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‘People are hurting’: Mike Lawler Is Seeking to Represent NY’s 17th Congressional District

Published: October 12, 2022
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Pictured, Mike Lawler who is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York’s 17th congressional district. (Image: Courtesy Michael Lawler)

On Oct. 7, Michael Lawler, who is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New York’s 17th congressional district, sat down with Vision Times to discuss his platform and what he believes to be the most important issues for his constituents.  

Lawler said that the cost-of-living crisis is his top priority telling Vision Times “the cost of living is through the roof for working families, for seniors, young people just starting out and we need to get it under control.”

Inflation in the United States has hit levels not seen in over 40 years. In August this year inflation increased by 8.3 percent compared to the year prior, leading Lawler to conclude that the government needs to rein in spending. 

“You can’t increase spending by four trillion dollars in 20 months and not expect that you are going to deal with this level of inflation,” he said, adding that the “Inflation Expansion Act” — what he calls the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act — “has done nothing to ease inflation.”  

“In fact, on the one month anniversary of its passage inflation came in at 8.3%,” he said. 

He said one way that he would ensure New Yorkers have more money in their pockets is by lifting the New York SALT cap.  “We have to lift the cap on SALT,” he said. “I’m going to fight to get that done. Sean Maloney, my opponent, said that he would do that, as Democrats have controlled everything in Washington, and so far have failed to do anything about it. It needs to be addressed,” he added. 

Public safety a top priority

In addition to the cost-of-living crisis, Lawler says another top priority of his is public safety telling Vision Times that these issues are “not just what I am talking about. That’s what voters are talking about.”

Lawler called New York’s cashless bail laws that many point to as the catalyst for skyrocketing crime rates across the state, “the single stupidest piece of legislation that has ever been enacted.”

“It is so irresponsible,” he told Vision Times adding that, “40 percent of people who have been released on non-monetary bail for felony offenses have been rearrested while those charges are pending. It’s completely unsustainable.”

“And, if we don’t get serious about tackling that, we are going to continue to see more innocent people fall victim to violent crime. And, as an elected official, as a government, that is totally unacceptable. Our number one responsibility is to ensure public safety.”

To address the issue Lawler says judges need more discretion when setting bail. “I’m not looking for low-level non-violent offenders to be stuck in jail. But, when you have violent, repeat offenders who are continually being released from jail based on the cashless bail law, that’s a problem … Judges need to be able to make an evaluation of the evidence of a defendant’s criminal history, and make the determination whether or not they are a threat to society,” he argues. 

The southern border

When asked about his thoughts on the border crisis and how Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, has been bussing illegal immigrants into New York City Lawler said “I think the issue here, number one, is that we need to secure our border. You cannot continue to have 10’s of thousands of illegal immigrants pouring across the border every day and being sent to communities all across the country or overwhelming the communities on the Southern border. It’s totally unacceptable on every level.”

He said that the failure to secure the southern border has increased the occurrence of other serious crimes including human trafficking and rape and the assault of people fleeing their home countries. 

Compounding this is the fentanyl crisis. “And then you have the scourge of drugs and the cartels trafficking those drugs across the border and into our communities. We’re seeing 300 people a day die from overdose. Much of it is tied to fentanyl. And that is totally, totally unacceptable,” he said.

Lawler believes what is happening on the southern border should be declared an emergency and that it is the federal government’s responsibility to support communities grappling with the influx of illegal immigrants. 

“I support legal immigration. Immigrants enrich our communities, our economy, our culture, but there needs to be a legal process,” he told Vision Times.

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International threats

Lawler explained that the United States has an obligation to provide defenses for Ukraine. “When Ukraine gave up its nuclear power we entered into an agreement to provide for the defenses of. And, so, we have an obligation to that,” he said.

He fears that if Putin is left unchecked and Ukraine comes under his control that he won’t stop there. “He will continue to go into other nations that are not part of NATO, that were part of the former Soviet Bloc,” he said.

He said, “There’s no question in my mind that if he [Putin] was to seize control of Ukraine that he would go to Moldova next and other nations within the region.”

Another international threat that Lawler has identified is Communist China. 

“The prior administration was correct about China,” he said adding that, “they were right to go after China with respect to trade, with respect to intellectual property and with respect to the devaluation of currency. And China is our biggest threat, economically and militarily. And we have to be tough.”

He argues that the Biden administration has “retreated” in the face of China, calling the retreat “disturbing.”  He said before the pandemic China was economically weakening and the United States economy was strengthening.  

“We need to stop making our goods over in China. We need to bring manufacturing back to the United States,” he said, adding that it was “Remarkable” how dependent the U.S. was on China during the pandemic. 

A focus on representing the people

If elected, Lawler says his focus will be on representing the people who elect him. 

“I believe, very strongly, that my responsibility is to ensure that I am advocating and fighting for the issues that matter,” he told Vision Times.

“All of us want a few basic things in life. We want a good paying job to provide for our families, a quality education for our children, access to housing and healthcare, and a safe neighborhood to live in. That’s what we all want and that’s what this election is about.

“We need to restore balance and common sense at every level of government. That’s why I am running and I hope when people go to vote on November 8 that they look at where we are and where we need to go and recognize that we need to restore balance and we need opposing points of view and people who are willing to push back and to question and to raise points that produce better results for our country,” he said.