Lalota Nick

A recent Marist poll found that an equal number of Americans – 47 Percent – identified themselves as pro-life and as those who are pro-choice. Obviously, this is an issue that divides many Americans.

I join with the 72% of Americans who oppose abortion in the second trimester and the 80% of Americans who oppose abortion in the third trimester. I do not oppose abortion in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life.

The recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade placed abortion policy-making power back in the state legislatures. Here in New York, voters should aim to elect State Assemblymembers, State Senators and a Governor who share their view on this issue. That is why I will be voting for and supporting candidates who oppose second and third trimester abortions.

My opponent, liberal Democrat Bridget Fleming, supports abortion on demand – without any restrictions whatsoever. Fleming is out of touch with 80% of voters who think abortion generally should be illegal during the third trimester of pregnancy and 72% of voters who think abortion generally should be illegal during the second trimester of pregnancy. 

I am the father of three wonderful daughters and if called to vote on the issue, would vote on limitations on abortion. Specifically, I would oppose second and third trimester abortions.

I also oppose New York’s State’s extreme lack of parental notification requirements, as do most Americans. Schools can't even give a child an aspirin without parental consent but clinics in the State of New York don't have to notify parents before their daughter can get an abortion. As a parent, that makes me sick.

Finally, in Congress, I will make sure the Hyde Amendment stays in place to prevent President Biden and Governor Hochul from using our tax dollars to turn New York into an abortion destination.

Abortion is a personal and divisive topic but I will lead the charge to find common ground – and that is eliminating second and third trimester abortions.

Having served our Navy in the Pacific, I know firsthand that the Chinese Communist Party and its hostility to freedom, democracy, and capitalism is the greatest threat that we face to our national security to-date. 

However, too many in Washington would seemingly rather cozy up to the CCP while turning a blind eye to corrupt trade practices and human rights abuses. 

In Congress, I will stand up to China. I will support President Trump’s America First Agenda to oppose the Chinese Government’s unfair trade practices and once again promote American manufacturing.

I will also wholeheartedly support efforts to hold China accountable for the destruction they caused by withholding critical information during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For most of the last several years, our national and local economies were booming. Such was especially the case under President Trump and the Republican Congress.  We saw people moving from poverty to prosperity and families getting ahead.  Americans’ jobs and investments were making all-time highs. Stock markets rose and workers’ pensions, tied to it, rose as well.  Wages were rising commensurate with prices. Here on Long Island, home values climbed to near all time highs and unemployment was generally down.

Now, unfortunately the price of just about everything is rising far faster than Long Islanders’ wages, and certainly retirees’ fixed income.  In Congress, I will work to bring the prosperity of the prior few years back. I will fight for policies which help lower inflation and bring down the rising prices of gasoline, groceries and even the costs to heat and cool our homes.  

First and foremost, the President and Congress must incentivize the safe extraction of America’s 43,800,000,000 barrels of proven oil reserves.  That means approving and expediting permits to drill on federal land.  Here in New York, the Governor should allow for the safe extraction of the Empire State’s immense natural gas reserves.  If government allows for an increase in the supply of energy, prices will fall. 

Second, Washington politicians (of both parties) must reign in federal spending and finally pass a balanced budget.  For too long, the Congress has spent more than it has taken in. That must stop.   While I was a trustee of Amityville, after 16 years of tax increases which averaged eight percent, I managed to keep taxes within the property tax cap, easing the burden on the village’s families and businesses.  My colleagues and I were able to do so by consolidating administrative positions while at the same time improving village services.  There, we earned multiple credit ratings.  In Congress, I will help to shrink the size of the government.

Third, inflation is exacerbated by our nation’s $600 billion trade imbalance and supply chain disruptions caused by an overreliance on overseas products.  Congress must react by promoting trade deals and regulations which promote American manufacturing while simultaneously ensuring we are not incentivizing American workers to stay home. 

Finally, we must recognize monetary policy has been too loose for too long.  While many of us enjoy low interest rates, we should have learned from the Alan Greenspan era that when interest rates are kept so low for a long period of time, bubbles tend to be created, then burst.  Such was the case with the 2008 housing bubble and subsequent collapse of financial markets and record-high unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee (aka the Fed) must be more mindful of its mandate “to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment and stable prices"  To that end, the Senate (who is responsible for confirming members of the Fed) must be more diligent in confirming those who will be loyal to the dual-mandate. 

Government helped create this mess.  Accordingly, government leaders can help us get out of it.  By growing our economy and letting Americans keep more of their own hard-earned money, we will see everyone’s quality of life increase and bring us all up as a nation.  In Congress, I’ll help do just that.  

Our local environment is our greatest resource. Preserving and protecting our wildlife, water quality and integrity of our waterways will always be among my top priorities. We should have the opportunity to pass down a pristine and thriving Long Island environment to our children. 

We live on top of a sole source aquifer. Protecting our water supply from toxins and pollutants is imperative for Long Island’s future. With this mission in mind, I will work with the Suffolk County Water Authority, local leaders and water quality advocates in order to assess our needs now and in the future to ensure our drinking water is safe and secure for generations to come. 

Suffolk County is surrounded by water and preserving the integrity of our waterways is the responsibility of our elected leaders. In Congress, I will continue to do my part to fully fund the Peconic Estuary Partnership, partnering with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure commercial and recreational boaters can navigate our waterways, and protect our coastline from those who would seek to drill off of Long Island’s coast.

I am a gun owner and I have deep respect for the Constitutional right to bear arms.

My father was a Nassau County Police Officer and both of my grandfathers proudly wore the badge for the NYPD. I grew up being taught to operate firearms safely. I have done so as a Military Officer and as a civilian. 

In Kathy Hochul’s New York, we’ve never been less safe. Crime is rampant, and criminals are now released without bail the same day they commit violent crimes. 

In Congress I’ll do everything that I can to protect our rights to safely and responsibly protect ourselves and our families from the violent criminals who are overrunning our communities due to the direct abdication of duty by our Albany elected officials. 

I have traveled the world and have visited so-called “rich” countries and so-called “poor” countries and have come to know the United States has among the best doctors, the best medical technology and the best hospitals in the world.  Yet, too many Long Islanders don’t have health care.  We can do better.

For many of us who do have health care, the costs are exceedingly expensive.  In fact, excessive health care expenses forced eight million Americans into poverty in 2018.  And, a recent poll found 25% of Americans said they or a family member put off treatment for a serious medical condition due to cost.  Something that everyone needs in order to live a long, happy life should not be costing Americans everything they have.

In Congress, I will work with Republicans and Democrats to lower prescription drug prices, continue to require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and protect people from surprise medical bills.  I will also support a system that allows for Medicare to negotiate prices for its members 65 years and up. These price negotiations will not only protect seniors from predatory pricing, it will cause prices to come down for those who need it most. 

Further, I believe that requiring medical care providers to be transparent with their pricing information will enable patients to have more power in choosing the provider and care that is best for them in addition to spurring previously non-existent competition between providers.  By giving consumers more power to make more informed healthcare decisions and negotiating for lower prices, Americans will be able to access much-needed healthcare without the burdensome financial repercussions.

While in the Navy, I traveled to 20 countries and through 49 US States. It frustrated me that New York’s infrastructure is in such poor shape compared to the rest of the country and the world.  Crumbling roads, dated transit systems, and bridges in dangerously bad condition are posing a threat to our safety and hold back the engine of commerce every single day that the problem isn’t fixed.

Why does it have to be this way? Why do moms and dads struggle with traffic getting their kids to and from school and appointments? Should our senior citizens sit in traffic on their way to the drug store? Should Long Island’s commuters be forced to spend hours every week, in addition to their jobs, just trying to get to and from work instead of spending that time with their families?

Our infrastructure problem is made worse by the fact that for every dollar in federal taxes New Yorkers send to Washington, we only get ninety-three cents back.  Only five states (Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota and Ohio) have ratios which are worse.  We need Members of Congress who will stand up, and fight back for our fair share. 

As a Village Trustee, I started the first major road repaving project in 20 years, giving motorists a smoother and safer ride home.  I worked to ensure the paving contracts were awarded to the most responsible bidder and did so without raising taxes. 

In Washington, I will support Congress allocating funds to each state so that they can adequately address their own infrastructure needs, followed by a federal survey of the repairs made to assess the quality of improvements made. By properly addressing Long Island’s -  and the nation’s - infrastructure needs, we would greatly improve the means of transportation that we all depend on while avoiding certain disaster in the future.

Congress should support budgets and programs which ensure that America maintains the most lethal military on the planet– prepared to defend her national security interests. President Teddy Roosevelt informally referred to this policy as, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” 

As someone who was deployed to a region that harbors terrorists, I understand and support keeping bases and troops in and near different “hot spots” in the world.  President Biden was wrong not to leave a contingent of about 1,000 US troops in Afghanistan to advise and assist the Afghan Government and Military to prevent the Taliban from retaking Afghanistan.

Having also deployed on an aircraft carrier, I understand and support building and maintaining aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and the like.  They serve as a deterrent to our nation’s enemies.  Knowing that the United States merely could respond to their hostile actions, countries like China are less likely to become overtly belligerent towards America and her allies.

I am the brother of a Marine Sniper who earned a Bronze Star in Iraq.  Knowing him and the culture of today’s American warrior class, few would blink if called to war.  Still, Congress and the President owe it to our military men and women and their families to place them in harms’ way only when certain conditions are met.  Such is the case because the cost of war is infinite and is always borne by the military men and women we send to combat, and their families— not the politicians.

When contemplating whether or not to take military action, the President and Congress must use the Powell Doctrine, named after General Colin Powell.  The doctrine states that a list of questions all have to be answered affirmatively before military action is taken by the United States:

Is a vital national security interest threatened?

Do we have a clear attainable objective?

Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?

Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?

Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?

Have the consequences of our actions been fully considered?

Is the action supported by the American people?

Do we have genuine broad international support?

My father was a Police Officer.  Both of my grandfathers served in the NYPD.  With that close family background, I understand how Law Enforcement Officers all over the country are on the front lines in our communities day in and day out, working around the clock to keep us safe. 

As an Amityville Trustee, I stood by our law enforcement.  Despite financial woes we inherited from a previous administration, I made sure we put more cops on the street than at any other time in our village’s history. 

Our brave men and women in Law Enforcement deserve to have elected officials who will stand up for them when-- in the course of protecting our communities-- they find themselves in harm's way.  

Kathy Hochul’s New York is a disaster; and our neighborhoods and our police are left to feel less safe each day. With an unprecedented rise of violence committed towards those in Blue, Congress must step up to make sure that our law enforcement is treated with the respect it deserves. That is why I would support the “Protect and Serve Act” which would make police officers across all 50 states a protected class. Specifically, the Act would make it a crime to knowingly cause or attempt to cause “serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer.” The crime is punishable by 10 years in prison. If the crime results in the death of a law enforcement officer, or the crime involves kidnapping or the attempt to kidnap or kill a law enforcement officer, then the sentence can be up to life in prison.

In this era of hatred and animosity directed at our police, Congress must take action to send a clear message of support for our great law enforcement officers.