As Part of New York's Ongoing Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Open Enrollment for Uninsured New Yorkers Extended Through March 31

New Yorkers Can Apply Now for Coverage Through NY State of Health or Directly Through Insurers   

Amid Global Pandemic, High-Quality Health Insurance More Important Than Ever  

 As part of New York's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the Open Enrollment Period for uninsured New Yorkers will be extended through March 31, 2021. New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health, New York's Official Health Plan Marketplace, or directly through insurers. 

"Ensuring all New Yorkers have access to health insurance is essential, not only as we continue to fight the war against COVID, but to foster healthier, more resilient and more equitable communities as we rebuild post-pandemic," Governor Cuomo said. "By extending this deadline until March, New Yorkers who need health coverage will have additional time to enroll and find the plan that works best for themselves and their families." 

Extending the Open Enrollment Period to March 31, 2021 helps to align New York with the federal Public Health Emergency which was recently extended to April 20, 2021. This extension allows individuals eligible for Qualified Health Plan insurance additional time to enroll for coverage in 2021 and means that enrollment remains open for all NY State of Health programs, which is especially important during the ongoing public health emergency. Coverage start dates will vary:

• Enroll by February 15: Coverage starts March 1
• Enroll March 15: Coverage starts April 1
• Enroll by March 31: Coverage starts May 1  

Individuals who are eligible for other NY State of Health programs - Medicaid, Essential Plan and Child Health Plus - can enroll year-round.  As always, New Yorkers can apply for coverage through NY State of Health online at nystateofhealth.ny.gov, by phone at 1-855-355-5777, and by connecting with a free enrollment assister. 

New York State of Health Executive Director, Donna Frescatore said, "The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and thanks to Governor Cuomo's leadership, this extension of the Open Enrollment Period will give New Yorkers the extra time they need to enroll in coverage. As vaccine distribution continues throughout the state, having access to quality, affordable health coverage is crucial to staying healthy in 2021."

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell said, "Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York is extending the health enrollment period, providing uninsured New Yorkers another opportunity to sign up for high-quality and affordable health insurance. This opportunity to access New York's health insurance marketplace is critically important during an ongoing public health emergency and during vaccination efforts. The state encourages uninsured New Yorkers to visit NY State of Health and sign up today."

Additional information on NY State of Health insurance options during the COVID-19 emergency can be found here.  

NY Department of Financial Services information and resources during the COVID-19 emergency can be found here.

Governor Cuomo Announces Investigations into Prescription Drug Price Spikes Connected to the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

Department of Financial Services is Committed to Holding Companies Accountable for Unjustified, Exorbitant Increases in Prescription Drug Prices

The New Office of Pharmacy Benefits' First Round of Investigations Will Focus on Drug Price Spikes Connected to the COVID-19 Pandemic

 Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced the Department of Financial Services' newly formed Office of Pharmacy Benefits today announced it has initiated investigations into significant price spikes for six drugs that were connected to the COVID-19 pandemic by sending a demand pursuant to New York Insurance Law Section 111 requiring a statement from the manufacturer explaining the facts and circumstances surrounding the spikes.

"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen too many instances of pharmaceutical companies taking advantage of those in need and significantly raising the prices on life-saving prescription drugs," Governor Cuomo said. "This shameful behavior cannot stand and needs to be rooted out at all costs. Companies should be on notice - if you attempt to capitalize on the health needs of New Yorkers, we will investigate you and hold you fully accountable."

"Putting profits over people's lives is unconscionable," said Superintendent Lacewell. "When drug manufacturers exploit a global pandemic for their own benefit, it cannot go unanswered.  DFS will use every power at its disposal to shine a light on the world of drug prices.  Today, we have taken our first steps in addressing the problem of excessive drug prices that has hit consumers' pocketbooks directly and through insurance premiums."

The impact on consumers is not just about dollars and cents: as these drugs are sometimes the difference between life and death, an extreme price spike can be a real barrier to lifesaving treatment, particularly during this global health emergency. 

"It requires extreme greed and cynicism to see a global pandemic costing millions of lives as an opportunity for profit," said Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health Dr. Howard Zucker. "I applaud DFS and Superintendent Lacewell for taking these steps to address the problem of excessive drug prices during this international public health crisis."

The Department of Financial Services' (DFS) Office of Pharmacy Benefits (OPB) has examined changes in drug prices during the state of emergency to identify spikes in price worthy of further investigation.  Today, the OPB commenced investigations under Section 111 of the Insurance Law into anomalously large spikes in the prices of six drugs that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, under circumstances determined to warrant further investigation.  These drugs are:

• Ascor (ascorbic acid) 25,000 mg/50 mL bulk vial - Ascor is a formulation of Vitamin C for IV injection manufactured by McGuff Pharmaceuticals. McGuff raised the price of this drug by 110% about a week after clinical trials were announced for use of the drug to treat COVID-19 patients suffering acute symptoms.
• Budesonide 0.5 mg/2 mL inhalation (60 mL) - One of two corticosteroids to be investigated, a generic formulation produced by Cipla USA Inc. increased in price by over 1350% in the midst of the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and on the heels of an announcement of international clinical trials for its use to treat COVID-19 patients.
• Dexonto (dexamethasone) 5 mL vial of a 0.4% solution - Dexonto is the other corticosteroid under investigation and is a branded generic drug manufactured by Nubratori, Inc.  This manufacturer announced a price increase of over 65% at the beginning of the pandemic, just 11 days before clinical trials for treating COVID-19 patients with the drug were announced in China.
• Mytesi (crofelemer) 125 mg delayed release tablet, 60s - Manufactured by Jaguar Health, Mytesi is a drug used to treat gastrointestinal side effects of antiretroviral therapies used by HIV patients.  Jaguar increased the price of the drug by 230% just days after it applied for an emergency use authorization for use to treat COVID-19 patients.
• Duramorph (morphine sulfate) 1 mg/1 ml (10 mL 10s) - While most morphine formulations experienced modest increases in price during the early months of the pandemic, this branded product manufactured by Hikma Pharmaceuticals experienced an anomalous increase of nearly 60%.
• Chloroquine phosphate 250 mg tablets - The chloroquine family of drugs has made many headlines during the pandemic, but Rising Pharmaceuticals appears to have attempted to capitalize on unsubstantiated reports of its effectiveness in treating COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic when it raised its price by 97.8%.

Each of these manufacturers will now be required to provide information about and a justification for each spike the OPB has identified.  Pursuant to the demands sent today, the manufacturers will provide DFS with written responses to questions such as the dates pricing decisions were made, the officers or employees involved in the decisions, any analyses conducted prior to the price spike, and the reasons for the price spike given internally.  The OPB is authorized to collect additional information, including by examining witnesses or issuing subpoenas. 

The commencement of an investigation does not mean that a price spike was unlawful or even unjustified; rather, it means that DFS has determined the circumstances warrant a closer look.  If the investigation finds that illegal conduct occurred or that a price spike was not justified, these conclusions will be memorialized in a report of the Drug Accountability Board, the panel of experts appointed by the Superintendent just last month, and referrals to other relevant legal authorities may be made. 

If it is determined that a valid reason for the spike exists, DFS will announce that development as well, and close the investigation.  Through this work DFS will provide transparency in an area which has traditionally been opaque. 

For more information or to report a drug price spike, please visit the DFS Website.  Any questions may be addressed to Eamon Rock, Director of the Office of Pharmacy Benefits, at DrugPriceSpikes@dfs.ny.gov.

Grant Cottage State Historic Site Gains Federal National Landmark Status

 

Saratoga County Site Where President Ulysses S. Grant Penned Memoirs

 The Grant Cottage State Historic Site, a 19^th century residence where U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant completed his memoirs shortly before his death, has been named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.

Acquired by State Parks in 1957 as a State Historic Site, the 43-acre Saratoga County property includes a two-story residence where Grant, diagnosed with terminal throat cancer, went to complete his memoirs for six weeks immediately prior to his death in July 1885.

“This well-deserved federal designation brings more public awareness to the important role this place played in the life of one of our most famous national leaders,” said State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid. “State Parks is grateful for the years of work invested in obtaining this designation by our Regional Commissioners and the Friends of Ulysses S. Grant Cottage that operates and cares for this site.”

Heather Mabee, chair of the Saratoga/Capital Regional Park Commission, said, “This honor is the result of steadfast and tireless advocacy, spearheaded by our commission member Barbara Glaser who invested so much of herself in this. This honor brings even more prestige to an already prestigious site.”

While seriously ill at the cottage, Grant completed writing his two-volume memoirs outlining his service as the general in charge of the U.S. Army during the Civil War, and his subsequent two terms as U.S. President.

Published with support from Grant’s friend and prominent author Mark Twain, the work assured the financial security of his widow, Julia, and their children, and is recognized as an important 19^th century work of literature, as well as a New York State Literary Landmark, by United for Libraries and the Empire State Center for the Book. The memoirs have never been out of print since their original publication.

Located immediately below the summit of Mount McGregor in Saratoga County, the cottage is kept as it was during the Grant family's stay. Open to the public seasonally by the Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage, visitors can tour its first-floor original furnishings, decorations, and personal items belonging to Grant.

Tours are scheduled to resume for the season in May 2021. Artifacts on display include the mantel clock stopped by Grant’s son Fred at the moment of his father’s death, and original floral arrangements from Grant's funeral in August 1885.

Grant Cottage first opened as a historic site in 1890 when it was supported by funds raised by veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic.

The grounds surrounding the Cottage served as a tuberculosis sanitarium beginning in 1914, which in 1945 was converted into a veteran rest camp, until 1960 when it was repurposed and annexed as the Rome State School for disabled children until 1976. The Friends of Ulysses S. Grant Cottage was formed in the fall of 1989 to provide programming and tours, and partner with New York State Parks on site stewardship.   

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails and boat launches, which were visited by a record 77 million people in 2019. A recent university study found that spending by State Parks and its visitors supports $5 billion in output and sales, 54,000 private-sector jobs and more than $2.8 billion in additional state GDP. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit parks.ny.gov connect on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

STATE OF THE CITY PREVIEW: MAYOR DE BLASIO AND TASKFORCE ON RACIAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION JOIN NYC ACQUISITION FUND TO ANNOUNCE NEW FOCUS ON M/WBES AND NONPROFITS

 

$210 million affordable housing loan fund will exclusively finance projects led by M/WBEs or nonprofit developers

 Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity join the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. (Enterprise), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), along with a coalition of public, private and philanthropic partners, to announce that the New York City Acquisition Fund (NYCAF) will now exclusively serve Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (M/WBEs) and nonprofit developers in its mission to support affordable and supportive housing development. 

The $210 million public-private affordable housing loan fund will solely finance projects led by a M/WBE or nonprofit developer with a minimum 51 percent ownership stake in the project. The heightened focus on M/WBEs and nonprofits strengthens the Fund's alignment with the City's commitment to a fair and equitable post-COVID-19 recovery and preserves the Fund's limited resources for the borrowers most in need of favorable financing for their affordable housing projects. 

 

“Affordable housing shouldn’t just offer a place for New Yorkers in underserved communities to live – its construction should offer opportunity to those New Yorkers, too,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I’m proud to stand with partners across government to support developers who give back the most to the New Yorkers they serve.”

 

The Fund's announcement is in line with the City's new equitable ownership requirement to strengthen M/WBEs and nonprofits' role on affordable housing projects developed on City-owned sites. The rule requires that an M/WBE or nonprofit partner hold a minimum 25 percent ownership stake in any affordable housing project awarded on public land.

 

"Making sure that our investments not only provide affordable housing, but also expand opportunities for M/WBE and nonprofit developers is critical to New York City's fair and equitable recovery agenda," said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. “Leveling the playing field for those developers helps to diversify and strengthen the industry, puts New Yorkers to work in the neighborhoods they call home, and taps into the deep connections and contributions those developers have made in different neighborhoods.”

 

“City dollars can and should do more than just get work done,” said J. Phillip Thompson, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives and co-chair of the Racial Equity and Inclusion Taskforce. “By leveraging city spending power to support our M/WBEs and nonprofits, we can ensure a fair recovery for all New Yorkers.”

 

“The Fund's shift to exclusively serve M/WBEs and nonprofit developers is a game-changer for firms seeking the crucial acquisition capital they need to get ahead,” said Sideya Sherman, Executive Director of the Taskforce for Racial Inclusion & Equity and EVP of Community Engagement & Partnerships at NYCHA. “We applaud Commissioner Carroll and our partners at HDC, Enterprise, and LISC for this significant investment, which will support a fair and equitable recovery for our city.”

 

“We are thrilled that the Fund will be building on the City's efforts to increase investments in M/WBE and nonprofit developers that share our deep commitment to the communities we serve,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “The NYC Acquisition Fund is a tremendous partner, and their work will be invaluable to the recovery and ensuring that we reach the communities most in need. I applaud Enterprise and LISC for their remarkable work. This is a testament to what can be accomplished when philanthropy, private partners, nonprofits, and government all come together for a common goal.”

 

“The New York City Acquisition Fund has been at the forefront of helping to meet the City’s most pressing affordable housing challenges for years,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “This change announced today means we can do more to meet our commitment to supporting M/WBEs and nonprofits doing this critical work.”

 

“We support this effort to increase access to opportunities and capital for M/WBEs particularly during this difficult time for the local NYC economy and M/WBEs,” said Maggie D. Austin, Senior Advisor and Director of the Mayor’s Office of M/WBEs. “We applaud Commissioner Carroll and the Fund partners for this timely and much-needed resource.”

 

“Advancing racial equity is a key strategic priority for Enterprise, and as we work to support nonprofits and BIPOC-led developers, we recognize the importance of investing in these mission-driven partners,” said Victoria Rowe-Barreca, Director of Capital Solutions and Partnerships, Enterprise Community Partners. “We are proud to partner with the City and LISC to ensure that the New York City Acquisition Fund is bolstering nonprofit and M/WBE developers to be part of the City’s ambitious affordable housing plan.”

 

“The NYC Acquisition Fund’s decision to channel funding toward M/WBE and nonprofit developers is a major step toward ensuring equitable access to capital and creating sustainable community wealth for Black and Brown New Yorkers,” said Valerie White, executive director of LISC NYC. “We look forward to working with our partners and communities across the five boroughs in 2021 to close the racial wealth gap and build back better.”

 

“The Supportive Housing Network of New York wholeheartedly supports the New York Acquisition Fund’s decision to lend exclusively to nonprofits and M/WBEs to develop supportive and affordable housing,” said Laura Mascuch, Executive Director, Supporting Housing Network of New York. “NYCAF is a vital resource for our member organizations in creating thousands of apartments for homeless New Yorkers and the Network fully endorses the primacy of nonprofits developing and owning supportive housing. We also applaud Commissioner Carroll’s leadership in having NYCAF focus on M/WBE ownership as a means of beginning to address systemic racial and gender inequity.” 

 

Established in 2006, the Fund offers flexible bridge loans to affordable housing developers to acquire vacant sites and occupied buildings and finance predevelopment work. The Fund is made possible through an innovative partnership between Enterprise and LISC, the City of New York, major commercial lending institutions, and leading foundations. Since launching, the Fund's lending volume has exceeded $530 million, generating 14,200 newly constructed or preserved affordable homes throughout the five boroughs.

STATE OF THE CITY PREVIEW: NEW YORK CITY INVESTS $38 MILLION IN NEW BIOTECH CENTERS

 Today, Mayor de Blasio announced four winners of infrastructure grants totaling $38 million as a part of LifeSci NYC, a $500 million commitment to help establish New York City as the public health capital of the world. Today’s awards will fund applied research and development (R&D) facilities at four of New York City’s leading scientific research institutions—Columbia University, Montefiore-Einstein, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, and Rockefeller University.

 

Each facility will be dedicated to facilitating partnerships between New York’s leading academic scientists, and biotech and pharmaceutical companies, with the ultimate goal of advancing innovative treatments for patients and growing the local industry.

 

“New York City has fought back COVID-19 by trusting science and working closely with our partners in the scientific community. That work is only just beginning,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “As we rebuild a fairer and better city, it’s time to make New York City a global leader in pandemic response. This city will stand with the life sciences in good times and bad, and I can’t wait to see what our world-class partners will create in the years to come.”

 

Today’s announcement complements recent City efforts to address pandemic response, including a vision to create to a local institution, tentatively called the Pandemic Response Institute (PRI), that will serve as a hub to prepare for and respond to future health emergencies in New York City. The City also launched the Pandemic Response Lab (PRL), a facility dedicated to processing COVID-19 tests within 24-48 hours for NYC Health + Hospitals.

 

"Public health will guide New York City's economic recovery; our city is only as healthy as its least healthy resident," said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. "This investment will strengthen New York City's life sciences ecosystem as an economic development engine and as an incubator of cutting-edge public health technologies and treatments."

 

“The winners of this important grant will help to keep New York City on the forefront of the life sciences industry,” said Deputy Mayor Melanie Hartzog. “Investments like these, in vital research and innovative strategies for growing our City’s life science infrastructure, are a key part of this Administration’s recovery agenda, helping create a smarter, healthier NYC, and laying the groundwork for related opportunity in the future.”

 

“The Applied Research and Development projects will provide quality jobs for New Yorkers, create more accessible biotech space, and support groundbreaking research and innovation -- all critical components of the City's LifeSci NYC initiative,” said James Patchett, President and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation. “These goals are vital to increasing access to public health resources and life-saving treatments for all New Yorkers. We’re thrilled these facilities will be a key addition to ensure early-stage technologies can be brought from academic labs to patients in need.”

 

Columbia University’s Therapeutic Validation Center will receive up to $9 million to establish research facilities dedicated to accelerating early-stage research into new start-ups. The Center will be located within Columbia University’s existing facilities and be open to scientists and entrepreneurs throughout the city, regardless of affiliation. The new Center will use advanced mass spectrometry imaging technology to create next-generation medicines that work by analyzing and orchestrating the behavior of individual cells in the human body to work in concert to eliminate disease. Columbia is in discussion with commercial partners about partnering on this initiative.

 

Montefiore Medicine, together with its medical school, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will launch the Einstein-Montefiore Biotechnology Accelerated Research Center (EMBARC) to establish a biomanufacturing operation focused on cell, gene, and antibody therapy production. This facility, supported with up to $13 million, will be located on Montefiore’s Einstein campus in Morris Park and be open to early stage and established companies in need of these scientific facilities.

 

New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) will be awarded up to $6.5 million to equip an expansion of its Research Institute located in West Midtown, enabling the translation of their research into new drugs and treatments ready for the clinic. The Institute’s expanded operations also allow further collaborations with local universities, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and technology organizations who look to bring innovative cell-based treatments to patients in need. The equipment, funded by the City, will increase NYSCF's cell production capacity, process-development abilities, and drug screening capabilities. The grant will also fund equipment for the NYSCF Research Institute clinical laboratory to further enable precision medicine approaches.

 

The Rockefeller University will receive up to $9 million to convert academic research labs into the Tri-Institutional Translational Center for Therapeutics, an incubator for commercial life sciences, which will serve as the first of its kind in the Upper East Side cluster of biomedical institutions. This new facility will also seek to convert the scientific potential of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weil Cornell Medicine into local high-growth companies.

 

"New York City boasts one of the world's largest concentrations of biomedical research universities," said Maria Gotsch, President and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City. “These translational research centers and incubators will play an important role in moving research from the academic lab to a commercial entity, where both products to improve human health and local jobs can be created. This investment by the City of New York is an important part of the overall plan to make New York a leading center of commercial life sciences.”

 

"We're now in the golden age of biology, where basic science knowledge and technology are growing faster than ever before, “said Senior Advisor Dr. Jay Varma. “NYC's investments in life sciences and therapeutics will ensure that the next great breakthroughs occur here, powered by the city's innovators and workers and creating the pathway for NYC to be the public health capital of the world.

 

“We are grateful to Mayor de Blasio and the NYCEDC staff for supporting our vision to create a Center that leverages powerful new technologies for designing next generation medicines. We anticipate that the Center will launch multiple life science companies in NYC that create transformational medicines to change the landscape of treatment for COVID-19 and other human maladies,” said Dr. Brent Stockwell, Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry at Columbia University.

 

“We must accelerate both the pace and success rate of developing new and better treatments for patients, and to do so it is essential for research scientists and companies to perform end-to-end drug screening on the human cells that are actually affected by the diseases we are trying to cure,” said NYSCF founder and CEO Susan L. Solomon. “This new equipment will enable us to realize this opportunity and execute all aspects of a drug screening program right in New York City at our Translational Stem Cell Research Facility, working in close collaboration with scientists and clinicians from the City’s great institutions. Developing drugs and new treatments on human cells is critical and I am very excited that the City continues to make this a priority.”

 

“The combined research strengths of three world-leading biomedical institutions provides an unparalleled foundation to ensure the success of the new Tri-Institutional Translational Center for Therapeutics,” said Richard P. Lifton, President of Rockefeller University. “By consolidating existing collaborations and providing much-needed biotech incubator space into the bargain, this new center will focus the boldest biomedical science in the world on solving today’s most challenging medical problems – while also growing the fast-emerging biotech sector in New York City.”

 

“The investments announced today further cement New York City’s place as an innovation hub for life sciences. The commitment by New York City and the collaboration by the world-class institutions receiving the grants will enhance opportunities for entrepreneurs to found high-growth companies that develop important therapeutics” said Jennifer Hawks Bland, CEO of NewYorkBIO, the leading association representing the life science industry in New York. “By providing support to academic researchers, LifeSci NYC is building on the promise of prior investments and will allow New York to accelerate the development of treatments and cures that benefit the world.”

 

“Since it was founded in 1953, Montefiore Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs, showing why we are ‘the Borough of Universities’,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “This grant allows Montefiore Albert Einstein College of Medicine to continue doing cutting-edge research, in life sciences and healthcare, as well as provide office space for companies looking to be headquartered right here in The Bronx.”

Launched in 2016, LifeSci NYC is the City of New York’s $500 million dollar commitment to establish New York City as a global leader in the commercial life sciences. LifeSci NYC’s investments span three areas—connecting research to industry, unlocking space for life sciences growth, and building a diverse pipeline of industry talent in New York City. Since 2016, LifeSci NYC has partnered with BioLabs@NYULangone to activate the City’s largest wet-lab incubator, launched an annual summer internship for undergraduates and graduate students interested in life sciences careers, and partnered with Deerfield Management and King Street Properties to develop a total of more than 500,000 square feet of new lab space, located at 345 Park Avenue South and 48-15 Court Square respectively. To learn more about LifeSci NYC, visit lifesci.nyc.

  

Bronx Democratic Party - Ranked Choice Voting Info Session

 

Dear friends,

Please join us on Tuesday, January 26 at 6 pm for an information session on Ranked Choice Voting. Please use the link below to register, and I encourage you all to forward this flyer to anyone interested.

https://bit.ly/3iFBG4r

Best,

The Bronx Democratic Party

Statement From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on National Guard Helicopter Crash in Mendon That Killed Three Service Members

 

Directs Flags on All State Buildings Lowered to Half-Staff Tomorrow

 "I am devastated by the news tonight of a New York Army National Guard helicopter crash in the Town of Mendon that killed three of New York's bravest during a training mission.

"National Guard members are our citizen soldiers who voluntarily serve and protect both here and abroad, and I extend prayers and condolences from all New Yorkers to the family, loved ones and fellow soldiers of these honorable heroes who we will never forget. 

"I am directing that flags on all State buildings be lowered to half-staff tomorrow in honor of and in tribute to these New Yorkers who dedicated their service to nation and state."  

President Biden’s Executive Orders Address Issues Attorney General James Sued Trump Administration Over

 

Multiple Executive Orders Signed, Including Those Protecting Census, Dreamers, and Against Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today celebrated multiple executive orders signed by President Joseph Biden hours after he was inaugurated as the 46^th president of the United States. The measures taken range from those affecting racial and social equity, civil rights, immigration, the climate crisis, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis, among other issues of national importance. Three of the executive orders, specifically, are aimed at issues raised in lawsuits Attorney General James led against the Trump Administration, including those affecting apportionment of representatives following the 2020 Decennial Census; the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.

“Over the last two years, my office stood up and fought the Trump Administration every time it tried to trample on the rights of New Yorkers and Americans across the country,” said Attorney General James. “We filed 76 lawsuits against an administration that was hostile towards women, immigrants, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, workers, and countless others. But, today, we can all breathe a sigh of relief now that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been sworn in as president and vice president of the United States. Within hours of taking the oath of office, President Biden showed decisive leadership and took action to protect young Dreamers, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and millions of others across the United States. This nation is a better and safer place tonight thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration.”

2020 Decennial Census

Last July, Attorney General James led a coalition of states, cities, and counties in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration after it announced it would leave millions of undocumented immigrants out of the apportionment base that followed the census count. The lawsuit sought to stop the Trump Administration from violating the longstanding constitutional and statutory requirements to count the “whole number of persons” residing in each state for apportionment, without regard to immigration status. Multiple legal actions followed the suit. Attorney General James also previously led the filing of a multitude of other legal actions against the Trump Administration on the census, including one that led to a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Biden today signed an executive order rescinding a Trump Administration memorandum that sought to unlawfully leave undocumented immigrants out of the apportionment base following the census.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Last August, Attorney General James led a coalition of 17 attorneys general from the around the nation in filing an amended lawsuit against the Trump Administration for threatening more than 700,000 Dreamers currently registered for the DACA program with deportation. DACA is an Obama era policy that has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people to live, study, and work in the United States, and to become stable and even more productive members of their communities, without fear that they could be arrested and placed in deportation proceedings at any moment. Multiple legal actions followed the suit. Attorney General James also previously led the filing of a multitude of other legal actions against the Trump Administration related to DACA, including one that led to a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Biden today signed an executive order rescinding the Trump Administration policy that threatened these 700,000 young people with deportation.

Protecting the LGBTQ+ Community from Discrimination

Last July, Attorney General James led a coalition of 23 attorneys general from around the nation in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for introducing a rule that would make it easier for health care providers and insurance companies to discriminate against certain vulnerable and protected classes of Americans. The rule emboldened providers and insurers to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals, those with limited English proficiency, and women, among others, by stripping express protections for these groups in HHS regulations that implement Section 1557 — or the nondiscrimination provision — of the ACA. Additional legal actions followed the suit.

President Biden today signed an executive order rescinding the Trump Administration rule that threatened LGBTQ+ individuals.