Western New York Politics
News and Opinion on Politics in Western New York and Elsewhere
Medicare Cuts in Western New York From PAYGO
- Senator Patty Murray raised the alarm over impending cuts to Medicare, which provides healthcare for seniors.
- The PAYGO (Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010) requires Congress to offset increases in the federal debt by either cutting spending or raising revenue.
- The House Republicans’ proposed budget will explode the federal debt and trigger PAYGO..
- Medicare cuts from PAYGO will automatically kick in if Congress doesn’t vote for a waiver
“Republicans are claiming they won’t cut Medicare, but their bill would do exactly that. They’re hoping the public doesn’t understand what PAYGO means. But let me be clear. Seniors will suffer if these cuts go through.”
— Senator Patty Murray, X (May 2025)
Medicare Cuts Without A Congressional Vote
The federal Medicare program is expected to face up to $45 billion in automatic spending cuts in 2026 as a result of the Pay-As-You-Go Act (PAYGO) unless Congress acts to waive the rule before the end of the year.
Medicare cuts from PAYGO would not affect direct Medicare benefits, but it would lower reimbursement rates for healthcare providers serving Medicare beneficiaries. The impact would be felt most acutely in areas of the country with large numbers of seniors and with hospitals, often in rural areas, that rely heavily on Medicare reimbursements, such as those in large parts of Western New York and the Southern Tier.
PAYGO cuts to Medicare would affect large swaths of Langworthy’s NY23rd district and Tenney’s NY24th district. Their constituents would suffer from PAYGO cuts, similar to the massive cuts House Republicans have proposed for Medicaid and food assistance cuts (SNAP).
PAYGO and How It Works
The Pay-As-You-Go Act, also known as PAYGO, was enacted in 2010 under President Barack Obama, to promote fiscal discipline. It requires new federal spending to be offset by either raising revenue or reducing spending.
However, here’s the problem: If there’s no offset – no increase in revenue or decrease in spending – PAYGO automatically goes into effect and cuts specific otherwise mandatory spending programs.
Medicare is one of the programs that is cut if the deficit brakes kick in. Social Security and Medicaid are exempt from PAYGO (although Medicaid is already being gutted in the House Budget bill).
According to the Congressional Budget Office, PAYGO would reduce Medicare spending by $45 billion in 2026, with the potential for up to $500 billion in cuts over the next decade.
If a PAYGO waiver is not passed, despite such waivers having been frequently passed by Congress in the past, Medicare cuts would take effect on January 1, 2026.
This would also add another nail to the coffin of Republican re-election hopes in the 2026 midterm elections.
How Western New York Representatives Voted on PAYGO
In 2010 when PAYGO became law, both Western New York’s Democratic House members – Rep. Brian Higgins and Rep. Louise Slaughter – voted in favor of the legislation. At the time, PAYGO was viewed as a “good thing” – a way to ensure that new federal spending did not add to the national debt.
Western New York Republicans at the time, Reps. Chris Lee and Tom Reed (who later resigned following allegations of sexual abuse) both voted against the measure.
Medicaid Is Also On The Chopping Block
In addition to the automatic Medicare cuts under PAYGO, the House Republican budget includes massive reductions to Medicaid. These proposed changes shift Medicaid costs to the states. Most, if not all, states will be unable to absorb the massive Medicaid cuts.
The House Republicans’ cuts to Medicaid include:
Requiring states to contribute at least 5% of the cost of Medicaid benefits, beginning in 2028, conveniently after Trump’s term ends..
Increasing the state share of administrative costs from 50% to 75%.
Implementing stricter eligibility verification and new work requirements (although most Medicaid recipients already work or can’t work). The more stringent verification requirements are a backdoor way of disenrolling people from Medicaid. That is, the reporting requirements are so onerous that many current recipients will not be able to meet the verification requirements.
If the House Republican proposals are enacted, the states will be pressured to fill the federal healthcare void. That’s the intent of House Republicans – to force states to make a Hobson’s choice (an illusion that options are available).
If a state fills the federal healthcare void by expanding state support for healthcare, Republicans will accuse Democrats of raising taxes, being business-unfriendly, and paying for undocumented immigrant healthcare. If a state chooses not to fill the federal healthcare void, then Republicans will blame Democrats, particularly in blue but not red states, for cutting healthcare.
What Medicare Cuts Mean for Local Healthcare Providers
Western New York has a higher-than-average population of residents aged 65 and older, most of whom rely on Medicare and some on Medicaid for their healthcare. Healthcare providers in the region, particularly those in rural and community-based clinics, depend on stable reimbursement rates to operate.
Potential impacts of the PAYGO-mandated cuts to Medicare and the Republican House budget cuts to Medicaid include:
Fewer healthcare providers – doctors, NP’s, PA’s – will be able to accept Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. The new, lower reimbursement rates mean healthcare providers and facilities will lose money every time they see a patient. That is not a sustainable economic model.
There will be long delays in services such as home healthcare and rehabilitation from the remaining providers.
Jobs will be cut at hospitals and long-term care facilities.
There will be financial strain on safety-net hospitals and rural providers. Some, such as the one in Westfield, will likely close.
Response times will increase, and people will die for lack of timely care.
Western New York's Congressmen
Morelle (D-NY25), who represents Rochester, and Kennedy (D-NY26), who represents Buffalo, both support waiving PAYGO to protect Medicare.
Langworthy (R-NY23), who represents Western New York and the Southern Tier, and Tenney (R-NY24), who represents the counties surrounding Lake Ontario, voted for the 2025 House budget bill that cuts Medicaid and triggers PAYGO Medicare reductions. Neither Langworthy nor Tenney has endorsed a PAYGO waiver to preserve Medicare.
If you think Congress is wrong about cutting Medicare, then reach out to your representative and express your concerns. If congressmen don’t receive pushback from their constituents on these proposals, they’ll move ahead with their plans to gut healthcare.
It’s easy to do. You can click on the link below for your congressman and share your thoughts with them.
Rep. Nick Langworthy (NY-23) – Republican
Clarence Office: 8201 Main St, Suite 13, Williamsville, NY 14221
Jamestown Office: 2-6 E Second St, Room 208, Jamestown, NY
Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24) – Republican
Lockport Office: 20 Pine Street, Lockport, NY 14094
Auburn Office: 71 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY 13021
Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25) – Democrat
Rochester Office: 3120 Federal Building, 100 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614
Rep. Tim Kennedy (NY-26) – Democrat
Buffalo Office: Larkin at Exchange Building, 726 Exchange Street, Suite 610, Buffalo, NY 14210
The Hidden Provisions in the Budget Bill Backed by Langworthy (R-NY23) and Tenney (R-NY24)
- While the 2025 budget reconciliation bill has justifiably garnered widespread criticism for gutting Medicaid to the tune of over $700 billion and cutting food assistance (SNAP) to children, it also conceals a number of lesser-known, but equally awful, provisions. These measures reshape everything from civil rights and education to environmental policy, immigration, and military spending, following the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 proposals.
Below is a look at these “hidden” parts of the budget bill and who stands to benefit.
Crippling Court Enforcement
The bill prohibits using federal funds to enforce court orders against executive branch officials found in contempt. This undermines the judiciary’s authority and essentially allows members of the executive branch to ignore legal accountability without consequence.
Who Benefits: Presidents and executive officials facing court scrutiny, especially those involved in politically sensitive investigations.
Eliminating the IRS Free File Program
This provision repeals the IRS’s Direct File program, a free government-run service that allowed taxpayers to file returns without cost. The bill pushes millions of taxpayers back toward fee-based private tax preparation services by removing this option.
Who Benefits: Companies like Intuit (TurboTax) and H&R Block.
Expanding Immigration Detention
The bill allocates an unprecedented $45 billion to build and operate new immigration jails, over 13 times ICE’s current budget. It also legalizes the indefinite detention of immigrant children and adds costly application fees: $3,500 for families trying to reunite with children, and $1,000 for asylum seekers.
Who Benefits: Private prison contractors and major Republican contributors such as CoreCivic and GEO Group.
Silencing Nonprofits
The bill grants the federal government sweeping authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits deemed ‘terrorist-supporting’—a vague and politically malleable classification just begging to be abused. For example, if Trump decides he’s been wronged by the Environmental Defense Fund, he could have it declared as “terrorist supporting” and have its tax-exempt status taken away.
Who Benefits: Political actors aiming to suppress opposition movements.
Blocking AI Regulation for 10 Years
This provision places a decade-long moratorium on state and local governments regulating AI or automated decision systems. It mandates the repeal of existing laws, stripping communities of their ability to oversee technologies that affect housing, employment, credit, and policing. It is a 180 degree turnaround from the federal government’s position that specific issues like education and reproductive rights belong to the states. It may have something to do with the hundreds of millions of dollars the tech billionaires contributed to Trump.
Who Benefits: Big Tech – think Jeff Bezos, Sergei Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk – all major Republican donors.
Estate Tax Windfall
Raises the estate tax exemption to $15 million for individuals and $30 million for couples, eliminating the estate tax for all but the wealthiest 0.08% of Americans. To be fair, a lot of this is inflation from the last time the dollar amounts were set.
Who Benefits: Multi-generational wealth holders and ultra-rich families. These are also the same individuals who have contributed significantly to the Republican Party.
Weakened Child Tax Credit
Although the child tax credit has been increased from $2,000 to $2,500 per child, eligibility thresholds have been tightened. Not all children will benefit. The bill prevents 4.5 million children from qualifying for benefits.
Children are denied benefits if their parents file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number.
ITINs are issued by the IRS to people who need to file taxes but aren’t eligible for a Social Security number—typically immigrants (including undocumented ones) who still work and pay taxes.
Even if a child is a U.S. citizen, they may still be denied tax benefits if their parents use an ITIN to file their taxes. This rule affects millions of mixed-status families, where the children are citizens but one or both parents are not.
Who Benefits: Anti-immigrant groups like the Heritage Foundation and the federal treasury..
School Voucher Subsidies
The bill provides $20 billion in tax credits for individuals who donate to voucher or private schools. Donors of appreciated stock avoid capital gains tax.
Who Benefits: Wealthy donors, private education corporations, and private schools.
Obamacare Subsidy Rollback
What it does: Premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act expire at the end of 2025, making insurance unaffordable for many.
Who Benefits: Private insurance companies and fiscal conservatives.
Gun Silencer Tax Repeal
What it does: Removes the $200 excise tax on gun silencers, which critics warn could endanger public safety. This will make it cheaper to buy a gun silencer so that people can’t hear gunshots. Gun suppressors would also defeat municipal software that is capable of locating gunfire.
Who benefits: Gun manufacturers and firearm rights groups.
Ban on Gender-Affirming Care via Medicaid
What it does:
The bill prohibits the use of Medicaid and CHIP funds for any form of gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries. It also strips gender-affirming procedures from the list of essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act.
Further, it codifies a binary, biological definition of sex, limiting legal recognition of transgender and intersex individuals.
Healthcare providers and civil rights organizations warn that this could deny medically necessary care to thousands, particularly to young people.
Who benefits: Anti-LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and political factions seeking to restrict transgender healthcare access.
Tax on Remittances
What it does: A 5% tax is imposed on all international money transfers.
Immigrant families who send money to loved ones in countries like Mexico, the Philippines, or Nigeria will face new, higher costs, decreasing the amount of support these families receive. This provision has been framed as a revenue-raising measure, but critics argue it is a punitive tax targeting immigrant labor.
Who benefits: Federal revenue collectors, at the expense of low-income immigrant families.
Changes to Federal Student Aid
What it does:
Ends Subsidized Federal Loans: Students will now accrue interest while still in school, significantly increasing debt burdens.
Tightens Pell Grant Access: Eligibility requirements are increased, limiting support for low-income students.
Expands “Workforce Pell Grants”: Redirects funding toward trade programs and vocational education.
Abolishes Gainful Employment Rules: For-profit schools are no longer required to demonstrate graduates’ job outcomes, opening the door to predatory practices. This will repeat the abuses of private training schools that took advantage of students, left them with worthless training, and a barrel full of debt. Think now bankrupt IT&T and Trump University.
Who benefits: For-profit educational institutions and career training firms.
Termination of Green Energy Tax Credits
What it does: Several key environmental tax credits set to last until 2032 will now expire in 2025. These include:
Commercial Clean Vehicles Credit
Residential Solar and Wind Energy Credit
Home Efficiency Improvement Credit
EV Charging Station Credit
This rollback will stall progress in reducing carbon emissions, as both individuals and companies face higher upfront costs for green upgrades. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere will increase. The average temperatures will increase. Antarctic glaciers will melt. Sea levels will rise, and coastal cities will flood.
Who benefits: Fossil fuel producers and utility conglomerates competing with renewables.
Expansion of Border Security and Deportation
What it does: A whopping $70 billion is allocated to expand border infrastructure and enforcement. Breakdown:
$46.5B for border wall construction
$5B for CBP facility upgrades
$4.1B to hire thousands of new agents
$2.7B for surveillance systems
$2B for processing centers and staff
$1B for AI-based border inspection tech
The goal is to increase deportation capacity to 1 million individuals annually.
Who benefits: Private contractors in surveillance and detention, and political platforms favoring mass deportation.
Creation of “Trump” Savings Accounts
What it does: Parents receive a $1,000 government-seeded savings account per child, with no income-based contribution caps. While marketed as a middle-class relief measure, most low-income families will unlikely have surplus funds to contribute and build wealth through these accounts.
Who benefits: Wealthier families who can fully capitalize on tax-deferred savings.
Increase in SALT Deduction Cap
What it does: The bill raises the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for households making under $500,000/year. While popular in high-tax states, it disproportionately benefits upper-income earners in urban regions. It will alleviate the balance of payments problem for many blue states, such as New York, that send more money to the federal government than they receive back. Currently, money from donor states is used to balance the budgets of mainly red “taker” states, such as Speaker Johnson’s Louisiana.
Who benefits: Taxpayers in states like New York, New Jersey, and California who itemize their deductions.
Empower the Treasury to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status
What it does: Grants the Treasury authority to revoke a nonprofit’s tax-exempt status if deemed “terrorist-supporting,” with minimal due process. Critics argue that this measure could be used against environmental groups, social justice nonprofits, or political dissenters.
Who benefits: Political figures aiming to silence adversaries or controversial grassroots movements.
Increased Defense Spending on Uncrewed Systems
What it does: The bill includes $150 billion in new defense funding, focused on autonomous military systems, including aerial drones, marine drones, surveillance AI, and cyber-attack infrastructure. This represents a significant investment in non-human combat systems.
Who benefits: Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and drone manufacturers.
Eliminate COVID-19 Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) Claims
What it does: This retroactively closes businesses’ eligibility to file or claim ERTC refunds related to pandemic-era payroll support. Many small and mid-sized businesses planned around this credit. Now they will face unexpected shortfalls.
Who benefits: Reduces federal spending obligations, but at the expense of business stability and recovery. Large businesses will benefit.
Act Now Because They Passed It While You Were Sleeping
This bill was passed in the dead of night, when the public was asleep. Many of its most dangerous provisions—targeting civil liberties, green energy, free speech, and basic healthcare—were never openly debated. They were slipped into hundreds of pages, passed quietly, and now threaten the rights and well-being of millions.
If any part of this bill disturbs you, raise your voice. Contact your representatives. Speak out.
The Republicans count on your ignorance of what they are doing and your silence.
Contact Your Western New York Representatives
Nick Langworthy (R- NY23)
Clarence: 8201 Main St, Suite 13, Williamsville, NY 14221 | (716) 547-6844
Jamestown: 2-6 E Second St, Room 208, Jamestown, NY 14701 | (716) 488-8111
Olean: 1 Bluebird Square, Olean, NY 14760 | (585) 543-5033
Corning: 89 W. Market Street, Corning, NY 14830 | (607) 377-3130
Website: https://langworthy.house.gov
Claudia Tenney (R- NY24)
Lockport: 169 Niagara Street, Lockport, NY 14094 | (716) 514-5130
Canandaigua: 2375 Rochester Rd, Suite 250, Canandaigua, NY 14424 | (585) 869-2060
Oswego: 46 E Bridge Street, Suite 102, Oswego, NY 13126 | (315) 236-7088
Watertown: 317 Washington Street, Suite 418, Watertown, NY 13601
Website: https://tenney.house.gov
Joseph Morelle (R-NY25)
Rochester: 255 East Avenue, Suite 150, Rochester, NY 14604 | (585) 232-4850
Website: https://morelle.house.gov
Tim Kennedy (R-NY26)
Buffalo: 726 Exchange Street, Suite 601, Buffalo, NY 14210 | (716) 852-3501
Niagara Falls: 800 Main Street, Suite 3C, Niagara Falls, NY 14301 | (716) 282-1274
Website: https://kennedy.house.gov
Posts Archive
NY24: Tenney Beats Fratto
Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-R24) Incumbent Claudia Tenney (R-NY24) easily defeated challenger Mario Fratto in the Republican primary on June 25, 2024. Tenney received 61.3% of the votes while Fratto received 38.7%, a margin of 22.6%. This marked the second time in two years that Tenney and Fratto competed for the
New Yorkers Overwhelmingly Support Reproductive Rights. These Western New York Congressmen Do Not
Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-R24) Rep. Nick Langworthy R-NY23 Today (June 24th) marks the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court depriving women of their reproductive rights, rights that had been in effect for 50 years. As we barrel toward the national elections where abortion rights will
DiPietro Mailer Disparages Primary Candidate Mitch Martin and Trump
A recent mailer to voters in the NYS 147th Assembly District (a cropped version of the heavily photoshopped image on the flier is shown below) refers to Republican primary candidate Mitch Martin’s past two bankruptcies and asks if he should be trusted with public funds. That’s a question for the
New York’s NY24th Rep. Claudia Tenney Meets Fratto in Republican Primary
Incumbent Claudia Tenney meets challenger Mario Fratto in a rancorous Republican primary
WNY Politician David DiPietro Is Coming For Your Rights and Your Money!!
Assemblyman DiPietro R-147 and AR15 Western New York Politician David DiPietro Introduced Anti-Abortion Legislation David DiPietro (R-NY147th) has quietly introduced legislation that strips away a woman’s fundamental right to choose. For the past decade, David DiPietro has represented the New York State 147th Assembly District, including Southern Erie County and
NYS Assemblyman David DiPietro’s Voting Record: The “NO” Man of the New York State Assembly
NYS Assembly 147th District Republican David DiPietro Assemblyman David DiPietro, the Republican representing the 147th Assembly District in Western New York, has a staggering record of voting “No” over 90% of the time on key bills in the New York State Assembly. DiPietro holds one of the highest “No” voting
Assemblyman David DiPietro (R-147) Sponsors Bills to Criminalize Abortion and Hinder a Woman’s Access to Health Care
Assemblyman David DiPietro R-147 The first of his proposed bills to limit women’s reproductive rights is AO3307, “An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing the requirement of testing for a fetal heartbeat prior to the performance of an abortion…” is sponsored by DiPietro without other
Langworthy’s and Tenney’s “No” Vote on Ukraine Aid Costs Them Ukrainian Supporters
Former President Trump with Rep. Langworthy Former President Trump with Rep. Tenney (R-NY24) Western New York Ultra Maga Congressmen Face Constituent Outrage Even though the bill passed and has been signed into law, Rep. Nick Langworthy’s (NY-R23) and Rep. Claudine Tenney’s (NY-R24) recent “NO” vote on aid to Ukraine has been met with strong disappointment
Who Is NYS 147th District Assemblyman David DiPietro?
Assemblyman David DiPietro R-147 1960 Born in Buffalo, New York The family moved to the Village of East Aurora Attended Immaculate Conception School Attended East Aurora High School 1985 Earned a degree in Business Administration from Wittenberg University He began his career at M&T Bank in Buffalo but left after a
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Fights
Jasmine Crockett versus Marjorie Taylor Greene Ladies and gentlemen!!! Welcome to the Thursday Night House Oversight Committee Fights. The MAIN EVENT on tonight’s card… in the red corner, from the Peach State, ULTRA MAGA REPUBLICAN AND MEAN GIRL WITH A RICH FATHER, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, known for her grade
Western New Yorkers Could Lose Internet
Western New York Congressmen Tenney and Langworthy Fail to Sign Letter Supporting Extension of the Affordable Connectivity Program 1000’s of Western New York Households Risk Losing Internet Access Imagine you lost your internet access. You couldn’t pay your bills. You couldn’t consult a doctor or check social media like TikTok
Marjorie Taylor Greene Fails to Oust Speaker Johnson
New York Congressional Delegation Vote to Table the Motion to Remove the Speaker of the House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson easily defeated (May 8, 2024) an effort by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to remove him from the speakership. Democrats joined with most Republicans to prevent hard-line GOP members
NY 26 Congressional District Representative: Tim Kennedy
Who is Tim Kennedy? Born October 20, 1976 to parents Martin F. Kennedy, Buffalo, NY commissioner of assessment and taxation and Mary Kennedy, a nurse and nurse educator.