Flanked by his colleagues in the Minority Conference, New York State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) held a press conference on may 15 calling for a hearing to seek answers from New York City officials and organizations contracted to provide services related to the migrant crisis about potential misuse and abuse of taxpayer dollars. The calls follow recent reports highlighting the city’s partnership with the embroiled health care company DocGo.
The demand for a hearing was accompanied by renewed calls for the passage of legislation (A.7508) introduced by Ra to require reporting and auditing of how funds for humanitarian aid for migrants are spent. The bill was introduced last year in response to the state’s decision to provide $1 billion, which ballooned to $1.9 billion, to the city of New York in the state budget without the necessary transparency and oversight protections in place.
“This year, the state budget allocated $2.4 billion to address the migrant crisis, a considerable expansion of an expenditure for New York’s taxpayers to shoulder.,” said Ra. “Without the guardrails needed for fiscal responsibility, these funds are at risk of the fraud and abuse we have become accustomed to with emergency government contracts that lack transparency and oversight guidance. It is critical we pass this legislation to enact the protections necessary to provide the accountability desperately needed. As we move forward, we have a duty as elected officials to seek clarity with how taxpayer funds are being allocated and spent.”