Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) presented himself on Wednesday as a politician who will vote outside of his own party lines.
“I lean to the left on most social issues. But I vote on the right when it comes to our military,” Israel said at a meeting of the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset.
Israel, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said he voted with the Republicans on security issues because of his grandparents, who escaped persecution in Russia during World War I.
Israel said his grandparents persecution was one of the reasons he supported putting sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Crimea, unlike most Democrats.
“I do believe we need to put pressure on Putin,” he said. “I feel very strongly about human rights.”
Israel said his grandparents, Myron Kusnitsky and Rae Volovitz, are his “most influential legislative aides” and their immigration papers hang on the walls of his Washington D.C. office
“Whenever I have a tough vote to make, I look at their pictures and I ask them, ‘what would make you proud,’” he said.
Israel’s speech was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset as way for its members to “get to know their congressman,” the league’s program chair Allison White said.
In addition to Port Washington and Manhasset, the league’s members also includes residents of Great Neck, Roslyn and Queens, White said. Israel’s congressional district runs from Whitestone to Smithtown and includes Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Roslyn, New Hyde Park and Williston Park.
Israel, who is running for re-election this November, stressed throughout the presentation his credentials as a moderate.
Israel said that he has also disagreed with President Barack Obama, who in 2012 proposed to end tax cuts for people making over $250,000.
Obama said people making over that amount of money were considered rich.
But Israel said he did not believe that making $250,000 made someone “rich.”
“If you’re making $250,000 and live in Port Washington, Wisconsin, you’re rich,” Israel said. “If you’re making $250,000 and living in Port Washington, New York, then you’re not rich.”
The president even teased the congressman for his stance, Israel said.
“I walked into the Oval Office one day and the president said, ‘Oh here comes Mr. $250,000,” he said.
Stephen Labate and Grant Lally are both seeking the Republican and Conservative nominations to oppose Israel. Primary voters will go to the polls on June 24.
Israel also outlined a plan to make Long Island the “Alzheimer study capital of the country.”
Israel said he got the idea after meeting with a Long Island medical office that said they “figured out the science” for a Alzheimer’s vaccination, but did not have the money to develop it.
Israel said the disease, which causes a loss of cognitive thinking mostly in seniors, affects the nation’s economy, as well as the victim’s and their families.
“One of the most challenging issues of the economy is a hidden issue,” he said. “It’s Alzheimer’s.”
The disease will cost the country more than $200 billion in health care costs this year, Israel said. In 2050, that number will be $1.2 billion, he said.
“And yet our investment in Alzheimer’s research will remain flat at $570 million,” Israel said.
Israel said he is teaming up with Unlimited All Medical, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Winthrop-University Hospital and the Israeli government to place Alzheimer research centers on Long Island.
Israel also touted Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directives to decrease aircraft pollution.
Cuomo last month ordered the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to establish a community roundtable made up of Federal Aviation Administration officials, civic leaders and residents.
Cuomo also ordered the doubling of noise monitors near airports and the establishment of an Aviation Noise Office, which will hear complaints from residents on noise pollution from aircraft.
“We’re making some progress, but we have a long way to go,” he said.
Reach reporter Anthony O’Reilly by e-mail at aoreilly@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x203 or on Twitter @reilly_anthony. Also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
