Calls for all of New York’s COVID vaccine mandates to end and all employees to be offered their jobs back

NEW YORK – Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), the Republican Party and Conservative Party nominee for Governor, issued the following statement after a judge ruled that New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers could not be fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine and ordered those fired officers to be reinstated:

“Our NYPD officers selflessly serve their communities without second thought. Throughout COVID, they were hailed as heroes, and rightfully so, but years into that fight many were fired for making a personal medical decision. This COVID vaccine mandate was the entirely wrong direction for our city and state, especially at a time when crime and violence have plagued our streets. Thankfully, the courts have struck down this unconstitutional and nonsensical mandate and stood strong with New York’s finest.

“All COVID vaccine mandates across the state must end, and everyone who was fired should be offered their jobs back with back pay. If Hochul won’t do it now, I’ll do it myself in January. Unlike Hochul, who calls on New Yorkers to be her ‘apostles’, I know the job of Governor is to serve the public, not be served by the public.”  

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About Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin was born and raised on Long Island. He grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, where his identical twin daughters attend school today. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.

Lee spent four years on Active Duty with the U.S. Army after completing ROTC and served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In the summer of 2006, while assigned to the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, Lee deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2007, Lee returned to Suffolk County with his family. It was at this time that Lee transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 2008, Lee established a successful law practice in Smithtown, NY. Elected to the New York State Senate two years later, in 2010, Lee’s been working hard every day since to keep the promises he made to the hard-working families he represents.

In the State Senate, Lee:

• Led the successful effort to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, a job killing tax that was hurting small businesses. 

• Cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, which became law.

• Reduced middle-income tax rates in New York to the lowest level in 60 years.

• Secured the repeal of the Saltwater Fishing License Fee.

• Created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program to help our returning veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

• Authored the law to protect our fallen veterans and their families from protests at military burials. 

Lee was then elected to the United States Congress in 2014, representing New York’s First Congressional District, and has now won seven consecutive races since 2010 in purple NYC suburban districts, unseating two Democrat incumbents along the way. In Congress, Lee quickly became a leading voice in America on top local, domestic and foreign policy issues: 

• Combating and defeating MS-13 on Long Island, leading the charge in New York and nationally against cashless bail, opposing all efforts to defund, dismantle or abolish police, and providing law enforcement the resources they need to fight gang violence and other crimes in our communities, including bulletproof vests.

• Securing the repeal of many harmful, job killing regulations, with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and many other initiatives, to improve our business climate and grow our economy. 

• Leading the charge to end all COVID mandates. 

• Saving Plum Island, by securing the repeal of a 2008 federal law requiring the island to be sold off to the highest bidder. 

• Delivering a $1.5 billion boost in border security resources, helping to choke off the flow of illegal migration across our borders. 

• Introducing and passing into law his Adult Day Health Care legislation for disabled veterans and opening a new health care clinic for East End veterans.

• Delivering the Electron Ion Collider “discovery machine” to Brookhaven National Lab that will enable advancements in national security, medical and cancer research, astrophysics, and more and create an extensive number of jobs. 

• Advancing his law enforcement bill of rights, which would help ensure that our great law enforcement officers and the people they serve are protected.

• Championing the expansion of the Dwyer Program nationally, to help all of our nation’s veterans access the resources they need. 

• Securing much needed support of treatment, enforcement, and prevention for those affected by the heroin and opioid abuse crisis.

• Leading the effort against the fatally flawed Iran Nuclear Deal.

• Co-authoring a bipartisan resolution (H.Res. 246) that passed the House opposing the anti-Israel and antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

• Working with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect our coastlines, advancing the ambitious Fire Island to Montauk Point project, in addition to several other vital projects on the north and south shores of Long Island.

• Co-Chairing the Long Island Sound Caucus and advancing top priorities for the Long Island Sound Program, National Estuary Program and SeaGrant.

• Co-chairing, as one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, the House Republican Israel Caucus, and serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Financial Services Committee, as well as four House Subcommittees.

• Successfully resolving over 17,000 constituent cases in favor of his constituents.

Lee and his wife, Diana, reside in Shirley with their twin fifteen-year old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.

NEW YORK – While addressing the Business Council of New York 2022 Annual Meeting earlier today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), the Republican Party and Conservative Party nominee for Governor, doubled down on his call for New York to reverse its ban on the safe extraction of natural gas and approve new pipeline construction. New reports anticipate New Yorkers could see their energy bills immediately increase by 39%.

“To reduce energy costs, the first step is firing Kathy Hochul and ending one-party rule in Albany,” Zeldin said after the meeting. “We can make New York energy independent and more affordable, reversing the state’s ban on the safe extraction of natural gas and approving new pipeline applications. This will create jobs, generate revenue, revitalize communities, and reduce energy costs in response to New Yorkers bracing for impact when they open their energy bills this winter.” 

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About Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin was born and raised on Long Island. He grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, where his identical twin daughters attend school today. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.

Lee spent four years on Active Duty with the U.S. Army after completing ROTC and served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In the summer of 2006, while assigned to the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, Lee deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2007, Lee returned to Suffolk County with his family. It was at this time that Lee transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 2008, Lee established a successful law practice in Smithtown, NY. Elected to the New York State Senate two years later, in 2010, Lee’s been working hard every day since to keep the promises he made to the hard-working families he represents.

In the State Senate, Lee:

• Led the successful effort to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, a job killing tax that was hurting small businesses. 

• Cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, which became law.

• Reduced middle-income tax rates in New York to the lowest level in 60 years.

• Secured the repeal of the Saltwater Fishing License Fee.

• Created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program to help our returning veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

• Authored the law to protect our fallen veterans and their families from protests at military burials. 

Lee was then elected to the United States Congress in 2014, representing New York’s First Congressional District, and has now won seven consecutive races since 2010 in purple NYC suburban districts, unseating two Democrat incumbents along the way. In Congress, Lee quickly became a leading voice in America on top local, domestic and foreign policy issues: 

• Combating and defeating MS-13 on Long Island, leading the charge in New York and nationally against cashless bail, opposing all efforts to defund, dismantle or abolish police, and providing law enforcement the resources they need to fight gang violence and other crimes in our communities, including bulletproof vests.

• Securing the repeal of many harmful, job killing regulations, with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and many other initiatives, to improve our business climate and grow our economy. 

• Leading the charge to end all COVID mandates. 

• Saving Plum Island, by securing the repeal of a 2008 federal law requiring the island to be sold off to the highest bidder. 

• Delivering a $1.5 billion boost in border security resources, helping to choke off the flow of illegal migration across our borders. 

• Introducing and passing into law his Adult Day Health Care legislation for disabled veterans and opening a new health care clinic for East End veterans.

• Delivering the Electron Ion Collider “discovery machine” to Brookhaven National Lab that will enable advancements in national security, medical and cancer research, astrophysics, and more and create an extensive number of jobs. 

• Advancing his law enforcement bill of rights, which would help ensure that our great law enforcement officers and the people they serve are protected.

• Championing the expansion of the Dwyer Program nationally, to help all of our nation’s veterans access the resources they need. 

• Securing much needed support of treatment, enforcement, and prevention for those affected by the heroin and opioid abuse crisis.

• Leading the effort against the fatally flawed Iran Nuclear Deal.

• Co-authoring a bipartisan resolution (H.Res. 246) that passed the House opposing the anti-Israel and antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

• Working with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect our coastlines, advancing the ambitious Fire Island to Montauk Point project, in addition to several other vital projects on the north and south shores of Long Island.

• Co-Chairing the Long Island Sound Caucus and advancing top priorities for the Long Island Sound Program, National Estuary Program and SeaGrant.

• Co-chairing, as one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, the House Republican Israel Caucus, and serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Financial Services Committee, as well as four House Subcommittees.

• Successfully resolving over 17,000 constituent cases in favor of his constituents.

Lee and his wife, Diana, reside in Shirley with their twin fifteen-year old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.

Zeldin Proposes CBS2 and PIX11 Move Forward With Their Proposed Debates Anyways

NEW YORK – Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) responded to a statement today from Governor Kathy Hochul that she only wants to do one General Election debate towards the end of October. Absentee ballots start going out in two days on September 23, 2022, over a month before the October 25, 2022, date that Hochul wants to have just a single General Election debate with Spectrum/NY1.

Congressman Zeldin previously accepted the first two debate requests he received from CBS2 and PIX11, both of which Hochul is totally blowing off with her announcement this afternoon trying to get away with just one. Being that Hochul is trying to play these games with the media and New York voters, Congressman Zeldin is proposing that CBS2 and PIX11 schedule debates anyways and if Hochul is a no-show, then the debate can just proceed without her and with an empty podium.

“This is absolutely unacceptable just how much contempt Kathy Hochul has towards New Yorkers that she is trying to pathetically get away with just one General Election debate over a month after absentee ballots start going out. We should have a live, televised debate right now,” said Congressman Zeldin. “Voters should have the opportunity to hear where the candidates stand before they vote, not after. Meanwhile, the NYC media market is not the only media market in the state. It is important to have debates throughout the state to focus on issues specific to that particular region. Scaredy Kat Hochul can run but she can’t hide from her absolutely abysmal record on the issues most important to New Yorkers, including rising crime, skyrocketing cost of living, and an eroding quality of education. Even in the Democratic Party primary, Hochul had multiple debates! She owes it to the voters as part of this process to have multiple debates throughout the state about the issues most important to them. The fact that Kathy Hochul believes New Yorkers don’t deserve that should tell them all they need to know when they’re headed to the ballot box on November 8th.”

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About Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin was born and raised on Long Island. He grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, where his identical twin daughters attend school today. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.

Lee spent four years on Active Duty with the U.S. Army after completing ROTC and served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In the summer of 2006, while assigned to the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, Lee deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2007, Lee returned to Suffolk County with his family. It was at this time that Lee transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 2008, Lee established a successful law practice in Smithtown, NY. Elected to the New York State Senate two years later, in 2010, Lee’s been working hard every day since to keep the promises he made to the hard-working families he represents.

In the State Senate, Lee:

• Led the successful effort to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, a job killing tax that was hurting small businesses. 

• Cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, which became law.

• Reduced middle-income tax rates in New York to the lowest level in 60 years.

• Secured the repeal of the Saltwater Fishing License Fee.

• Created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program to help our returning veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

• Authored the law to protect our fallen veterans and their families from protests at military burials. 

Lee was then elected to the United States Congress in 2014, representing New York’s First Congressional District, and has now won seven consecutive races since 2010 in purple NYC suburban districts, unseating two Democrat incumbents along the way. In Congress, Lee quickly became a leading voice in America on top local, domestic and foreign policy issues: 

• Combating and defeating MS-13 on Long Island, leading the charge in New York and nationally against cashless bail, opposing all efforts to defund, dismantle or abolish police, and providing law enforcement the resources they need to fight gang violence and other crimes in our communities, including bulletproof vests.

• Securing the repeal of many harmful, job killing regulations, with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and many other initiatives, to improve our business climate and grow our economy. 

• Leading the charge to end all COVID mandates. 

• Saving Plum Island, by securing the repeal of a 2008 federal law requiring the island to be sold off to the highest bidder. 

• Delivering a $1.5 billion boost in border security resources, helping to choke off the flow of illegal migration across our borders. 

• Introducing and passing into law his Adult Day Health Care legislation for disabled veterans and opening a new health care clinic for East End veterans.

• Delivering the Electron Ion Collider “discovery machine” to Brookhaven National Lab that will enable advancements in national security, medical and cancer research, astrophysics, and more and create an extensive number of jobs. 

• Advancing his law enforcement bill of rights, which would help ensure that our great law enforcement officers and the people they serve are protected.

• Championing the expansion of the Dwyer Program nationally, to help all of our nation’s veterans access the resources they need. 

• Securing much needed support of treatment, enforcement, and prevention for those affected by the heroin and opioid abuse crisis.

• Leading the effort against the fatally flawed Iran Nuclear Deal.

• Co-authoring a bipartisan resolution (H.Res. 246) that passed the House opposing the anti-Israel and antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

• Working with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect our coastlines, advancing the ambitious Fire Island to Montauk Point project, in addition to several other vital projects on the north and south shores of Long Island.

• Co-Chairing the Long Island Sound Caucus and advancing top priorities for the Long Island Sound Program, National Estuary Program and SeaGrant.

• Co-chairing, as one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, the House Republican Israel Caucus, and serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Financial Services Committee, as well as four House Subcommittees.

• Successfully resolving over 17,000 constituent cases in favor of his constituents.

Lee and his wife, Diana, reside in Shirley with their twin fifteen-year old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.

NEW YORK – Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), the Republican Party and Conservative Party nominee for Governor, doubled down on his call for answers, an investigation, and government reform after Governor Kathy Hochul awarded an over $600 million no-bid contract to a top campaign donor and charged New York taxpayers twice the going rate.

“Kathy Hochul can run, but she can’t hide from the truth. Her mounting and wide ranging scandals and pay to play corruption are rapidly catching up to her,” said Congressman Zeldin. “Week after week, reports break of another taxpayer funded favor to her campaign donors – whether it be liquor licenses, tax breaks or massive no-bid government contracts, and there’s no sign of slowing down. Yet, even after recent reports that Hochul unilaterally suspended the state’s competitive bidding law and awarded an over $600 million no bid contract to a campaign donor and paid twice as much as California for the same COVID tests from the same manufacturer, no prosecutor or other investigative body at any level of government is expressing any interest in looking into any of it. Is it simply a total coincidence that the Attorney General, State Comptroller, and District Attorney are all fellow Democrats? Absolutely not!” 

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About Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin was born and raised on Long Island. He grew up in Suffolk County and graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, where his identical twin daughters attend school today. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.

Lee spent four years on Active Duty with the U.S. Army after completing ROTC and served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In the summer of 2006, while assigned to the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, Lee deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2007, Lee returned to Suffolk County with his family. It was at this time that Lee transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 2008, Lee established a successful law practice in Smithtown, NY. Elected to the New York State Senate two years later, in 2010, Lee’s been working hard every day since to keep the promises he made to the hard-working families he represents.

In the State Senate, Lee:

• Led the successful effort to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, a job killing tax that was hurting small businesses. 

• Cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, which became law.

• Reduced middle-income tax rates in New York to the lowest level in 60 years.

• Secured the repeal of the Saltwater Fishing License Fee.

• Created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Veteran Peer Support Program to help our returning veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). 

• Authored the law to protect our fallen veterans and their families from protests at military burials. 

Lee was then elected to the United States Congress in 2014, representing New York’s First Congressional District, and has now won seven consecutive races since 2010 in purple NYC suburban districts, unseating two Democrat incumbents along the way. In Congress, Lee quickly became a leading voice in America on top local, domestic and foreign policy issues: 

• Combating and defeating MS-13 on Long Island, leading the charge in New York and nationally against cashless bail, opposing all efforts to defund, dismantle or abolish police, and providing law enforcement the resources they need to fight gang violence and other crimes in our communities, including bulletproof vests.

• Securing the repeal of many harmful, job killing regulations, with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and many other initiatives, to improve our business climate and grow our economy. 

• Leading the charge to end all COVID mandates. 

• Saving Plum Island, by securing the repeal of a 2008 federal law requiring the island to be sold off to the highest bidder. 

• Delivering a $1.5 billion boost in border security resources, helping to choke off the flow of illegal migration across our borders. 

• Introducing and passing into law his Adult Day Health Care legislation for disabled veterans and opening a new health care clinic for East End veterans.

• Delivering the Electron Ion Collider “discovery machine” to Brookhaven National Lab that will enable advancements in national security, medical and cancer research, astrophysics, and more and create an extensive number of jobs. 

• Advancing his law enforcement bill of rights, which would help ensure that our great law enforcement officers and the people they serve are protected.

• Championing the expansion of the Dwyer Program nationally, to help all of our nation’s veterans access the resources they need. 

• Securing much needed support of treatment, enforcement, and prevention for those affected by the heroin and opioid abuse crisis.

• Leading the effort against the fatally flawed Iran Nuclear Deal.

• Co-authoring a bipartisan resolution (H.Res. 246) that passed the House opposing the anti-Israel and antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

• Working with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect our coastlines, advancing the ambitious Fire Island to Montauk Point project, in addition to several other vital projects on the north and south shores of Long Island.

• Co-Chairing the Long Island Sound Caucus and advancing top priorities for the Long Island Sound Program, National Estuary Program and SeaGrant.

• Co-chairing, as one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, the House Republican Israel Caucus, and serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Financial Services Committee, as well as four House Subcommittees.

• Successfully resolving over 17,000 constituent cases in favor of his constituents.

Lee and his wife, Diana, reside in Shirley with their twin fifteen-year old daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.