Rep. Lee Zeldin cast lone NY 'nay' on fiscal deal
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) speaks at a news conference at Southold Town Hall in Southold, Sunday, March 8, 2015. Credit: Randee Daddona
Rookie Rep.Lee Zeldin(R-Shirley) turned out to be the only member of New York's congressional delegation from either party to vote against the deal that ended Washington's latest fiscal drama.
The state's other eight House Republicans joined 18 Democrats in approving the measure, which was negotiated to avert a federal financial crisis and lift certain spending caps for the Pentagon and other agencies. The deal was approved 266-167 on Oct. 28, with all the no votes coming from the House's GOP majority. The 79 Republicans whose support pushed it through included senior Rep. Peter King of Seaford and new Rep. Dan Donovan of Staten Island.
Zeldin said Friday through his spokeswoman Jennifer DiSiena: "For too many years, our representatives in Washington have failed to structurally reform our nation's finances to get our nation's debt under control. This was also a deal that was cut between President [Barack] Obama and Congressional leadership without any member and committee input.
"That is an unacceptably flawed process that makes it impossible for members to effectively represent our constituents. The entire budget process needs to be improved. We should not be governing from crisis to crisis in the eleventh hour without member and committee participation."
The vote seemed to bear little risk for Zeldin within the GOP. Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) signed off on the deal shortly before departing; He's now replaced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), against whose speakership only 10 Republicans voted nationwide, none from New York. The terms of the fiscal agreement won enough support beforehand to allow a margin of dissent, passing with little if any suspense.
But with Zeldin's 2016 re-election race on its radar, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's northeast regional spokesman, Bryan Lesswing, slammed Zeldin's position as grandstanding. Lesswing said the vote -- "against the bipartisan budget deal that protects older Americans from a spike in Medicare rates and cuts to Social Security" -- was "just another example of how he puts his own interest first, no matter who it hurts."
HONOR DUE: Perhaps a civic organization should create a "Small Business Patience Award" -- and give the first one to that still-unidentified official from the diner trade group Pan Gregorian Enterprises who calmly shunned a surly solicitation from Adam Skelos, the son and federal co-defendant of Sen. Dean Skelos. The FBI recorded the exchange.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
