Every month, WSN checks in with New York congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who brings us up to date on the latest developments in the House of Representatives.
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Q: How do you feel about the House's decision to vote to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, PBS, NPR and other public programs?
A: I opposed the cutoff in funding to Planned Parenthood; it's a grievous step backward for hundreds of thousands of women who rely upon its clinics for health care.
I support public broadcasting and voted against cutting off federal funding. I think this kind of legislation that Republicans are pushing through is the opposite of what most Americans expected as a result of granting them the majority.
The overall impact of the Republicans' efforts to cut the budget in the remaining part of the current fiscal year will have an extraordinary impact — on women, particularly. Their proposed cuts are much too broad, on a too-narrow part of what's called the "discretionary" budget, and seem to be far too focused on their extreme agenda, rather than the job-creation pledges they made during the campaign.
Q: Governor Cuomo recently met with gay activists to push to legalize gay marriage. Do you think anything like this could happen on the national level?
A: I think it's only a matter of time — but that's not to say it's imminent or going to be easy. Those of us who support it — and I have, ever since my days on the City Council — must redouble our efforts to bring undecideds on the issue into the fold.
Q: You recently said you want hearings on hydrofracking. Why is this an important issue to you?
A: There are two important parts to the issue: the overall environmental effect of the process of drilling deep into the earth with chemicals and massive amounts of water to force out the natural gas, and what to do with the toxic wastewater that results. I'm especially concerned about such drilling in the crucial NYC watershed.
Along with my fellow N.Y. Representatives Nadler and Hinchey, I've asked for Congressional hearings on the effects of the process and I support a moratorium on drilling in the watershed.
