From WAMC in Albany, this is the legislative gazette.
A weekly magazine about New York State government and politics, your host is David Castina,
with political commentary by Dr. Alan Shartock, political scientist and professor emeritus
at the University at Albany.
Statewide distribution for the legislative gazette is made possible by New York State United
teachers, representing professionals in education and healthcare, online at nysut.org.
And NISCASA, the New York State Coalition against Sexual Assault, working to support men and
their decisions to end sexual violence with the My Strength is not for hurting campaign
online at nyscasa.org.
Coming up this week, the governor and lawmakers agree on a budget, our political observer
Alan Shartock will share his thoughts on the politics of budget making and will bring
you to reports and recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War.
Those stories and more on the legislative gazette.
Even though state lawmakers announced a budget agreement on Wednesday of this week, they
spent the following day trying to pin down details and print the bills in time to be
through this weekend.
Governor Cuomo says he and the legislative leaders have reached an accord on many of the
budget issues and helped to be finished passing everything by Sunday.
The governor and the legislature agreed to a three year phase in of an increase in the
state's minimum wage to $9 an hour and a $650 million tax cut package, also to be
fully effective in three years.
The tax breaks targeted for businesses in the middle class include a phase out of a surcharge
on utilities and the distribution of $350 checks starting next year to every family with
children up to the age of 18.
Senate co-leader Jeff Klein, the head of a breakaway Democratic coalition that leads the
Senate along with Republicans says he's pleased with the deal.
To help finance the tax breaks, the governor and legislature agreed to extend for three
more years an income tax surcharge on millionaires, which brings in around $2 billion a year.
Governor Cuomo, who pledged not to raise any taxes in the budget, offered a rationale
for his action.
He says if you take all of the tax changes together, they represent a cut.
Well, some taxes go up.
Yes, and others go down.
And the net is they go down.
That's why it's a tax cut.
Well, why don't all the taxes go down?
Because you can't bring down all the taxes.
These groups had been lobbying against continuing the tax on the wealthy, while unions and other
advocates for the minimum wage say a three-year phase in is too long for working people to
wait.
Governor Cuomo, who earlier in the day, had said he was holding out for agreements on
a number of unrelated items, says for now those issues have not been agreed to and will
not be part of the budget bills.
They include decriminalizing the public possession of small amounts of marijuana in New York
City to end a problem with New York stop and frisk laws.
We'll continue those conversations.
They may or may not come to fruition.
Also not resolved, amending the states recently passed gun control laws to rescind a ban on
the sale of 10 bullet magazines.
The 10 bullet clips are set to stop being sold in New York on April 15th.
But Cuomo and legislative leaders say they may still permit the sales after all.
The gun laws passed in January limit the number of bullets in a magazine to seven, but
there are loopholes that allow 10 bullets at shooting ranges and in competitions.
The amendment could still impose the seven bullet limit, but permit the purchase of the 10
bullet magazines for use at shooting ranges and in sporting contests, says Cuomo.
We would say, for the law now says, you can have 10 bullets at a in the range or at a competition,
otherwise it's seven and you can have a magazine.
That does that.
Cuomo says he and leaders will try to reach agreements on the amendments to the gun law
and the other items before lawmakers finish passing the budget this weekend.
In Albany, I'm Karen DeWitt.
Alan, of course, the budget wrangling went on into early this week and, you know, Governor
Cuomo has gotten high marks for sort of making government work on time budgets and the
like.
And yet it still seems to be that same process, right, three men in a room.
Well, David, I have a reassessment of the old term three men in a room.
I think it's one man in a room and I think it's Andrew Cuomo.
He basically owns the Senate.
He does because, you know, you have to understand that Dean Skellows, the last thing in the world,
he wants to do it on his watch is to be Bo Abdel, you know, Bo Abdel is, he was the more.
He's the last sigh of the more as the more's were getting expelled from Spain.
And the Republicans are on the precipice of losing everything.
No matter how they draw their own districts, which is disgraceful and endemicatic, and
the same thing, of course, goes to the assembly, but the assembly has so many Democrats, it
doesn't really matter.
But they shouldn't be allowed to draw their own districts in their own image because
it is decidedly undemocratic.
Anyway, the point is there are just too few Republicans, no matter how you change it around
and how you shift it around and how you draw districts that look like alligators or
snakes or handbags, you just can't do it anymore.
So there are now more Democrats in the New York State Senate than there are Republicans
lucky for Skellows.
And to some degree for Cuomo, who apparently likes it this way, a Rump group of Democrats
took off and created their own thing, the independent Democratic conference IDC.
There's some people call them quote the traders because, you know, they basically, it's
quite clear they sold out for us, some committee chairmanship, some leadership perks and things
of that kind.
The day that Andrew Cuomo pulls the plug on all of that and brings the Democrats into
the room and says, hey, you guys, we've got to start behaving like one group and I won't
tolerate anything else is the day that Dean Skellows and the Republicans in New York
State lose the Senate.
Well, Cuomo doesn't want that.
That's clear because, you know, when the Democrats briefly had the Senate for two years,
they lost their minds basically.
They formed a circular firing squad and they fired at each other and the result was absolute
chaos and they never saw a program they didn't want to spend money on in the rest of it.
So that, of course, has made Cuomo very suspicious of them and I think he likes this arrangement.
So Skellows knows he has to do what the governor wants or the governor basically will kick
him out.
The governor probably should kick them out because he has plans to run for president
of the United States no matter what anybody says and how can you be a Democrat running
for president of the United States when you kept the Republicans in office in the New York
State Senate?
Doesn't make any sense to me and he certainly has done exactly that.
In any case, what we have now is a budget.
So this is a pretty good example of some of the Cuomo Republican instincts, conservative
instincts.
Instead of starting everybody at $9 an hour, which is what the assembly says it wanted
to do.
The governor says, okay, $9 an hour in terms of the minimum wage, which is hardly enough
to live on for anyone by the way, $9 an hour, okay, but only after three years will allow
that.
So it's going to take three years.
It's not indexed, which means they have to come back again every time to do this.
It should be, there should be an index so that as the money gets worth less, your minimum
wage goes up.
And so it really is an unattractive proposition.
And one of the things that I hate about the way the legislature functions is that you
know, you have a big show on the floor.
They have a secret language, which I call, you know, legislatories.
And nobody knows what it means.
Our first reading, second reading, lay it aside, you know, this is the stuff that needs
to be changed so that everybody, when they turn on the legislature on the television, which
everybody thought was the big cure, we'll just not flip the channels and understand what
is going on.
So the way that I see this is that you have conferences or caucuses, and that's where
the secret work goes on.
And that's where all the work goes on because the majority party sits there and does what
it has to do now.
There's been some progress, but most certainly deserves some credit for organizing the chaos
into something that is reasonable.
But on the other hand, we haven't begun to see a reform or true reform of the New York
State legislature.
Legislative Gazette, political observer Alan Charter.
You are listening to the Legislative Gazette, a program about New York State government and
politics.
I'm David Gistina.
New York State has a new agreement with the Nation of Israel aimed at increasing collaboration
on nanotechnology research.
Legislative Gazette's Dave Lucas was at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
Campus in Albany when the announcement was made and filed this report.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that his administration has signed a memorandum
of understanding with Israel that will expand technological and economic relations in nanotechnology,
which involves manipulating matter on an atomic scale.
New York Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy says the agreement outlines collaboration between
the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany and the Israeli-led innovation
and commercialization agency.
The first five years of this agreement are projected to generate as much as $3 billion.
That's billion with a B in investments and potentially thousands of R&D manufacturing
jobs in both in New York State and in Israel.
So it is a win-win for both here.
Israeli companies and universities will have access to CNSEs, state of the art, 300 millimeter
and 450 millimeter wafer infrastructure, facilities and resources as part of this partnership.
New York State and its state of Israel will be organizing joint seminars and workshops
to enhance cooperation between our corporate and academic entities.
The Israeli government is also preparing a publicity and marketing campaign to generate
interest and participation with their corporate sector as well as their academic community
across the state of Israel.
Duffy expects the agreement will serve to provide leveraging for a host of new international
research and development and commercialization projects envisioned by Governor Cuomo.
Israel's economic minister to North America, Nili Shaleff.
For CNSE, the program provides access to Israel's expertise in metrology and inspection
in the semiconductors industry as well as its excellence in other areas of nanotechnology.
In addition, the Israeli government will offer support to Israeli companies chosen to
collaborate with CNSE.
This agreement will focus on the following areas.
Cooperation between the New York and Israeli 450 consortia.
For us, this means participation in the ambitious plan to develop the full 450 production line.
Matchmaking between companies establish a mutually beneficial research and development program
for CNSE's companies and Israeli companies that will hopefully result in prosperous,
long-term and fruitful relationship, creating new products and new jobs, and establishing
academic elaborations.
CNSE Senior Vice President and CEO Dr. Elaine Caliero says the agreement will provide exciting
career and economic opportunities for individuals and companies across the state.
There's going to be a significant economic impact in the region with Israeli companies coming
in, locating here, investing here, and not a single dollar of tax payers' money going
into it.
Caliero and Lieutenant Governor Duffy also addressed questions about an associated press
report published last week that reported SUNY was considering splitting the nano-college
off from UAlbany, dismissing the story.
What happens down the road, I'll leave it up to Dr. Carros and the governor and SUNY
to come with that decision.
But if that were ever happened, that would be announced at some point.
At the CNSE campus in Albany, I'm Dave Lucas.
When soldiers return from overseas tours to places like Afghanistan and Iraq, many must
deal with medical or psychological issues.
Ten years after the beginning of the war in Iraq, veterans are facing increasing challenges
at home.
Two veterans, medical centers are serving up state New York and Vermont with a variety of
services.
More now from the legislative gazettes path, Bradley.
Veterans in New York and Vermont can turn to two veterans medical centers in the region
for help after they return from the war zone.
The White River Junction VA Medical Center provides services in Vermont and the four
contiguous counties in New Hampshire, special assistant to the director Andy LaCasse,
says returning veterans receive a variety of services.
When they come back, it's just not what you hear over and over is the need for PTSD counseling,
post-traumatic stress disorder.
For the newer term that you're hearing is TBI, traumatic brain injury.
We have those.
With the new war fighting capabilities, technology has increased the chances of young men and
women getting those kind of medical issues.
We still see a lot of core morbidities.
When they're out, they're being very physical.
They may have some injury in connection with part of their task force.
Yes, we're treating for mental health issues, but we're also looking at the whole
person.
The VA does a great job of screening for these other mental health issues and then any
potential substance abuse issues or anything like that.
We're trying to treat the whole person and that ends up being this polytrauma type care.
The Albany Stratten VA Medical Center in Albany, New York aids veterans from Kingston to
Canada and Vermont to Utica with five facilities across the region.
spokesman Peter Potter says a key challenge is getting the word out about what services
are available.
Things like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, those are symptoms that might not show for
several years.
You know, the services are there and they might not necessarily be needed right away, but
as time goes on, they might find that they need those services.
And it's a great idea to be seen at the VA, to establish your provider because as these
issues come up, we can treat as they become more prevalent.
We have vocational training here.
We have emergency financial services that we can provide veterans.
You know, it's not just about the health care that's available.
The White River Junction Facility hosts the executive director ship for the National Center
for Posttraumatic Stress.
Andy LaCasse credits Vietnam Veterans for teaching this generation what soldiers need post
battlefield.
Our Vietnam vets didn't get the services that we currently have available for the operation
enduring freedom, operation Iraq freedom, operation new dawn, the new war fighters.
The care now is available at the battlefield.
When we had that deployed force go out from Vermont, the Vietnam veteran stood up and said
look, this is what we didn't get.
You can't let this happen to the current war fighters.
This is what we didn't see when we returned and this is what you need to do in place for
them.
They improved our care.
For the legislative Gazette, I'm Pat Bradley.
You are listening to the legislative Gazette, a program about New York State government and
politics.
I'm David Gistina.
At least one peace organization got its start by coordinating efforts to end the war in
Iraq on the 10th anniversary of the start of that war and with its end that peace group
now directs its attention to more than just war.
The legislative Gazette's Allison Dunn takes a look at how the US peace movement is changing
its focus amid the changing face of war.
The initial meeting for United for Peace and Justice was in Washington, D.C. on October
25, 2002.
More than 70 peace and justice organizations agreed to form a new coalition to coordinate
efforts to end the war in Iraq.
Over the past 10 years, the organization grew to more than 1400 member groups around the
world working on a broad range of issues.
Michael McPherson is the national coordinator for United for Peace and Justice and a board
member of veterans for peace.
He says even though the Iraq war has ended, at least nominally, one of the reasons there
is still an anti-war movement is because of Afghanistan.
And also we want to change our foreign policy from being so militaristic, using wars as
a main means, which is what we saw in Iraq, to diplomacy and human needs here at home.
So yes, the movement is still continuing.
President Obama in his state of the Union last month announced the withdrawal of 34,000
troops from Afghanistan by around this time next year.
McPherson applaud the move, but says he would like to have heard that all troops were coming
home.
As for Iraq, though the occupation has ended, there is a way the peace movement draws
attention there.
The peace movement, one of the things we are doing or have to do is help people see the
damage that we caused and the suffering that continues in Iraq.
McPherson was a field artillery officer during the first Gulf War.
And in December of 2003, he returned to Iraq as part of a peace delegation.
He says his son joined the army and served one tour in Iraq beginning in 2005.
During the Iraq war, McPherson says the anti-war movement was front and center.
I think one thing during that time period, we were probably the forefront of any kind of
activism or resistance in the streets.
But today, because of the economy and maybe other things, specifically because of the
economy, a lot of activism that's taken place, like the Occupy movement, for example,
that's not as strong as it was, has been about the economy.
Another thing that's happening is we see the rise of the climate change movement to try
to deal with that.
So what the peace movement is doing now is relating to these movements that are growing and
becoming stronger.
He says peace activists are now lending their voice to these other movements, yet still
relating to them from an anti-war perspective, coming up them from the economics of war or
the environmental cost.
We ask people to look at how much money we've spent in compared to the rest of the world,
for example, we spend more than everybody else combined on our military.
Or when it comes to climate change, the US military is the largest polluter because with
all the equipment, tanks and trucks and everything.
So there's a lot of things that we can support other people's struggles as the peace movement.
Dr. Sidney Plotkin is a professor of political science at Vassar College in Pekipsi.
He says the nature of war and US militarism is changing in a way that renders the politics
of the anti-war movement more complex.
Instead of confronting the likelihood of major land wars, major invasions of the type
of soil in Iraq and Afghanistan, increasingly it looks like the US is going to be operating
militarily by sub-futures, that is through drones, special operations, activities, a variety
of secret wars which become much less obvious to the public, much less transparent, and in
that sense, much more difficult to confront in an integrated, effective way.
Though perhaps more difficult to target, United for Peace and Justice's McPherson says
the anti-war movement persists in opposing the use of drones.
Well, right now, of course, Afghanistan, Pakistan, every place that our foreign policy is
using drones.
We believe that drone policy is a bad policy because it kills a lot of civilians and
ends up creating for enemies.
And Vassar's Plotkin suggests that the peace movement may have traction with an unlikely
ally.
One of the things that's particularly interesting and provocative about the current moment
that changes the situation for the any war movement, the interesting ways is that the
Republican Party itself seems to be splitting over questions of defense policy.
We've had in the recent weeks, the Senate, or Rand Paul, in his famous so-abuster opposing
the President with respect to the use of drones, for example.
The Republican Party splits in ways that drive a wick with respect to rising defense budgets,
strong militaristic posture and national defense policy.
The any war movement may find interesting allies among the libertarian right.
He refers to U.S. Republican Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul.
With a new political ally or not, today United for Peace and Justice serves as a network
of hundreds of peace and justice organizations around the world.
Working to end war and oppression, shift resources toward human needs, protect the environment,
and promote sustainable alternatives.
For the Legislative Gazette, I'm Allison Dunn.
And that about does it for this week's show.
We had help from the New York State Public Radio Network.
Copies of the program are available, call 1-800-323-9262.
That's 1-800-323-9262.
This was for program number 1312, or just listen or podcast on the web at www.wamc.org.
And join us again next week at this same time for more news on New York State government
and politics.
For the Legislative Gazette, I'm David Guestina.
The New York State Coalition against Sexual Assault, working to support men in their
decisions to end sexual violence with the My Strength is not for hurting campaign online
at NYS-CASA.org.
