Long Island needs a leader right now, not a rubber stamp for the Trump administration’s irresponsible policies and erratic procedures. That’s not how a member of Congress should act.

Congressional District NY-01 in Suffolk County should have a representative who will demand fairness for his residents. Instead, we have Lee Zeldin, who is too busy covering for Donald Trump’s antics and failure to respond responsibly to this crisis.

Recently, Congress passed a 3rd stimulus package with support from both parties. But guess what? New York State got short-changed and Zeldin did nothing, despite two important facts:

• Our state has suffered more than any other state from the pandemic with 35% of confirmed Coronavirus cases and 42% of all the deaths in the US.  The Trump administration has ignored our plight and decided to allocate hospital aid based on old data, instead of basing it on the number of Coronavirus cases. This decision will bankrupt our hospitals and leave healthcare workers to do without.  It is a slap in the face to our heroes on the frontlines.
• New Yorkers have the highest costs of living nationally, particularly in the New York Metro region. Yet we face the same financial criteria for direct cash payments as people from other parts of the country with a much lower cost of living.

These two problems that New Yorkers are facing must be addressed in the next stimulus package. Lee Zeldin should be doing everything in his power to make sure that our state gets the relief it needs. But he won’t.  Instead, he will just raise his hand and vote however the leadership in his party tells him to. That’s unacceptable. A good member of Congress should fight for his constituents.

From Perry Gershon