Assemblymember Eachus secures education funding, breaks with party to reject NYC Migrant Bailout in contentious state budget
Enacted 2024-25 state budget invests in education and health care system, tackles hate crimes to keep our communities safe, but ultimately falls short due to misguided spending on migrants at the expense of Hudson Valley residents.
Assemblymember Christopher Eachus (D-New Windsor) announced that he helped pass major portions of 2024-25 state budget that delivers for education and healthcare services, while breaking with his own party on extreme expenditures for migrant services.
Eachus helped secure record investments in New York’s schools, including fully funding Foundation Aid at $24.9 billion statewide while continuing the expanded free school meals program. To help keep higher education affordable for hardworking families, the budget expands the income threshold eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and increases the minimum amount awarded. The budget also expands the number of offenses that can be prosecuted as hate crimes across the state and invests $35 million to protect the safety of organizations at risk of hate crimes, including houses of worship, religious schools and other sites.
“This budget, while contentious in many areas, continues funding to support our families and protect residents against increasing acts of hate crimes” Eachus said. “We have made great gains in this year’s state budget in education, health care, the prevention of hate crimes, although more still needs to be done.”
In defiance of his own party, Eachus broke with the majority and voted against increased funding to the tune of $2.4 Billion for NYC migrant services. Despite his fierce advocacy to secure critical flood relief funding for the Town of Highlands and Village of Highland Falls, Governor Hochul rejected the proposal and caused it to fail to be included in the final version of the Aid to Localities bill. The migrant funding, however, made it in full.
“The Governor has made it abundantly clear that while she was able to allocate a never-before-seen $2.4 billion for migrants in NYC, she did not have the will to find aid for the people of Orange County for a fraction of the cost. For the Governor, the needs of those who have lived in New York State for decades and have had their homes destroyed in a once-in-a-thousand-year storm are unimportant to her priorities. Her decision defies the assurances and platitudes given to our district less than a year ago, and so I was a proud no vote against her misguided use of our taxpayer funds. I have always stood for the people of Orange and Rockland over party politics and will continue to fight until we get the full relief that was promised to us.”
While unfinished business still remains, Eachus helped secure significant resources for mental health initiatives, veterans’ services, and other local funding items such as $75,000 for the Storm King Art Center, which cap off an otherwise contentious budget.
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