Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are receiving criticism for a visit to the borough of Queens, New York on Tuesday. The pair of New York lawmakers held a gathering of a small group to make their pitch for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide monetary assistance for funerals.
I’m standing near Elmhurst Hospital in Queens with @RepAOC
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 14, 2020
Elmhurst is on the frontlines
The toll here is heartbreaking—with families paying the ultimate price
FEMA must approve our request for help for NY families faced with overwhelming funeral/burial costs they can't afford pic.twitter.com/9UsVXlo41l
Sen. Schumer and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s event is being criticized as a “photo-op," in the zip code with the highest volume of positive COVID-19 cases nationwide:
WATCH: @AOC and @chuckschumer are called out for "staging a photo op" (without masks) in the zip code with the most #COVID19 cases in America.
— America Rising (@AmericaRising) April 15, 2020
Meanwhile, Schumer and Senate Democrats continue to block critical aid for small businesses and workers. pic.twitter.com/9Hwg7vevyW
The event, held as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo encourages New Yorkers to stay at home, was not live streamed as most events of its kind are. However, television broadcast networks were able to tape footage of Sen. Schumer and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. The New York lawmakers also took heat for not wearing masks, at least while speaking to the crowd, as their state guidelines encourage.
Sen. Schumer and Rep. Ocasio Cortez made this trip to their home state as Democrats in Washington, D.C. continue to block funding for America’s small businesses.
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