Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, was criticized on Friday after she touted federal funding for hospitals in her state that came from legislation that she opposed last year.
In a press release on Wednesday, Stefanik announced that five hospitals in her district will receive $12.9 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some of the hospitals receiving funding include the Adirondack Medical Center, the Carthage Area Hospital, and the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center.
“This significant investment will help bolster rural hospitals in Upstate New York and the North Country after lost revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, help address the physician shortage, and ensure these hospitals can continue to meet our community’s healthcare needs,” Stefanik said.
Politico first reported Friday that these funds came from the American Rescue Plan, legislation proposed by President Joe Biden in 2021 to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not a single Republican member of Congress voted for the legislation, with members of the party saying it was too expensive and provided too much funding that was unrelated to the pandemic.
Alex Wong
“Shameless hypocrite:@RepStefanik is taking credit for @POTUS’s American Rescue Plan… AGAIN,” Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), wrote on Twitter on Friday, also linking to the Politico article.
“Elise Stefanik trying to take credit for money she voted against comes as no surprise to #NY21. Scammers gonna scam,” wrote Matt Castelli, a Democratic candidate challenging Stefanik this November in the midterm elections.
In response to a request for comment from Newsweek, Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik, wrote: “Congresswoman Stefanik is one of the most effective Members of Congress at delivering federal funding for her constituents, whether she is the minority or majority. She voted no against Pelosi’s radical spending bills because of Far Left provisions.”
“But she will always effectively deliver solutions and funds for her constituents, and then she will announce and promote them when they are delivered. The mainstream media is working overtime as stenographers for the desperate Democrats who are about to lose the majority,” DeGrasse continued.
Stefanik’s adviser also said that the Republican congresswoman’s position “is in stark contrast with her Downstate Democrat Matt Castelli opponent who supports each and every Biden-Pelosi trillion dollar spending package, which has fueled record inflation. Obviously the propagandists at Joe Biden’s White House put the call out to their leftist stenographer media allies to obsess over Elise Stefanik with 25 days until Election Day.”
He added: “Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are about to get shellacked by the red wave in November because of the crises they have created for the American people. The fact that the White House comms shop is spending their time attacking Elise Stefanik shows they are losing. The American people will fire Nancy Pelosi once and for all in 2022 and then will swiftly fire Joe Biden in 2024.”
Last month, Biden mocked Republicans who voted against the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed last November, but have touted projects that the bill is ultimately funding.
Speaking at a DNC meeting in Maryland, Biden said that “there are a lot more Republicans taking credit for that bill than actually voted for it. I see them out there.”
