooklyn; Congressman Tom Suozzi,
now in his second term as representative
of the 3rd District covering Whitestone,
Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Glen
Oaks, North Shore Towers, and northern
Nassau and northwest Suff olk counties;
and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney,
whose 12th District includes parts of
Astoria and Long Island City, along with
Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Meng began her fourth term to continue
serving her community in the 6th
District which includes Bayside, Flushing,
Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale,
Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village,
and Rego Park.
Congresswoman Meng aft er she was
sworn in to her fourth term in Congress.
“In the 116th session of Congress, I
am excited to build upon my work from
the last Congress and champion issues
that help Queens and our nation,” said
Meng. “I will continue to work tirelessly
for my constituents and be responsive
to their needs. “I will also continue
to work with my colleagues across the
aisle in areas where we agree, but I will
stand fi rm against eff orts that undermine
labor rights for Americans, protections
for immigrant communities and minorities,
and environmental standards that
keep the public and children safe from
harmful chemicals and pollutants.”
While Meng is excited about the
work ahead in the new Congress, she
denounced the federal government shutdown
imposed by President Trump and
Congressional Republicans.
As a member of the House
Appropriations Committee, which is
responsible for draft ing government
spending bills that are sent to the president
to be signed into law, Meng is determined
to work with her colleagues to end
the shutdown.
Bronx native Ocasio-Cortez, 29, is said
to be the youngest person ever elected to
Congress. She took to Twitter to remark
on the occasion.
“I wore all-white today to honor the
women who paved the path before me,
and for all the women yet to come,”
Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. “From suffragettes
to Shirley Chisholm, I wouldn’t
be here if it wasn’t for the mothers of the
movement.”
Ocasio-Cortez has been addressing climate
change and pushing for a Select
Committee on a Green New Deal proposal
to have the United States on 100 percent
renewable energy by 2035.
Jeff ries is now the chair of the House
Democratic Caucus, making him the
fi ft h-most powerful member of his party
in the House.
Th e entire Queens delegation, all part
of the new Democratic majority in the
House, voted on Jan. 3 to re-elect Nancy
Pelosi as House Speaker.
Five takeaways from Ocasio-Cortez ‘60 Minutes’ interview
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-yearold
who surprised a city and nation by
upsetting Queens Congressman Joe
Crowley last June and becoming the
youngest woman elected to Congress,
spoke with Anderson Cooper in a highly
publicized interview on 60 Minutes
Sunday night.
Of the historically high number of
women entered the 116th Congress,
Ocasio-Cortez has arguably become the
face of a progressive female wave set to
hit Washington.
During the interview on Jan. 6, Ocasio-
Cortez revealed some insights into how
her fi rst years in political life might go.
Trump ‘a symptom of a problem’
Cooper brought up that Ocasio-Cortez
has been tight-lipped when it comes specifi
cally talking about President Trump.
She quickly responded that she hasn’t
said much about Trump. “because he is
a symptom of a problem.” Th at problem,
she said, is racism in the United States.
“Th e President certainly didn’t invent
racism but he has certainly given
a voice to it, expanded it and
created a platform for those
things,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
When Cooper responded
to her by asking her if she
thinks that Trump is a racist,
she responded without hesitation,
“Yes, absolutely.”
“When you look at the
words that he uses
which are historic
dog whistles of
white supremacy,
when you look at
how he reacted to
the Charlottesville
incident where Neo-Nazis murdered
a woman versus how he manufactures
crisis like immigrants seeking legal refuge
on our borders, its night and day,”
Ocasio-Cortez tells Cooper.
Willing to work within party…
Some media outlets are latching on to
a particular quote from Ocasio-Cortez
where calls herself “a radical.” But
Ocasio-Cortez tells Cooper that is she is
willing to compromise within the party
in order to enact change.
“Are you willing to compromise?”
Cooper asked.
“Yes, absolutely. It’s just about
what we choose to compromise,”
the Congresswoman responded.
…but says party compromised
too much
Ocasio-Cortez further explained
that she is willing to compromise in
order to get things done in
Washington, she criticizes
the Democratic
Party for not staying
more true to its ideals.
“My personal
opinion, and I know
that my district and my community feels
this way as well, is that we as a party
have compromised too much,” she said.
Th e 14th District, which she represents,
covers a swath of northwest Queens
including all or parts of Astoria, College
Point, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst,
Jackson Heights, Long Island City and
Woodside, and much of the Bronx.
“I think that we have compromised
things that we shouldn’t have compromised.
Whether it’s judgeships, with
Mitch McConnell, whether it’s compromising
on climate change,” she added, “I
think there are some things that we have
compromised a little bit too much on.”
Plans still pending
At one point during the interview,
Ocasio-Cortez spoke about her support
for a Green New Deal, an ambitious economic
stimulus program that aims have
the country running on sustainable energy
in 12 years while also provide a huge
amount of jobs.
When Cooper asked her how she plans
on getting enough funding to make the
plan a reality, she struggled to come up
with a concrete answer and instead made
a general statement about how the rich
should pay more taxes.
“You know, you look at our tax rates
back in the 60s and when you have a
progressive tax rate system your tax
rate let’s say from zero to $75,000 may
be 10 percent or 15 percent, etc.,” the
Congresswoman elaborated. “But once
you get to like the tippy tops on your
10 millionth dollar sometimes you see
tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent that
doesn’t mean all $10 million are taxed at
an extremely high rate. But as you climb
up this ladder you should be contributing
more.”
Read more at QNS.com
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Queens’ Congressional delegation voted to make Nancy Pelosi the new Speaker of the House on
Jan. 3.
politics
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