Faso decries racial hatred in area address
Kinderhook Republican does not mention Trump to Chamber of Commerce
Congressman John Faso said he was “distressed” to hear about the events that took place over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., and that it was important to reject the kind of philosophy that sows division and racial hatred.
“We live in a very polarized, very difficult political time,” Faso, R-Kinderhook, said Wednesday during an address to the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel. He said the nation needs to resist the tendency of polarization and not just focus on media that supports their views.
“It’s vitally important that we try to find common ground because the bottom line is we’re all Americans,” Faso said. He added that he was distressed to learn of the events in Charlottesville and
that it was “important to call it what it is” when people are so-called alt-right nationalists and neo-Nazis.
Faso said it is not the American way to sow division and racial hatred.
“It’s very important that all of us speak resoundingly in rejecting that kind of philosophy,” the congressman said.
Violent clashes broke out Saturday between white nationalists and counter protest or sin Charlottesville stemming from the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. During those clashes, Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a man ran his car into a crowd of counter-protestors, and several other people were injured.
Faso did not mention President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said there was “blame on both sides” for the violence.
In an email following the event, Faso said, “I unequivocally disagree with the president’s statements yesterday. Neo-Nazis and other hate groups have to be called out for what they are without attempting to draw some type of moral equivalence with others.”
Approximately 200 people attended Wednesday’s chamber breakfast, including Democrats Brian Flynn and Sue Sullivan who are among the field of candidates planning to challenge Faso during next year’s election for the 19th Congressional District.
Outside, a small group of protestors from the group Oblong Valley Indivisible held signs and dressed in costumes critical of Faso and what they said were his ties to farright, anti-government activists such as Robert and Rebekah Mercer and their organization, Reclaim New York.
Peter Greenough, a member of Oblong Valley Indivisible, said it is the group’s opinion that Reclaim New York is “nefarious” and has been using its money to undermine local governments by forcing them to undertake burdensome administrative tasks.
In other remarks to the chamber, Faso discussed the nation’s health care system, infrastructure, tax reform and the national debt.
On health care, Faso said there was “an effort to deal” with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that failed.
“What we must do now is to come up with bipartisan solutions that will try to address these issues,” Faso said. He said he joined the “Problem Solvers Group” in Congress that has been trying to come up with changes that will fix the health care system.
Faso said the group, made up of Republicans and Democrats, agreed the nation should keep premium support subsidies for people with lowincomes to help lower their deductibles and premiums, but also to change the employer-mandate threshold for providing health insurance from 50 to 500 employees. He said they also agreed to create more opportunities for reinsurance models that would protect insurers from extremely high insurance costs.
Faso also said the country needs to encourage private sector investment in infrastructure and make tax reform that is revenue neutral. He said the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world at 35 percent, while Trump wants to reduce it to 15 percent. Faso said it was likely the rate could be reduced to the low 20s.
“The tax system is a disincentive to investment and employment in the United States, but we’ve got great assets,” he said.
Following the event, Flynn said he felt it was “cynical” of Faso to say the nation needed bipartisan solutions to address healthcare after he strongly supported Trumpcare, which would have been devastating.
Flynn also said Faso’s biggest concern with property taxes was that they could drive high income earners out of the state.
“It wasn’t about the people in his district who are working class people whose incomes are shrinking,” Flynn said. He said the nation needs to encourage and invest in jobs and infrastructure.
The 19th Congressional District comprises all of Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego counties; most of Dutchess County; parts of Rensselaer and Montgomery counties; and a small piece of Broome County.