Stories of funding cuts and calls for action
Keith Thompson stood before 700 people in the auditorium at the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie on March 19 and held up a photo of his father.
Both Thompson and his father were veterans. Both men struggled with PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
Thompson said his father had not been able to get the critical care he needed before his death years ago. He said that was on his mind during a recent visit to the Castle Point VA Medical Center in Wappingers Falls for a routine appointment. Thompson said that when the elevator door opened, all he saw was a darkened floor with empty desks.
Thompson was able to get the help he needed but asked what might have happened if a veteran undergoing a mental health crisis had been greeted with darkness.
Thompson was one of several Hudson Valley residents invited to speak at a town hall organized by Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon. The room was filled — many were turned away — a reflection of concerns about sweeping spending cuts and freezes put in place by the Trump administration. A few weeks earlier, a telephone town hall hosted by Ryan had 22,000 attendees.
On March 19, Rick Osofsky of Ronnybrook Farms, a third-generation dairy farm in Ancramdale, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture had awarded Ronnybrook $500,000 last year to build a solar power array to offset its monthly $10,000 electricity bill.
Like many federal grants, the money wasn’t awarded upfront. Ronnybrook had to build the array and be reimbursed. Osofsky said he took the grant award letter to a bank to obtain a loan but recently learned the reimbursement has been frozen. A $500,000 debt could threaten the existence of the farm, he said.
Christa Hines of Hudson River Housing described 48 people who may become homeless because of federal cuts. Josh Wojehowski, the Democratic supervisor for the Town of Cornwall, said that it was out $1.1 million for a sewage treatment plant because of cuts to earmarks.
In a Q&A with Ryan, residents expressed frustration not only with the Trump administration but with Democratic leaders.
“Where is the coordinated effort?” asked Richard Mardex, a retired teacher. “We need representatives who are going to be on our side in these things. I’m sure a lot of people here have given money to the party. Where is the ad campaign?”
Ryan said that he believed there was a national leadership vacuum. “I think it’s political, and I think it’s moral,” he said. “It frustrates me. I’m not a patient person. But we can agonize or we can organize.”
He noted the Republican majority in the House is only a few seats, and that Democrats need three Republican votes to block spending bills. He said Republicans in neighboring districts had won by slim margins and might bend to public pressure, an apparent reference to Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district includes Philipstown.
The event was not entirely peaceful. Shortly after it was announced that anyone disturbing the meeting would be asked to leave, protestors supporting Palestine began yelling at Ryan, accusing him of genocide. Ryan has voted to continue sending weapons and funding to Israel for use in its attacks on Gaza.
After the protesters were escorted out, Ryan called the disturbance “democracy in action” and called Israel’s breaking of a ceasefire agreement “unacceptable.”
“Every American has the right to do what those patriots just did,” he said. “That is courageous, that is something I myself have personally fought to defend and protect, and we all have to continue to hold onto that right.”
