Gillibrand Rolls Out Democrats' Senate Wish List. Here's What It Could Mean for the North Country.

NORTHERN NEW YORK — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has laid out what the new Democratic Senate majority wants to do with its power, and much of it would reach the North Country: a fight over money for the Iran war, a steep new payroll tax on higher earners, and hundreds of billions of dollars in new health care spending.

Missing from the list: border security, the top issue for the Republican who just won NY-21.

The New York Democrat outlined six priorities Tuesday in a video press conference, a week after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. Gillibrand chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this cycle. The new Congress is sworn in Jan. 3.

"Last week, voters across the country made clear that they are ready for change," Gillibrand said, according to her office.

The agenda

Gillibrand's office listed six goals:

- End the Iran war. She has voted 14 times for war powers resolutions to stop it.

- Repeal President Trump's tariffs, including the 50% tariffs on Canada, and refund duties already paid.

- Expand health care spending: make enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies permanent, reverse Medicaid cuts and open Medicare to some people under 65.

- Shore up Social Security through the Social Security Expansion Act, which raises payroll taxes on higher earners.

- Limit artificial intelligence in insurance denials, scams and military weapons.

- Ban stock trading by members of Congress, the president, the vice president, Supreme Court justices and their families.

What it could mean here

Fort Drum. Senate Democrats are determined to use Congress' control of spending to choke off money for the Iran war, Fox News reported. No one has proposed cutting Fort Drum. But in Jefferson County, every defense budget fight is a local story. The post supports 36.2% of the county's jobs and pumps about $2.55 billion a year into the region, according to the most recent impact study by Advocate Drum and the Development Authority of the North Country. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has less than two months left running the chamber, said Republicans want to lock in Pentagon money first: "making sure that we have enough munitions and ammo and weaponry to be able to defend the country is a priority."

Farms and small businesses. Gillibrand pitched her Social Security plan as "making billionaires finally pay their fair share." The bill reaches much lower than billionaires. It would apply the full 12.4% Social Security payroll tax to earnings above $250,000, without paying higher benefits on that income, according to an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The same bill would also raise the tax on investment and business income for high earners from 3.8% to 16.2%. Many family farms, contractors and Main Street shops are organized as pass-through businesses, so their profits are taxed as the owner's personal income. The conservative Heritage Foundation has called the plan a $3.38 trillion tax increase. A dairy farm with a good year or a growing Watertown business could clear $250,000 in income without its owner being anywhere near rich.

Health care, and who pays. Making the enhanced ACA subsidies permanent would add about $350 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. CBO also said it would cover 3.8 million more people and lower average premiums by 7.6%. Reversing the Medicaid cuts would matter here, where about 28% of residents are on Medicaid. Gillibrand did not say how Democrats would pay for either.

The Canada border. Repealing the tariffs on Canada is the item most likely to be welcomed along the St. Lawrence, where shoppers, tourists and cross-border trade drive much of the economy. It is also the item most likely to meet a veto.

What's not on the list. Gillibrand's six priorities did not include border security, energy costs or farm regulations. Those are the issues NY-21 Rep.-elect Anthony Constantino ran on. His agenda pledges to "work with President Trump to stop drugs, crime, terrorism, and low-wage labor from crossing our northern border," and to cut "burdensome farming regulations."

A veto waiting

None of it becomes law without President Trump's signature, and Gillibrand acknowledged that. "He's still president for two more years so he's going to keep his mischief up," she said, according to North Country Public Radio.

She also warned the president: "if he dares to stand against passed legislation, woe be the Republicans in '28."

Republicans are not waiting for January. Thune plans to use the final weeks of the Republican majority to confirm judges and pass a budget bill before Democrats take over. "The American people are not looking for socialist government and leftist fantasies," Thune said on the Senate floor, as reported by the Associated Press. "We will oppose any attempt to balloon the size of government or tear down American institutions."

Democrats already divided over Schumer

Gillibrand also backed fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer to lead the new majority. "I think he'll win any majority leader race he has," she said, as quoted by NCPR.

Not every Democrat agrees. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said Tuesday he will not support Schumer. "The time is now for change," Sanders said, according to the Associated Press. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan also said she is a no for now, and Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is considering a challenge. Schumer told the AP, "I'm confident I will be elected."

NY-21's man in the minority

Constantino, who won the seat Rep. Elise Stefanik is leaving by about 6,000 votes in unofficial returns, will now serve in a Democratic-controlled House.

Gillibrand said she would work with him. "I will always work with members of our delegation on a bipartisan basis to get good things done for New York," she told NCPR.

She also had warm words for the Democrat Constantino beat, St. Lawrence County dairy farmer Blake Gendebien. "I have a lot of faith that he will be in Congress someday," she said.

Constantino's agenda calls for "earning trust across the aisle and winning moderate Democrats to our side." His campaign put it more bluntly: "The Democrat Party failed to intimidate me and no one else will either."

ClickNNY asked Sen. Gillibrand's office and Rep.-elect Constantino for comment on Wednesday. This story will be updated with any response.

Sources

Office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: press release, Nov. 10

North Country Public Radio: Gillibrand lays out priorities, Nov. 10

WWNY: Gillibrand lays out Democratic priorities, backs Schumer, Nov. 10

Fox News: Senate Republicans plan 54-day blitz, Nov. 11

AP via DTN: Thune, Schumer face questions about Senate leadership, Nov. 10

AP via PBS: Sanders won't support Schumer, Nov. 10

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: Social Security Expansion Act

Constantino campaign agenda