John,

I first want to update you on my efforts to hold Governor Andrew Cuomo accountable for New York State’s failed nursing home policies during the coronavirus pandemic. Albany’s dangerous guidance led to preventable cases of coronavirus within our New York state nursing homes, and I think that is unacceptable!

Governor Cuomo continues to shamelessly try to blame President Trump and the CDC for the nursing home crisis, but here are the facts:

By forcing nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients, Cuomo ignored the CDC. The CDC was clear about only sending COVID-19 patients to facilities that could meet the standards for controlling the virus, such as adequate PPE.
The CDC also stated that if nursing homes could not follow these guidelines, then they must wait to accept COVID-19 patients until they are no longer a risk to spreading the virus. Cuomo's mandate forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients regardless of their ability to adhere to the CDC's guidelines.

In the face of scarce PPE and unsafe work environments in our nursing homes, what was Governor Cuomo’s response when asked by the press? “It’s not our job.”

Countless families who have lost parents in New York State nursing home facilities have written to me asking for answers, and I am committed to finding them. I will not dismiss their concerns, and I will not stop fighting on their behalf.

That’s why I joined my colleagues in the House to call for an independent federal investigation of this inexcusable tragedy. Former Governor Pataki has also publicly called for an investigation, and now countless Democrats are joining us because we all know how important it is to find out the truth for our families. This is now a bipartisan call for accountability because every single New York family deserves an answer!

How has Governor Cuomo responded? By smearing me in the press! It’s SHAMEFUL.

I first ran for Congress to focus on Real Results and to stop these partisan games in Washington. I was just proudly named within the top 5% of the most bipartisan members of Congress. That’s why, just this week, I fought for and delivered $21 million to Glens Falls Hospital and $108,000 to our local Irongate Family Practice in Glens Falls. I have also advocated tirelessly on behalf of all of our local businesses because I know how much they are hurting right now.

But now that I’m running for re-election, the Democrats are using any excuse to attack me. The more I speak up, the more they viciously attack. Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo is one of my opponent’s top supporters. Tedra Cobb was a Cuomo political appointee, and now she’s running her campaign off of his money. They will stop at nothing to try to flip this seat from red to blue!

Please, I need your help! I want to keep fighting for you in Congress and putting a STOP to these shameful partisan games. But we need to double our resources if we want to continue to stay the course and expose and defeat Cuomo's political machine powering my opponent’s campaign. Please chip in today to help us get our message out there. Even a few dollars goes a long way!

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I promise to always put the North Country first, and I’m so grateful for any help that you can give to help put an end to the Democrats’ smear campaigns against me.

Thank you for your support,

Elise Stefanik

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