Bill’s got an up-Hill fight
WASHINGTON — New York City is facing tough times on Capitol Hill.
The Republican takeover of the Senate in January, coupled with the GOP’s control of the House, will limit City Hall’s ability to get what it wants from Congress, lawmakers and lobbyists say.
Mayor de Blasio “can expect that the larger majority in the House and new majority in the Senate will adhere to the political dictum that all politics is local,” said Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island). “For them ‘local’ means red districts in rural and exurban areas, which means that the priorities of any mayor can expect to get short shrift.”
The Republicans’ ascension is occurring as de Blasio tries to lead Democratic mayors in pushing progressive policies Washington ignores. He’s also seeking to become a national spokesman for liberal Democrats who want the party to move leftward.
That won’t help New York with a Republican-led Congress, either, insiders say, although City Hall still has a friendly White House that can help in a myriad of small ways on regulations, policy and grant distribution.
A veteran lobbyist for New York, while acknowledging “challenges” in the new Congress, insisted it will be possible to work with Republicans on city priorities, including funding for transportation, affordable housing and economic development. But others offered a more dire outlook for the city, which long derived its political clout from the many House members its large population ensures.
Republican gains in the House since 2010 have left the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic delegation deeper in the minority than ever in living memory. “I can’t imagine any Republican giving Bill de Blasio a meeting, let alone any money,” said John Feehery, a Republican consultant and former aide to then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Il.). “That guy is a complete disaster.”
The only Republican from the city, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island), is a junior backbencher hobbled by a federal tax fraud indictment that has drained him of influence in the Capitol. Grimm (inset) had to give up a key committee seat due to his legal troubles.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who hopes to become the Democratic leader in the Senate one day, remains the most powerful advocate for city interests. But as the GOP takes control of the Senate next year, Schumer will be stripped of the influence over the legislative agenda that he’s had. He’ll be forced to deal with a new majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who makes no secret of a personal animus toward the New York Democrat.
The Republican takeover “will have a huge impact on the city,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan). “The only defense we’ll have is the ink in Obama’s veto pen.”
Maloney recalled dramatic cuts in aid to the city when Republicans last controlled the Congress, during the 1990s, and again during the start of George W. Bush’s presidency. But New York City had some influence because it had Republican mayors — first Rudy Giuliani, and then Michael Bloomberg.
“You don’t have the leverage you had before,” one New York legislator said.
Already, New York members have struggled to win an extension of a terrorism risk insurance program considered vital by real estate owners in Manhattan. The program is set to expire at month’s end after Schumer couldn’t cut a deal with House Republicans.
New York members now must worry about how to renew a health program for 9/11 first responders, which expires in 2016, under a Republican Congress.
Maloney cited an array of funding challenges, including money for the Second Avenue subway and high-speed rail for the East Coast.
“This would cause me great concern if I were (de Blasio),” she said. “The Republicans will cut aid to Democratic centers and we are a Democratic, urban center. The mayor and governor will have to work very hard. We in Congress will also have to work a lot harder."