October 1, 2018                                                                by Jacquelyn Gavron and Amy Turner

You deserve the facts about your representative, but you won’t get them from Lee Zeldin. Here’s the truth about his record.

 OPPOSES GUN SAFETY

• After Parkland, Zeldin said, “This tragedy could have and should’ve been prevented.” But he voted against bills to prevent them—background checks and assault rifle ban.
• Zeldin’s received $61,181 from the NRA, more than any NY rep. No wonder he co-sponsored its pet “concealed carry” act overriding our laws and letting out-of-state guns flow into NY.
• Zeldin voted against a bill banning firearms in airports and prohibiting terrorists on the FBI’s no-fly list to buy guns in the U.S.

ANTI-LGBTQ

• Zeldin voted against preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
• Said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman and voted against the Marriage Equality Act of New York
• Supported Trump’s rescinding Obama’s rule on transgender bathroom use and all but said he supported Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military.

 DISHONORS VETERANS

• Zeldin’s vote to repeal the ACA would leave 340,000 veterans covered by the Medicaid expansion without any health care coverage.
• Did little to address equipment and infrastructure issues at Northport VA Medical Center, which serves approximately 30,000 of the 130,000 veterans on L.I.
• Zeldin received $20,000 from Koch Industries, which has been funding VA privatization PACS including Concerned Veterans for America.

ETHICAL LAPSES

• Zeldin was sworn in to the House on Jan. 6, 2015. That same day, he voted to limit the power of the House and Senate ethics committees to investigate members.
• Zeldin repeatedly voted against investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election–
• Although use of private jets for routine travel violates federal rules, Zeldin voted against protecting whistleblowers who disclose on improper use of aircrafts by government officials.

ANTI-IMMIGRATION

• Supported Trump’s repeal of the DACA, or Dream Act, which protected from deportation those brought to the U.S. as children
• Defended Trump’s comment about immigrants from “shithole countries” and voted to require state/local governments to comply with ICE requests to detain undocumented immigrants
• Voted to block federal funding for states and localities with “sanctuary” laws on immigration.