Regular Session - March 29, 2019
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 29, 2019
11 11:13 a.m.
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13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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16
17
18 SENATOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 Reverend Sonia Chambers, senior pastor of
10 Standard Bearer Ministries in Rosedale, will
11 deliver today's invocation.
12 Reverend Chambers.
13 REVEREND CHAMBERS: Good morning.
14 Can we bow our heads.
15 Father, we just thank You and we
16 just praise You for this time. Father, we thank
17 You for every legislative body here. Cover each
18 and every person, their families -- bring unity,
19 even now, in the name of Jesus.
20 Father, I thank You for covering
21 New York State. We thank You that wisdom is
22 being poured down on each and every man and each
23 and every woman. We thank You that bipartisan
24 lines can be connected. We thank You, O God,
25 that You're going to do something new in this
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1 house. We thank You, O God, that You're going to
2 do something perfect for Your will. I thank You,
3 O God, that You're taking care of the people and
4 You're taking care of the families, and
5 furthermore, You're taking care of New York.
6 We thank You that You're doing it
7 for Your glory. We thank You that You're doing
8 it for Your honor. And we thank You that each
9 and every person here will be blessed. I speak a
10 blessing over their lives, even now, in Jesus'
11 name. Amen.
12 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President, I
13 want to thank Reverend Chambers for being here,
14 and I want to ask that the courtesies of the
15 house be extended to her and her flock.
16 Thank you very much, sir.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Reading
18 of the Journal.
19 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
20 Thursday, March 28, 2019, the Senate met pursuant
21 to adjournment. The Journal of Wednesday,
22 March 27, 2019, was read and approved. On
23 motion, Senate adjourned.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Without
25 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
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1 Presentation of petitions.
2 Messages from the Assembly.
3 Messages from the Governor.
4 Reports of standing committees.
5 Reports of select committees.
6 Communications and reports from
7 state officers.
8 Motions and resolutions.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
11 on behalf of Senator Kennedy, on page 20 I offer
12 the following amendments to Calendar 347, Senate
13 Print 3657, and ask that said bill retain its
14 place on the Third Reading Calendar.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 amendments are received, and the bill shall
17 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please call on
19 Senator Griffo.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Griffo.
22 SENATOR GRIFFO: Mr. President, on
23 behalf of Senator Boyle, I submit the following
24 Senate Bill, 700, and ask that it be discharged
25 from its respective committee and recommitted
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1 with instructions to strike the enacting clause.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: It is
3 so ordered.
4 Senator Gianaris.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: I now move to
6 adopt the Resolution Calendar, with the exception
7 of Resolution 853.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All in
9 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, with
10 the exception of Resolution 853, please signify
11 by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
14 Opposed, nay.
15 (No response.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
17 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
18 Senator Gianaris.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we please
20 take up previously adopted Resolution 783, by
21 Senator Harckham, read that resolution in its
22 entirety, and recognize Senator Harckham.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
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1 Number 783, by Senator Harckham, recognizing
2 March 29, 2019, as Vietnam Veterans Day.
3 "WHEREAS, The State of New York
4 takes great pride in acknowledging days of
5 observance of significant historic events; and
6 "WHEREAS, March 29, 2019, has been
7 declared Vietnam Veterans Day; and
8 "WHEREAS, The United States carried
9 out its first combat mission against the
10 Viet Cong on January 12, 1962; in Operation
11 Chopper, United States Army pilots lifted more
12 than 1,000 South Vietnam service members over
13 jungle and underbrush to capture a National
14 Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon; and
15 "WHEREAS, The last American troops
16 left Vietnam on March 29, 1973; and
17 "WHEREAS, During the 11-year war,
18 Americans from different backgrounds, races, and
19 creeds banded together to fight against the
20 Viet Cong; and
21 "WHEREAS, More than 3 million
22 Americans served their country, and more than
23 58,000 sacrificed their lives; the names of those
24 lost are forever engraved in the black granite
25 Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and
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1 "WHEREAS, The Vietnam War era was a
2 tumultuous time in America; when our brave
3 service members returned home, often with
4 physical and emotional scars, the voices of
5 those who opposed the war sadly overcame those
6 who supported our troops; and
7 "WHEREAS, The State of New York
8 wishes to show its Vietnam veterans the respect
9 and appreciation they deserve, but did not always
10 get when they returned home; now, therefore, be
11 it
12 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
13 Body pause in its deliberations to recognize
14 March 29, 2019, as Vietnam Veterans Day, and to
15 thank our brave Vietnam veterans for their
16 honorable service to their country; and be it
17 further
18 "RESOLVED, that copies of this
19 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to
20 Vietnam veteran organizations."
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
22 Harckham on the resolution.
23 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 I also want to thank Senator Brooks
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1 for cosponsoring this important resolution.
2 I've spoken on this floor with pride
3 about the service of my father and my grandfather
4 in World War II and World War I. Those who
5 fought in World War II were called the "Greatest
6 Generation," and with good reason.
7 But there was another great
8 generation that didn't always get the accolades
9 that it deserved, and they came from places like
10 Peekskill and Carmel and Patterson and
11 Mount Kisco. And they went to a place called
12 Vietnam because their country asked them to.
13 When they were called to service, they went.
14 They went professionally, they went capably, they
15 fought hard, and they brought honor to themselves
16 and to their country. And yet when they came
17 back, their country did not always recognize the
18 sacrifices and the accomplishments that they
19 made.
20 And thankfully, as time has passed,
21 we've begun to recognize our veterans for their
22 incredible service. But when they came back,
23 they didn't stop serving, because they were there
24 for each other. They came back with physical
25 illnesses, they came back with wounds, they came
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1 back with psychological scars. And while the
2 rest of society was not necessarily focused on
3 their pain and their plight after their service,
4 they were. And they were there for each other,
5 and they continue to be there for each other.
6 For instance, in things like the
7 Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Program, which I'm proud to
8 say we in a bipartisan fashion have put back in
9 the budget. Just a valuable program of one vet
10 helping another vet.
11 And so today we gather here in a
12 bipartisan way to honor their service. We have
13 gentlemen here from Westchester and Putnam in my
14 district, but we have Vietnam veterans from all
15 our districts. So today I'm proud to honor
16 Karl Rhode, Arthur Hanley, James McCarthy,
17 John Mastromarino, Jim Martin, Salvatore
18 Bellanconi, Harry Sherblom, Joseph P. Reynolds,
19 and Frank Goderre, as this legislative body today
20 pauses to honor Vietnam veterans and we declare
21 this Vietnam Veterans Day.
22 So, Mr. President, I humbly ask that
23 you allow them all the privileges that this
24 chamber affords and all the respect from all of
25 the members of this esteemed body.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Brooks on the resolution.
3 SENATOR BROOKS: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 Today is Vietnam Veterans Day. This
6 war and the events that took place during this
7 war changed America. The war began when I was in
8 elementary school. When it was time to go to
9 college, the war was still going on. The war
10 began under President Kennedy by sending some
11 advisors. And over the course of the war, four
12 different presidents would serve as
13 commander-in-chief during this war.
14 During this time we would see the
15 assassination of a president of the United
16 States. We'd see the passage of a Civil Rights
17 Act. We'd see President Johnson elect not to
18 seek reelection because of the war. We'd see an
19 assassination of the civil rights leader Martin
20 Luther King, the assassination of a presidential
21 candidate and a Senator of this state, Robert
22 Kennedy. We'd see the election and the
23 resignation of Richard Nixon as president, and
24 we'd see the installation of Gerald Ford, the
25 first unelected president in our nation's
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1 history.
2 The war started with some troops
3 that were in Vietnam to serve as advisors. As
4 the war continued to grow and expand, the support
5 for the war was on decline. Vietnam was the
6 first war that ever came into our living rooms.
7 Every night we saw that war on television, we saw
8 the horrors of what war really was. The words
9 and the music of the day reflected the war and
10 the changing attitudes.
11 There was a line in one of the
12 songs, "You're old enough to kill but not old
13 enough to vote. You don't believe in war, but
14 what's that gun you're totin'?" Many felt that
15 our country was on the eve of destruction.
16 Protests across the nation grew. On colleges and
17 universities across the nation, protestors took
18 over campuses. In Ohio, National Guard units
19 that were called to restore order resulted in
20 four students being killed. The protests began
21 to focus beyond just the political leaders and
22 suddenly the members of the service were becoming
23 targets of the protests. Finally, after 11
24 years, more than 58,000 soldiers being lost, more
25 than 3 million individuals serving, President
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1 Ford returned the troops home. But when they
2 came home, they didn't have the welcome that
3 troops normally have. They didn't hear the
4 thank-yous that troops normally heard.
5 We're honored today to have veterans
6 of that war. These men, like those who took up
7 arms to free this nation and create this nation,
8 those who took up arms to maintain this as a
9 single nation, those that stormed the beaches on
10 D-Day were all heroes. These men that are here
11 in this room today -- and all the veterans of
12 Vietnam -- were heroes. But they never received
13 the welcome home they deserve.
14 They were called to service by this
15 nation, and they served admirably. The war was
16 one which the country became fed up with. But
17 these men, these men did what they were told to
18 do.
19 So today, to these men, we say
20 welcome home. We say thank you for your service.
21 May God bless each and every one of you and may
22 God bless the United States of America.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Mayer on the resolution.
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1 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
2 Mr. President. And it's my honor.
3 And I want to thank Senator Harckham
4 and Senator Brooks for bringing this resolution
5 to the floor today, but this really is a day to
6 honor you individually, as individuals who really
7 stepped up in a time of great conflict, went and
8 served our country, and came home in a time of
9 great conflict where you were not acknowledged
10 and recognized and thanked.
11 And today is another opportunity for
12 us to say we made a mistake when you came home.
13 Today we thank you in an official way on behalf
14 of the people of the State of New York. So many
15 of you came back to your communities and jumped
16 in and joined groups and participated and became
17 active members of your community, and we're so
18 appreciative. But others of your colleagues came
19 home and were unable to do that and had a lasting
20 pain and really the challenges of serving in
21 Vietnam had an impact on their lives forever.
22 So we have an obligation as members
23 of this body and as members of this country, one,
24 to celebrate and honor your contribution, to
25 thank you, and to make a lasting promise to those
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1 who could not make it when they came back that we
2 owe it to them to give them everything they need
3 in order to survive and thrive.
4 Today is a day for you. We honor
5 you. We appreciate your being here. I know
6 several of you are from my district. But
7 throughout New York State, from villages and
8 towns, from cities alike, people stepped up and
9 went. You were among them. We honor you, and we
10 appreciate your being here today.
11 Thank you very much.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Sanders on the resolution.
14 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 I want to thank Senator Harckham and
17 Senator Brooks for this.
18 I want to also thank all of the
19 vets. And to the Marines among you, I say Semper
20 Fi. Only one? We've got to work on that.
21 That's all right.
22 I was trained by many of this
23 generation -- I'm post-Vietnam. I was trained by
24 many of this generation, and I can attest that it
25 was some tough training that you guys had. You
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1 were very serious in it.
2 I also want to applaud the raw
3 courage that it took to do your duty, to get out
4 there and to just go from one world to another
5 world to -- you know, ours was not to question
6 why. We were just sent there, and whatever we
7 did -- raw courage.
8 I also want to say that in this
9 country there is room for dissent. That's part
10 of the reason why we fought. We wanted to make
11 sure that there could be room for dissent. But I
12 encourage people who want to dissent, take it up
13 with the politicians who send folk to these
14 places. Take it up with those guys. Don't take
15 it up with the troops. The troops, we just do
16 whatever we're ordered to do. We just go
17 wherever the government says that we should go.
18 So I encourage people who have
19 dissent, this day or other days, take it up with
20 whoever is sending the troops.
21 And I encourage us in this country
22 that -- we seem to love the troops, but we really
23 forget the veterans when they get back. We
24 really kind of -- they're on their own out here.
25 And we could do something, as we have.
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1 Now, this body is better than most,
2 and I applaud that on both sides of the aisle,
3 that when it comes to veterans, we are pretty
4 good in making sure that all of the needs that we
5 can think of are met. So I applaud all of us.
6 But I encourage the rest of the
7 nation that let's not forget that troops, God
8 willing, become veterans, and they have needs and
9 scars and things that they want to contribute.
10 So I applaud you all. I again
11 applaud those of us who have served. And I
12 applaud Senator Harckham and Senator Brooks for
13 bringing us here together. And Semper Fi again.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Robach on the resolution.
16 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
17 Mr. President.
18 Let me rise to support this
19 important resolution. I think any time we can
20 applaud, say thank you and recognize our
21 veterans, it's not only necessary but critically
22 important.
23 And I want to especially thank those
24 Vietnam veterans who today we honor who are here
25 in the chamber, and not only them but Vietnam
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1 veterans all across our state. And I am always
2 so proud to work with Chapter 20 out of Monroe
3 County, our Vietnam veterans chapter, which in
4 addition I thank them for their service, but have
5 been so active in creating a veterans court,
6 working on programs for homeless veterans, PTSD,
7 and lately taking up the mantle on the terrible
8 scourge we have where 22 veterans a day, of all
9 wars, are committing suicide.
10 So I thank you for what your past
11 service has been, you're men and women of your
12 era, and also what you continue to do today on
13 behalf of veterans. It's critically important.
14 And I want you to know, your efforts -- we just
15 don't thank you -- are inspiring to me to make
16 sure that we put the resources to help you do the
17 important job you do, to take care of the
18 veterans. Or, as my colleague Senator Sanders
19 said, sometimes we have to put our actions with
20 our words. But we thank you.
21 And I'll end on a very positive
22 note. Even though I think we got the whole
23 Vietnam thing wrong in terms of veterans
24 returning, I'm always so pleased whenever I'm in
25 a parade for any reason and the Chapter 20 honor
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1 guard goes by Vietnam veterans and the crowd
2 claps for them the loudest, because they know we
3 didn't get it right the first time.
4 But I'm glad we're getting it now.
5 And we thank you and all your colleagues for what
6 you've done and what you continue to do. God
7 bless you. And know it's greatly appreciated and
8 we're going to make sure that future generations
9 appreciate that also.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Serino on the resolution.
13 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 And it's so nice to see Karl and Art
16 and the other Vietnam veterans here today. I
17 thank you for coming.
18 You know, a lot of us here remember
19 Colonel Larkin, right? And every time he'd get
20 up and he'd speak so passionately and tell us his
21 stories, and he'd have tears in his eyes. And I
22 made a promise to him to always remind people
23 about the Honor Flight.
24 And I think, Karl and Art, you can
25 appreciate this, because just a couple of years
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1 ago they opened the Honor Flight to the Vietnam
2 veterans. And there wasn't a dry eye in the
3 airport. And I try to make it to every single
4 one. And I think it's been such a long time for
5 you guys to hear the thank you. And when you see
6 that at the airport, and the people that come
7 out, I think it's very important for you guys to
8 know that you have this community behind you.
9 And we thank you, and God bless all
10 of you for being here today. And God bless you
11 for your service. Thank you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Helming on the resolution.
14 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
15 Mr. President. I rise in support of this
16 resolution.
17 To our Vietnam veterans who are here
18 today, I honestly had no intention of rising to
19 speak on this resolution. My intention was to
20 come over, shake your hand and sincerely thank
21 you for your service to this great country of
22 ours. And to also apologize for the way you were
23 treated.
24 I find myself very, very conflicted
25 about a couple of things. One, we talk a lot
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1 about making sure that we continue to honor our
2 veterans, that we do everything that we can to
3 make up for the horrendous treatment that you
4 experienced as Vietnam veterans. And I am
5 thrilled today to hear from one of my colleagues
6 that the funding has been restored for the Dwyer
7 program.
8 But in my area that I represent, the
9 Dwyer program doesn't cover most of the area.
10 What does cover it is a program called the
11 Warrior Salute program. It provides
12 comprehensive services for veterans who are
13 experiencing PTSD, for veterans who are homeless.
14 It just -- it's a tremendous service. And this
15 body in the one-house budget cut the $200,000
16 that that program received from the State Senate
17 year after year.
18 To me, I think we could do better.
19 So many of the people, the recipients of the
20 Warrior Salute program, are Vietnam veterans. We
21 can do better. We can show that we stand for
22 these veterans, that we're not just paying lip
23 service in this body, that we're doing everything
24 we can. So it's my hope, my desperate hope that
25 that program is restored.
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1 I want to tell you that I'm being a
2 little bit selfish when I speak to you, too. My
3 son-in-law, right now, he's a proud member of the
4 U.S. Special Forces. He's on a mission. So I
5 want these services for the people who are
6 veterans. You need them.
7 I also want to keep them intact for
8 our men and women who are currently out there
9 fighting. Oftentimes we forget that we're still
10 a nation at war, that there are women and men who
11 are sacrificing their lives every single day.
12 I also want to bring up something
13 else that I heard recently that I've been trying
14 to ignore, but it's time to speak out about it.
15 I represent an area of the Finger Lakes. Seneca
16 Falls, the birthplace of women's rights, is
17 located in my district. And in Seneca Falls is
18 the National Women's Hall of Fame.
19 I don't know if you gentlemen have
20 heard, I don't know if my colleagues have heard,
21 but the Women's Hall of Fame has recently
22 announced that they are going to be inducting,
23 into the Hall of Fame, Jane Fonda.
24 I guess there's not too much I want
25 to say about that. But I want to offer to you,
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1 if you have thoughts on that, if you have
2 opinions on that, please let me know. Because
3 you can believe that I will be standing up for
4 our Vietnam veterans and will be adamantly
5 opposed to that, and I will carry your voices if
6 you'd like me to.
7 Thank you, Mr. President. I proudly
8 stand in support of this resolution in support of
9 our Vietnam veterans.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Bailey on the resolution.
12 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 I align myself with the comments of
15 all of my colleagues today. It is a great day in
16 this house when we can say that we are all of one
17 accord. We should be able to say that far more
18 often, I believe.
19 Senator Harckham and Senator Brooks,
20 thank you for bringing this resolution to the
21 floor. And to the brave veterans, thank you for
22 doing something that I could not imagine doing.
23 You see, I recognize my privileges in society. I
24 recognize that I have things that other people
25 don't have. I have abilities that are afforded
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1 to me because of folks like you. Because of
2 folks like you that did things that you may or
3 may not have wanted to do but were compelled to
4 do for the betterment of your country, for our
5 country.
6 And despite what you may think, you
7 make America great. You made America great by
8 your sacrifices. You see, people like me -- I'm
9 36 years old, I've learned about the Vietnam War
10 only through recollections of others, only
11 through pop culture, only through movies like
12 Dead Presidents, where you see the disparity and
13 the despair in Vietnam vets who come home and
14 can't find work, and you hear the songs like War,
15 by Edwin Starr, who sang "War, what is it good
16 for? Absolutely nothing."
17 And when you think about people like
18 you, who fought for me, I couldn't not stand up.
19 Because I've fought for things, but I've never
20 had to fight. You had to do it. And you put the
21 American flag, literally and figuratively, on
22 your backs. And any time I've spoken to a vet
23 from Vietnam, they can recall with crystal-clear
24 specificity about their service, about what they
25 did, about who they lost and where they were and
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1 what time it happened.
2 I can't imagine having to remember
3 things that you remember, for the sake of people
4 that -- that you've never even met. And I
5 daresay, Mr. President, the true test of
6 leadership in this house, for members and
7 nonmembers, for anybody within the sound of my
8 voice, is to think about what you're doing for
9 people that you'll never meet. That's
10 leadership. That's bravery.
11 I salute you today and any other
12 day. God bless you. God bless your service.
13 And I strongly support this resolution,
14 Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
16 Comrie on the resolution.
17 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 I rise to echo the comments of my
20 colleagues and thank the veterans for being here
21 today. I hope that your entire day here in
22 Albany is enjoyable. I want to thank them for
23 their service.
24 As Senator Bailey said, it's a
25 commitment that they have to show that they're
2211
1 true Americans, that they truly cared about this
2 country. They went to serve it because they had
3 to. It was before the draft ended, so they
4 didn't have a choice. But they wanted to serve
5 our country, they wanted to make sure that we had
6 a better life for all of us so that we could be
7 here today, so that America could be the country
8 that it truly aspires to be, a country that
9 serves all, that works for all, and that embraces
10 all.
11 So I just want to thank them for
12 their service. I can't speak to -- I would speak
13 to many things about this, because when I
14 finished high school, the draft ended. And I was
15 so happy that the draft ended, because I was a
16 big chicken. I was worried about going. I was
17 worried about having to serve. I saw all of the
18 news reports and the stories.
19 And it takes a special person to
20 want to go into battle, to know -- especially
21 with Vietnam, which was the first televised
22 war -- the horrors that you're going to go into,
23 but you want to serve this country and you want
24 to go. It takes a special person to do that.
25 So in my office we have regular
2212
1 veterans meetings every month. I hope that we
2 all, in our own way, are doing everything we can
3 to salute our veterans, to help them to find ways
4 to make sure that their quality of life is
5 everything that they deserve to be. Most of the
6 veterans I know, when they have come back to
7 their communities, they are active in their
8 community in service ways. They're not looking
9 for handouts, they're looking to try to be a real
10 part of their community.
11 So I want to salute all the veterans
12 here. I want to thank you. I know that you're
13 active in your communities also. And I would
14 hope that we learn from them, because they're
15 living examples of what people truly need to be:
16 Selfless, committed people that want to see a
17 better country.
18 Thank you, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Montgomery on the resolution.
21 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I rise to thank Senator Brooks and
24 Senator Harckham for this resolution and to join
25 you in celebrating the men of greatness who are
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1 in our house today, and want to say that
2 certainly as part of what hopefully we're making
3 up for, for the mistake that we made for not
4 absolutely welcoming in a very big way the men
5 and women who came back from Vietnam.
6 I have a brother who was a Vietnam
7 veteran -- who is a Vietnam veteran. And I just
8 remember I was not angry because my brother, when
9 he came home, it was the most wonderful, joyful
10 thing for certainly me but also certainly for
11 sure my mother and my family, because we were
12 happy that he was able to come home from Vietnam.
13 So I didn't have the same experience
14 of being angry. And I welcomed him home, and I
15 welcome you here today. And I also thank the
16 fact that I have in my district an organization
17 which was one of the first if not perhaps the
18 first organization of African-American veterans,
19 especially Vietnam veterans, founded by Job
20 Mashariki, who was also a Vietnam veteran.
21 So we share a lot in this room of
22 very, very important and special regard for you,
23 love for you.
24 And thank you, because you have
25 given us an opportunity to talk about how great
2214
1 America has been, is -- and to a very large
2 extent because of what you were willing to give
3 on our behalf.
4 So thank you, and God bless you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Jackson on the resolution.
7 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I rise in order to support my
10 colleagues Senator Harckham and Senator Brooks in
11 this resolution in honoring the veterans that are
12 here today. Understanding that around the
13 country, this is not only New York State but this
14 is Vietnam Veterans Day.
15 I am not a veteran. I was in
16 college when most of the activity was going on in
17 the war. And my draft number was 128. And the
18 last day of the draft, they reached up to I
19 believe number 125. So I was happy that I was
20 not called. I did not volunteer. And I don't
21 know, quite frankly, if I would have volunteered.
22 But I respect those that have
23 served, those that may have been injured and
24 those that sacrificed their ultimate life on
25 behalf of our country.
2215
1 One of the things that I've said --
2 and I'm a newbie, I'm a new Senator. I've only
3 been in the Senate three months. And I said to
4 my chief of staff, I want to make sure that at
5 least one of my staff members is a veteran. And
6 right now that member came on board approximately
7 a month ago. So I'm happy about that.
8 And anything that I can do to help
9 to support veterans who have served our country
10 and sacrificed, I will do, in order to help them
11 who served our country.
12 And I say to all of you, thank you
13 for serving. Just like I am serving in a
14 different capacity here in the New York State
15 Senate, trying to do what's best for our state.
16 So I thank you for your service, and I honor you
17 this afternoon.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
19 Gounardes on the resolution.
20 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 I can't match the eloquence that my
23 colleagues have spoken about this resolution on
24 behalf of our Vietnam veterans, especially
25 Senators Harckham and Brooks. But I rise today
2216
1 because I want to dedicate my vote and my support
2 of this resolution for one particular Vietnam
3 veteran who had a profound impact on my life, and
4 that is Mr. Jim.
5 Mr. Jim, you see, was my
6 scoutmaster, and he served two tours of duty in
7 Vietnam at a very young age. And then when he
8 returned back home, one of the first things he
9 did was he started our Boy Scout troop. And he
10 served as our scoutmaster for 40-plus years,
11 graduated more than 50 Eagle Scouts from its
12 ranks, myself being Number 46.
13 And I can stand here without a hint
14 of exaggeration or hyperbole and say I would not
15 be in this chamber today were it not for Mr. Jim
16 and his leadership and his guidance and his
17 mentorship and his ability to mold young boys
18 into young men -- all from lessons he learned
19 during his service and that he instilled in us
20 and imparted to us in his own deeply personal,
21 deeply stoic and incredibly -- incredible way.
22 He was a man of deep integrity.
23 You know, Mr. Jim is no longer with
24 us. We lost him about a year and a half ago.
25 And like so many times, we never get a chance to
2217
1 say thank you, we never get a chance to say
2 good-bye. And so I rise today to dedicate my
3 vote to Mr. Jim to thank him for what he has done
4 for me. And I'm using you as the vehicle by
5 which I can do that, so I want to thank you all
6 for your service, for what you've done for this
7 country, for what you've done for the people of
8 this country, and for who you are and who you
9 represent and the impact it's had on all of us,
10 young and old.
11 I'm a product of the 9/11
12 generation. You know, the wars in Afghanistan
13 and Iraq are the wars of my generation. And in
14 my youthful precociousness, I didn't fully
15 understand what it meant to go to war, what it
16 meant to sacrifice. And Mr. Jim taught me. And
17 Mr. Jim explained. And Mr. Jim opened my eyes.
18 So I thank him for that, and I thank
19 you for your service to our country.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Lanza on the resolution.
22 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 I also want to thank the sponsor for
25 bringing this resolution to the floor.
2218
1 You know, the reason why we
2 celebrate March 29th as Vietnam Veterans Day in
3 New York is because of a man by the name of
4 Lester Modelowitz, a Vietnam veteran from
5 Staten Island, a good friend to myself and
6 Senator Savino.
7 When I first arrived here in the
8 Senate, Lester Modelowitz came to me with the
9 idea of creating this day. After all, it was in
10 1973 on this day that President Nixon removed the
11 last troops from Vietnam and signed an executive
12 order that day making it Vietnam Recognition Day,
13 but only for that year.
14 And Lester thought, together with
15 the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter on
16 Staten Island, that we ought to recognize this
17 day every year. And to me it was a no-brainer.
18 I mean, who would not agree with that idea?
19 I brought the idea to Assemblyman
20 Matt Titone; he authored it in the Assembly. You
21 would think within minutes it would have passed
22 both houses. It didn't. That was just the
23 beginning of a multiyear effort to convince folks
24 across the political spectrum that it was time
25 that we stand up and recognize the mistake that
2219
1 had been made and that which we owe the men and
2 women who sacrificed in that conflict.
3 People who opposed it said: Andrew,
4 why do we need another day honoring veterans?
5 After all, we have Veterans Day, we have Memorial
6 Day, there are other opportunities throughout the
7 year. Do we really need another day? My answer,
8 of course, was: Absolutely, and here's why.
9 Because something different happened
10 to the Vietnam veterans. One of the shameful
11 chapters in American history. And it has been
12 pointed out here, they fought, they were sent --
13 as Senator Sanders said, they were sent overseas
14 to defend our liberty. And whether you agreed or
15 not with the conflict, they did their duty. In
16 fact, by the way, something you won't be taught
17 in school, they never lost a single battle. Not
18 a single battle was lost in Vietnam by the
19 American men and women who went there to fight
20 there.
21 And so we said, We've got to right
22 that wrong. And by righting the wrong, we do two
23 things. We express our gratitude to them. We
24 acknowledge wrong. But we also, we also say to
25 the world that we know when it's time to make
2220
1 amends. We know when it's time to address the
2 things that we've done that shouldn't have
3 happened, and to understand why they happened. A
4 lot of factors that contributed to that. But
5 clearly, you had warped Hollywood actors and
6 actresses, people in the media, you had phony
7 politicians, you had a misguided public -- all
8 conspired, all conspired to attack the very thing
9 which we should honor most in America.
10 And so they say we've learned from
11 it, but I'm here to tell you we've got to remain
12 vigilant, because those same -- those same
13 ignorant, petty forces will continue to exist
14 within human nature, unfortunately.
15 So we did it here in New York. And
16 then we worked with other states. Senator Savino
17 and I and Assemblyman Titone were contacted by a
18 number of legislative houses across America, and
19 every single year a couple of new states made
20 this the law. We lobbied the federal government
21 for six years to make it a national day of
22 recognition; we were unsuccessful.
23 But I'm happy to announce that on
24 March 28, 2017, President Trump signed the
25 Vietnam Veterans Recognition Act, which makes
2221
1 today a national day, every year, of recognition
2 for Vietnam veterans. And it ought to be that
3 way.
4 Fifty-seven thousand nine hundred
5 thirty-nine American soldiers' names are
6 inscribed on that wall in Washington, D.C.
7 Everyone here ought to go there and behold the
8 sacrifice, the sacrifice and the blood that was
9 spilt on our behalf.
10 So once again, as I do every year
11 and every day, I want to say thank you, Vietnam
12 veterans. Thank you for your sacrifices in
13 defense of the greatest nation the world has ever
14 known, the first nation on this earth conceived
15 and founded upon the idea of individual liberty,
16 which sits on the bedrock of freedom. The first
17 ever. We've got to make sure that light never,
18 never leaves this earth. And it will not as long
19 as there are men and women like the men and women
20 we call Vietnam veterans.
21 So I thank you on behalf of this
22 body, on behalf of my state, and on behalf of
23 this country. Thank you, and God bless you. And
24 as Senator Brooks said, something wasn't said to
25 you that should have been said then, and all
2222
1 these years later we need to keep saying it,
2 Senator Brooks: Welcome home, welcome home,
3 welcome home.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
5 Savino on the resolution.
6 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 First I want to completely associate
9 myself with the comments of Senator Lanza,
10 particularly with his recognition of our
11 Staten Islander Lester Modelowitz, who helped
12 make sure of the passage of the legislation here
13 in New York State establishing a Vietnam Veterans
14 Day. Lester is a proud Staten Islander and a
15 Vietnam vet and a good friend.
16 I want to thank also my colleagues
17 for bringing this resolution to the floor,
18 Senator Brooks and Senator Harckham, and all of
19 my colleagues for the recognition of the Vietnam
20 vets who are here. To you, I thank you for your
21 service.
22 And as I listen to Senator Brooks
23 talk about the time frame of the years of the
24 Vietnam War, I was much younger then, so I wasn't
25 a teenager or a college student, I was in grammar
2223
1 school. And I remember there was a national
2 campaign for younger kids, it was called the
3 Vietnam Bracelet. We all wore one. It was a
4 silver bracelet with the name of a Vietnam either
5 veteran or POW or an MIA. And we all
6 participated in praying for their recovery or for
7 them to come home.
8 Because we were looking at the
9 Vietnam veterans somewhat differently than
10 others. We saw them for what they were. They
11 were fighting a foreign land for the liberty and
12 the defense of our nation. We didn't see it as a
13 political effort, we saw them as soldiers that
14 had been taken from their home to go somewhere
15 else to defend America. That's how children saw
16 it. That's how I see it to this day.
17 To this day, Vietnam veterans still
18 struggle with the way they were treated when they
19 came home. And as Senator Lanza said and Senator
20 Brooks said, every opportunity we have to
21 apologize and to remind you that you are welcome
22 home, we should do so. So whether it's an action
23 taken here today, the National Day of
24 Recognition, or standing up alongside of you
25 every year when you remind us how many have still
2224
1 yet to come home.
2 There are still roughly 1350
3 prisoners of war in Vietnam that have yet to be
4 accounted for. Several more, 1500 or so, missing
5 in action who have not been found and returned
6 home. And we should not rest until everyone who
7 left here serving in the uniform of the
8 United States is returned home in one way, shape
9 or form. And we know the Vietnam veterans of
10 America will not rest until that happens.
11 And I personally want to thank
12 Vietnam vets for their efforts over the last two
13 years to help me convince the Governor to do
14 something that he didn't want to do in the
15 beginning, to add post-traumatic stress disorder
16 as a qualifying condition under the New York
17 State Compassionate Care Act, the medical
18 marijuana law. It was somewhat controversial,
19 and I know even within the veterans community.
20 But many of you stepped forward and said you're
21 still suffering 40 years beyond a war that ended.
22 And you were willing to come forward
23 and help change the law to make it easier for
24 people who are suffering, recognizing that
25 today's vets, the Iraq and Afghanistan vets, are
2225
1 as affected, sometimes even more so.
2 So again, thank you for your service
3 then. Thank you for your service to the
4 community now, to veterans organizations.
5 Welcome home, welcome home, welcome home.
6 Thank you, Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Antonacci on the resolution.
9 SENATOR ANTONACCI: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 Today's resolution brings back
12 memories of my dad's service in the military --
13 he was in the U.S. Navy -- but also my mentor, my
14 uncle Tony Nesci. And Tony Nesci, who is now
15 deceased, formulated the Veterans Memorials at
16 the New York State Fair on the New York State
17 fairgrounds, with the help of state government
18 and others.
19 I invite you to come to Syracuse
20 during the New York State Fair. Veterans Day at
21 the fair is the second Thursday. The first
22 sausage sandwich is on me. It's about the only
23 way I can really thank you, other than to say
24 thank you. But the ceremony that we conduct at
25 exactly 11 a.m. is a wonderful ceremony.
2226
1 And as we say, all gave some; some
2 gave all. And we also read a poem that talks
3 about how the veteran has affected all of our
4 lives. It is the veteran that gave us freedom of
5 speech, freedom of region, the ability to debate
6 in this great hall.
7 But I would love to have you come to
8 Syracuse. The way we honor all veterans, and in
9 particular Vietnam veterans, I think you'd be
10 very pleased with.
11 Thank you for your service.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Ortt on the resolution.
14 SENATOR ORTT: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 I rise today, first of all, to thank
17 Senator Harckham and Senator Brooks, my colleague
18 on the Veterans Committee and the chair.
19 But I rise from my own unique
20 perspective as a combat veteran of a different
21 conflict, the conflict in Afghanistan. And I
22 think about what it was like when I came home.
23 And I think about the reception at the airport, I
24 think about going to my city council meeting and
25 being welcomed back and being allowed to speak
2227
1 and being welcomed home in front of my fellow
2 neighbors and residents and family members.
3 Marching in a parade. I think about getting my
4 thank-a-vet card and being able to go to the
5 stores and get discounts at restaurants, at
6 Home Depot. And I think about -- basically, it
7 was -- it was you were like a rock star.
8 I think about the commercials on TV
9 and the movies about veterans and just this
10 feeling that veterans provided an invaluable
11 service to our country. And they do.
12 But I contrast that with how you
13 came back. You weren't a hero, you were a baby
14 killer. You weren't a hero, you were an enabler
15 of a country and a system and an administration
16 that many on the antiwar left crowd lumped in and
17 attacked. You were a problem. And we didn't
18 know how to deal with that problem when you came
19 back home.
20 I'm sure it was easy for some to
21 forget the 57,000-plus Americans who died over
22 there. And I think about, you know, every
23 military funeral, a flag is presented to the
24 family members. And it's presented with the
25 words "On behalf of a grateful nation." How
2228
1 hollow those words must have rung to many of
2 those families, because you returned to a nation
3 that seemed anything but grateful for your
4 service.
5 Now, the good news today, I think --
6 and this gives me hope, when you hear everyone
7 talking, that we can learn from those past
8 experiences. Not just feel bad, not just say
9 we're sorry, but actually learn from that
10 experience, to take something away and make sure
11 that it never happens again.
12 And that, to me, is your great
13 legacy that I want all of you to know and every
14 Vietnam veteran around the country to know, and
15 in the State of New York to know, that your
16 legacy to me is from my generation of veterans,
17 we got to come home to a very different welcome.
18 We got to come home and to be a part of a country
19 and a world that treats veterans and looks at our
20 veterans very differently, because you have made
21 a commitment that that would never happen to
22 another generation of veterans again.
23 And so on behalf of my generation of
24 veterans, I say thank you not only for your
25 service to our country, but thank you for what
2229
1 you have continued to do for veterans and to
2 remind people that while you can oppose a war or
3 a policy, you should never misconstrue that with
4 the men and women who give their lives and put
5 their lives on the line to defend this country.
6 Because some of you volunteered, like I did, but
7 some of you were drafted. And again, we want to
8 remember those who didn't come back at all, that
9 we could learn from their sacrifice and learn
10 from this experience.
11 So I thank you for your service. I
12 thank the sponsors for the resolution. I thank
13 all of my colleagues who have spoken today. And
14 I say thank you, welcome home.
15 Mr. President, thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Gianaris on the resolution.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 We often pause in this chamber to
21 recognize the sacrifices of our veterans and to
22 appreciate all that they've done for us, but the
23 Vietnam veterans are special, for many of the
24 reasons we've already heard from many of my
25 colleagues. Of course, the Vietnam War was the
2230
1 last time a draft was implemented in the
2 United States, which means so many of our
3 veterans served not necessarily by choice but by
4 a sense of obligation and duty to their country
5 and a sense of service to the United States.
6 And that service, unfortunately, was
7 not recognized as it should have after it had
8 concluded, as many have already indicated.
9 And so we recognize too that the
10 sacrifices made in the Vietnam War were not only
11 lives lost or physical or mental health, but also
12 a sacrifice of personal dignity so that the rest
13 of us can learn how to do it right. So as we
14 heard Senator Ortt say how we now appreciate in a
15 more appropriate way the service in the military
16 of Americans, we have learned that lesson because
17 of what all of you went through.
18 And for that I wanted to say that we
19 appreciate you and all you have done to make the
20 United States all it is. And I'm sure that
21 future generations of veterans also thank you for
22 suffering so that they could be appreciated
23 appropriately.
24 Thank you, Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2231
1 resolution was previously adopted on March 26th.
2 To our Vietnam veterans, I want to
3 welcome you on behalf of the Senate. As you
4 heard, we all thank you for your service to this
5 country. We extend to you all the privileges and
6 courtesies of this house. Welcome home. Please
7 rise and be recognized.
8 (Extended standing ovation.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
10 Gianaris.
11 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
12 at the request of Senator Harckham, that
13 resolution is open for cosponsorship.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
16 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
17 please notify the desk.
18 Senator Gianaris.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now
20 please take up Resolution 853, by Senator Thomas,
21 read that resolution in its entirety, and
22 recognize Senator Thomas.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
2232
1 Number 853, by Senator Thomas, celebrating Holi,
2 an ancient Hindu Spring Festival.
3 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
4 Legislative Body, in keeping with its
5 time-honored traditions, to recognize and pay
6 tribute to those events which foster ethnic
7 pride and enhance the profile of cultural
8 diversity which strengthens the fabric of the
9 communities of New York State; and
10 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
11 justly proud to celebrate Holi, an ancient Hindu
12 Spring Festival; and
13 "WHEREAS, Holi is an ancient Hindu
14 Spring Festival, also known as the Festival of
15 Colors, which celebrates fertility, color, love,
16 and the triumph of good over evil; and
17 "WHEREAS, The Festival signifies the
18 coming of spring, the joy of friendship, and
19 equality for all; and
20 "WHEREAS, The colored powders used
21 in Holi represent love, happiness, and the
22 freedom to live vibrantly, which are all
23 principles shared and promoted by the Caribbean
24 Equality Project (CEP); and
25 "WHEREAS, The origins of the
2233
1 festival can be found in various legends in Hindu
2 mythology, one of which tells the story of a
3 demon, Holika, and her brother, King
4 Hiranyakashipu; on the night before Holi,
5 bonfires are lit to signify the burning of Holika
6 and the victory of good over evil; and
7 "WHEREAS, This year, Holi begins on
8 Wednesday, March 20th and ends on Thursday,
9 March 21st; the timing of Holi depends on the
10 moon, meaning the date of the event can vary,
11 although it usually occurs in March to mark the
12 end of winter; and
13 "WHEREAS, It is the intent of this
14 Legislative Body to recognize and commend events
15 which symbolize the historical, social and
16 cultural development of this great state and
17 embody the spirit of the principles upon which
18 this nation was founded; now, therefore, be it
19 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
20 Body pause in its deliberations to celebrate
21 Holi, an ancient Hindu Spring Festival."
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Thomas on the resolution.
24 SENATOR THOMAS: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
2234
1 I rise to celebrate the Festival of
2 Holi as a member of the most diverse class of
3 Senators in this chamber at any point in New York
4 history. I'm also fully aware, as an immigrant,
5 I owe a lot to these veterans here for what they
6 have done to fight for me and for me to stand
7 here to celebrate a festival that happens
8 thousands of miles away.
9 Now let's get back to Holi. {In
10 Hindi.} That basically means I wish you all a
11 Happy Holi, from me and my family.
12 And we have special guests with us
13 in our chamber from my community to celebrate
14 with us all. I would like to introduce Ashok
15 Adikoppula, Elangovan Raman, Moideen Puthenchira,
16 Ved Shravah, Basavaraj Benki, Venu Gunji, Milan
17 Susan Babu, Paul Uppal, and Kalpesh Kathiriya.
18 Holi is one of the great festivals
19 of India, which is celebrated with great zeal,
20 zest and enthusiasm. It is also called the
21 Festival of Colors, during which people play with
22 colors and splash colors on each other. You may
23 have seen in this in your own constituencies and
24 wondered what it means.
25 This isn't a religious festival;
2235
1 instead, it marks the start of spring. It is
2 also a festival of compromise. This is the day
3 when someone you may have disagreed with in the
4 past year, throws some colors on you, hugs you,
5 and you all become friends.
6 As part of this festival today I
7 wanted to come around to my Republican
8 colleagues, throw some colors and put my arms
9 around you to become friends, but I was advised
10 against it. Maybe next time.
11 (Laughter.)
12 SENATOR THOMAS: Holi is also a
13 festival of harmony, where friends and relatives
14 get together in the evening or visit their
15 friends, family and neighbors and greet them with
16 colors and sweets. The mouth-watering delicacies
17 of Holi, like laddus, add a flavor to the season
18 of festivity. Don't worry, Senators and staff.
19 Everyone in this chamber gets a laddu today to
20 celebrate with us. People hug each other on Holi
21 and give a new beginning by forgetting all the
22 hatreds and sorrows.
23 As we take part in another yearly
24 tradition called the New York State budget, where
25 we are sure to have many disagreements, let us
2236
1 take a moment today to be kind to those who
2 disagree with us, give them a hug, and eat a
3 laddu.
4 Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Sanders on the resolution.
7 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 As the proud Senator of Southeast
10 Queens, I actually have the largest
11 Indo-Caribbean community, Richmond Hill and South
12 Ozone Park, so I'm very familiar.
13 One of the things I was not familiar
14 with was that -- you see this suit? This is not
15 what you go to the holiday in. I quickly learned
16 to my dismay and to my dry cleaner's joy that
17 this is the worst and last thing that you go in.
18 I can only tell you that I never
19 knew there were that many colors in the world,
20 because my suit had every single color. There
21 was not an area of my suit that was not colored.
22 I must admit that I -- I'm not even
23 sure if I was able to wear it ever again. So if
24 anyone wants to partake in such a holiday, can I
25 assure you, you do not want to wear your Sunday
2237
1 go-to-meeting clothes.
2 But the holiday was for aids for
3 good spirits. And when people were throwing
4 powder on me, I might not have had the best
5 spirits, I confess, but then they would hug me.
6 This was alarming. I didn't know what to do.
7 What do you do in a case like that? After I
8 guess the 12th powdering, I got into the spirit
9 of it and said the suit is gone, let me just
10 enjoy the moment.
11 So I have encouraged everyone -- in
12 fact if you want to participate with it, on
13 Sunday we're doing it in South Ozone Park, and I
14 encourage you to all come out. But I would not
15 wear those beautiful shoes and that nice tie. I
16 would come a little different.
17 So I'm glad that my friends and
18 neighbors are here. I'm glad that we are showing
19 more customs. This is part of the beautiful
20 mosaic that is America, a beautiful thing that
21 we're bringing in more customs and holidays from
22 all over and excellent people from all over.
23 So in the spirit of the season, I
24 want to say thank you for all that you have
25 brought up here. I'll even forgive you for the
2238
1 suit that I can never wear again. But I look
2 forward to being out there, and this time I want
3 to throw the chalk first. Thank you very much.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Persaud on the resolution.
7 SENATOR PERSAUD: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I rise today to thank Senator Thomas
10 for bringing this resolution to the floor. And
11 you may wonder why is she rising to speak on
12 Holi. I am someone who has celebrated Holi for
13 my entire life. Or as we call it in Guyana,
14 Phagwah. So to everyone, Happy Phagwah. Happy
15 Holi, Happy Phagwah.
16 And as Senator Sanders has said, if
17 you have not experienced it, I encourage everyone
18 to experience it just once in your life. I
19 remember going to Amsterdam one year, and my
20 mother and I are walking and I heard this noise,
21 and I'm like, What is that? What are they doing?
22 So we go around the corner. Lo and behold, they
23 were celebrating Holi. And what did I do? In
24 Amsterdam, the streets of Amsterdam, I
25 celebrated.
2239
1 That's what it's about. It's about
2 fun. It's about eliminating all the negative
3 from your life and participating in something
4 that's bringing joy to us.
5 So to everyone again, Happy Holi,
6 Happy Phagwah, and let's celebrate the joys in
7 our lives. Thank you all very much.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Comrie on the resolution.
10 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 I rise to thank Senator Thomas for
13 bringing this resolution to enlighten this
14 chamber about the joys of Holi or Phagwah, which
15 is also known as the Festival of Love.
16 Members keep claiming they have the
17 most whatever in their districts.
18 (Laughter.)
19 SENATOR COMRIE: But I want to
20 claim that I have a good representation also in
21 my district. And I want to share Senator
22 Sanders's example, because I went in a suit and
23 tie to the first Holi festival, and they were
24 waiting for me. So --
25 (Laughter.)
2240
1 SENATOR COMRIE: And I'm an easy
2 target, so that was a --
3 (Laughter.)
4 SENATOR COMRIE: It was a lot of
5 fun.
6 And, you know, one thing that's
7 great about this country is that when people come
8 here and they're showing us what their history
9 is, what their religions are, you know, what
10 their traditions are and that they can celebrate
11 it here in New York in a positive way, that they
12 can pass those traditions on to their children,
13 that their children can see living examples of it
14 happening within the community, and that we can
15 all embrace it, there's another testament to the
16 men who were just here that fought to preserve
17 this country so that people can now come here and
18 celebrate their traditions as well.
19 So Happy Holi, Happy Phagwah. And
20 I'm just glad that we can do these types of
21 things in a country that embraces diversity.
22 Thank you, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
24 question is on the resolution. All in favor
25 signify by saying aye.
2241
1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Opposed?
4 (No response.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 resolution is adopted.
7 To our guests, I welcome you on
8 behalf of the Senate. We extend to you the
9 courtesies and privileges of this house. Please
10 rise and be recognized.
11 (Standing ovation.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
15 Senator Thomas would like to open this resolution
16 for cosponsorship.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
19 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
20 please notify the desk.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now call
23 up previously adopted Resolution 678 by Senator
24 Ramos --
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Order
2242
1 in the chamber, please. Order in the chamber,
2 please.
3 Senator Gianaris.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Sorry,
5 Mr. President.
6 -- previously adopted Resolution
7 678, by Senator Ramos, read its title only, and
8 recognize Senator Ramos.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
12 678, by Senator Ramos, memorializing Governor
13 Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 31, 2019, as
14 Cesar Chavez Day in the State of New York.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
16 Ramos on the resolution.
17 SENATOR RAMOS: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 We do not have any federal holidays
20 that celebrate American Latinos in this country,
21 despite our numerous contributions since its
22 inception. Growing up Latino in this country is
23 hard. We rarely see our heroes in textbooks, and
24 we often see ourselves and our parents denigrated
25 in the news.
2243
1 We are rarely given the opportunity
2 to celebrate who we are and tell our own stories.
3 It is more important than ever that we uplift
4 those who have fought against the system of
5 supremacy that has colonized us, enslaved us,
6 tried to erase us from history, and continues to
7 exploit our labor every time there is a chance.
8 I'm proud to say that in this
9 chamber, that ends today. Mr. President, I rise
10 to celebrate one of the greatest Americans to
11 have ever lived. As we hear in the resolution,
12 Cesar Chavez worked tirelessly to organize
13 farmworkers using nonviolent tactics, to have
14 their work appropriately compensated and their
15 human rights recognized. That journey began many
16 decades ago, and his work isn't finished.
17 As more Latino Americans begin to
18 fill the halls of legislative bodies across the
19 country and in this state, we bring with us our
20 life experiences but, most importantly, the
21 innumerable sacrifices of our parents and our
22 ancestors who often come from countries that were
23 pillaged, only to come to this country to be
24 pillaged again every day.
25 It is our duty to ensure that our
2244
1 hardships are not endured by future generations.
2 In New York there is a Jim Crow-era law still on
3 our books that denies human beings, mostly black
4 and Latino taxpaying New Yorkers, parity with
5 nearly every other worker in this state.
6 Farmworkers in New York State do not have the
7 right to a day off or unemployment benefits or
8 overtime pay or the right to collectively
9 bargain. And that must change once and for all.
10 We know that the agricultural
11 industry, mostly family farms, have their
12 challenges, especially as corporations
13 increasingly exert their political influence to
14 take over the industry, and even as consumer
15 preferences change. As I've begun to tour
16 upstate New York, I have met farmers who are good
17 employers out of their own volition, and I have
18 met farmworkers whose living quarters are on the
19 orchards they work, meaning they breathe in
20 pesticides day in and day out.
21 I have heard stories of women
22 farmworkers raising their voices against
23 disparities in pay only to be fired for standing
24 up for themselves. I have met men and women who
25 toil relentlessly for the profit of others
2245
1 without much to show for themselves. In fact, I
2 asked one of the women I met what her plan for
3 retirement was. She laughed at me. And she told
4 me "you only leave farm work in very, very old
5 age, if you're sick or you're dead." {In
6 Spanish.}
7 This is New York in 2019. We can do
8 better. The fate of a worker's quality of life
9 should not be left to the fortune of finding a
10 good employer. No human being is disposable.
11 Their rights must be codified like everyone
12 else's. We can pass the Farmworker Fair Labor
13 Practices Act this session. We'll be holding
14 hearings across the state on the subject so we
15 can hear from every stakeholder. And I'd like to
16 thank my colleagues Senators Metzger, May and
17 Martinez for working with me.
18 It is always the right time to do
19 the right thing. It is always the right time to
20 recognize the humanity in others. It is always
21 right to grant people the respect and the dignity
22 that they inherently deserve.
23 As Cesar Chavez said himself: "We
24 draw our strength from the very despair in which
25 we have been forced to live. We shall endure."
2246
1 Sí, se puede.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Sanders on the resolution.
4 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 The Bible teaches us that we're
7 going to be judged not by how many important
8 friends we have or who's strong and who's rich,
9 but what have we done for the least among us.
10 And Cesar Chavez is a person who
11 stood out for doing for the least among us,
12 taking his life on the line over and over to help
13 organize folk who everyone had seemingly turned
14 their backs on.
15 Now, I -- this means a little
16 something to me more than most because my father
17 was a sharecropper. I come from this group of
18 people. Just as good as anybody else, with needs
19 for the opportunities of everyone else.
20 So absolutely we can't stop until we
21 find the last person in New York that doesn't
22 have equality of opportunity, that doesn't have
23 the opportunities. And if these are the
24 farmworkers, then we need to turn our attention
25 immediately to addressing this situation.
2247
1 Let's address it in a way that
2 doesn't have the farms go out of business, but I
3 believe that there is a way that we can find a
4 way to -- that everybody wants to ensure the
5 equality of opportunity, which is the thing that
6 makes America great, if we can ever get to it.
7 So having said those things, again,
8 I want to thank you for bringing this to the
9 floor. We must always continue to fight and
10 remember that an injury to one is an insult to
11 all of us. That we can't just say that we can
12 turn our backs on them and we'll eat the food but
13 we won't think about who's picking the food and
14 getting the food to us. That's a foolish thing
15 to do. Especially if they're getting sick in
16 your food? Not a good thing. Let's do something
17 about this.
18 Thank you for Chavez, bringing the
19 resolution. And thank him for looking out for
20 all of us.
21 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Jackson on the resolution.
24 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
2248
1 My colleagues, I rise in order to
2 support the resolution put forward by our
3 colleague Jessica Ramos honoring Cesar Chavez.
4 His birthday is two days from now, March 31st.
5 And also in support of the bill that
6 is sponsored by her, and which I am a cosponsor,
7 dealing with the farmworkers in New York State,
8 making sure that they have the opportunity to
9 have a day's rest, making sure that they have the
10 opportunity to receive overtime and a fair wage,
11 and making sure that the opportunity -- that
12 they, like other state employees, have an
13 opportunity to join a union. That's what it's
14 about: Basic respect and dignity for all.
15 I've said this before, and some
16 people don't like the analogy -- even machines
17 have to take a break or else they burn out. And
18 we're talking about not machines, we're talking
19 about human beings that have families, that have
20 issues and concerns with their health, mentally
21 and physically.
22 And so I stand today in support of
23 honoring Cesar Chavez for what he's done in order
24 to bring respect and dignity to farmworkers
25 across not only our country but the world, in
2249
1 order to move forward and to put the bill that's
2 in front of us, that's been in front of both the
3 Senate and Assembly for years. And hopefully,
4 God willing, we'll be able to move it this year
5 and pass it into law.
6 Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 resolution was previously adopted on March 14th.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Senator Ramos
11 would like to open up that resolution for
12 cosponsorship, Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
15 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
16 please notify the desk.
17 Senator Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
19 up the reading of the calendar.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 66,
23 Senate Print 783A, by Senator Breslin, an act to
24 amend the Economic Development Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2250
1 bill is high and will be laid aside for the day.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 328, Senate Print 41, by Senator Hoylman, an act
4 to amend the General Business Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
8 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
9 shall have become a law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
14 Hoylman to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 I rise to speak about this bill, to
18 explain that this legislation would give courts
19 the discretion to order some portion up to the
20 full amount of statutory fines or civil penalties
21 for state antitrust crimes to go to the Office of
22 Victim Services. So that means that fines that
23 are accrued in court over antitrust crimes can be
24 used for the victims of domestic violence, for
25 medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of
2251
1 earnings or support, counseling costs, crime
2 scene cleanups, the cost of domestic violence
3 shelters, loss of property and attorneys fees.
4 And I'm very grateful to my Assembly
5 sponsor, Assemblymember Englebright, for carrying
6 this legislation since the early 1990s and
7 pushing forward in a way that allowed its passage
8 in the other house. Unfortunately, it has never
9 been brought to the floor here in the Senate even
10 though it was 36 years ago, Mr. President, that a
11 judge attempted to use civil penalties from a
12 white-collar crime to go to the Office of Victim
13 Services.
14 Well, today we're correcting that
15 with this legislation and no longer will we be
16 blocking an attempt to help victims through the
17 Office of Victim Services. I vote aye.
18 Thank you, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
20 Senator Hoylman to be recorded in the
21 affirmative.
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar Number 328, those Senators recorded in
25 the negative are Senators Amedore, Antonacci,
2252
1 Jacobs, Jordan and O'Mara.
2 Ayes, 55. Nays, 5.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 329, Senate Print 745A, by Senator Montgomery, an
7 act to amend the Executive Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
16 Montgomery to explain her vote.
17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 I want to just thank the leaders and
20 my colleagues for bringing forth this
21 legislation. It's very important for so many of
22 us.
23 Many of my colleagues, especially
24 members on both sides of the aisle, especially
25 Republicans, have asked for their waterways to be
2253
1 designated as inland waterways for the express
2 purpose of being eligible to participate in the
3 program that this bill represents.
4 And so this legislation would allow
5 for community boards in the City of New York to
6 also be eligible to participate in this program.
7 It allows for local communities to receive a
8 grant that the state provides to help them with
9 funding for planning for what should happen on
10 the waterways in their communities.
11 And so with this, New York City will
12 be eligible, along with the other communities
13 around the State of New York, to participate.
14 Those of us who represent community boards with
15 waterfront land -- and several of us do in the
16 City of New York -- our community boards, which
17 is the citizens of the city, who are looking to
18 participate in the planning for their own
19 communities, the state would now be able to
20 assist them in doing that.
21 So I want to thank you, and I look
22 forward to this legislation becoming law this
23 session. Thank you. I vote aye.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Montgomery to be recorded in the affirmative.
2254
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar 329, those Senators voting in the
4 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Antonacci,
5 Boyle, Funke, Griffo, Helming, Jacobs, Jordan,
6 Little, O'Mara, Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Robach,
7 Serino, Seward and Tedisco.
8 Ayes, 43. Nays, 17.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 332, Senate Print 1403, by Senator Carlucci, an
13 act to amend the General Business Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar 332, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Antonacci,
2255
1 Boyle, Flanagan, Funke, Gallivan, Griffo,
2 Helming, Jacobs, Lanza, LaValle, Little, O'Mara,
3 Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Robach, Serino, Seward and
4 Tedisco.
5 Ayes, 40. Nays, 20.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 345, Senate Print 3537, by Senator Carlucci, an
10 act to amend the Tax Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 352, Senate Print 4543, by Senator Parker, an act
25 to amend the Executive Law.
2256
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Metzger to explain her vote.
10 SENATOR METZGER: I want to thank
11 Senator Parker for introducing this legislation.
12 If we want a better world for our
13 kids and for their kids, we have to address
14 climate change. And this is a great way for the
15 state to take steps in modeling where we have to
16 go.
17 I drive an electric car, a Chevy
18 Volt. I have a huge district that I get around.
19 But it's not just about electric cars, it's about
20 changing the way we do things -- carpooling,
21 telecommuting. There are various changes that we
22 have to make.
23 But the fact is that transportation
24 accounts for 42 percent of our greenhouse gas
25 emissions, and we've got to reduce those if we're
2257
1 going to address this threat.
2 Thank you very much.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
4 Metzger to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Senator Little to explain her vote.
6 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I certainly believe in a lot of the
9 conservation measures that Senator Metzger was
10 speaking of. But when I look at this bill and I
11 think about my district, I don't see anything in
12 here that accounts for rural areas. And my fear,
13 when it talks about limiting the number of miles
14 state workers could drive or limiting the number
15 of vehicles that state workers would have, I only
16 can think about the mileage that state workers
17 need -- think of the Comptroller's office and
18 audits that they're doing in the small towns in a
19 vast area. My Senate district alone is
20 6400 square miles.
21 I think education and working with
22 people is the best way to do it, but not through
23 this. My fear is that there would be limitations
24 on what could be done. We don't have subways, we
25 have limited bus service, and we have great
2258
1 distances. So therefore I vote no.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Little to be recorded in the negative.
4 Announce the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 352, those Senators voting in the
7 negative are Senators Akshar, Antonacci, Funke,
8 Griffo, Jordan, Lanza, Little, O'Mara, Ortt and
9 Ranzenhofer. Also Senator Tedisco.
10 Ayes, 49. Nays, 11.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
14 reading of today's calendar.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
16 is there any further business at the desk?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
18 is no further business at the desk.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: There will be an
20 immediate Democratic conference after session.
21 And I move to adjourn until Sunday,
22 March 31st, at 10:00 a.m., intervening days being
23 legislative days.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
25 is an immediate meeting of the Democratic
2259
1 Conference.
2 And on motion, the Senate stands
3 adjourned until Sunday, March 31st, at
4 10:00 a.m., intervening days being legislative
5 days.
6 (Whereupon, at 12:37 p.m., the
7 Senate adjourned.)
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