We led. We listened. And we delivered.
By Majority Leader Stewart Cousins | June 17, 2025
As we close the 2025 Legislative Session, we mark more than adjournment; we mark a turning point. We responded to this moment with urgency, creativity, and compassion. We led. We listened. And we delivered.
Across New York, people are tired of instability and uncertainty, of waking up to chaos from Washington. While the federal government lurches from crisis to crisis, we in New York did exactly what we were elected to do: we got things done. Our work centered on one unifying goal: making life more affordable and secure through decisive leadership.
Reflecting on seven years in the majority, true leadership means maintaining a steady hand, reaching higher, and preparing for what lies ahead. Those who were here remember we sprinted into the majority, passing urgent legislation on day one in the midst of a dangerous federal administration. We safeguarded reproductive freedoms, voter protections, environmental regulations, and immigrant rights. We righted the ship aiming for smooth sailing, yet always ready for the challenges ahead. This year, we balanced record investments in public education, healthcare, and housing with the strongest consumer protections in the nation and proactive measures addressing Artificial Intelligence.Asgence.
Our nearly three million small businesses are New York’s true economic engine. As federal leaders imposed damaging tariffs and trade wars, we paid off our Unemployment Insurance debt, protecting businesses from additional fees and supporting storefront real estate accessibility. Strong industries mean job opportunities, and this session, we strengthened labor protections, improving sick leave benefits, cracking down on wage theft, and defending employees against workplace discrimination and coercion.
While Washington plays politics with our health, we expanded access and reduced costs here in New York. We advanced legislation for lower-cost prescription drugs, protected Medicaid and Child Health Plus, funded safety-net hospitals, strengthened vaccine access, and secured critical reproductive health protections. We increased contraception access on college campuses and pharmacies, ensuring reproductive autonomy remains protected. Healthcare isn’t political, it’s life or death.
To our veterans and military families: you served with courage, and we owe you more than gratitude; we owe action. While federal dysfunction stalls essential services, we advanced meaningful legislation, expanded property tax relief, supported healthcare access, and elevated veterans in civic life.
We strengthened housing through the Housing Access Voucher Program, redeveloped vacant units, provided legal assistance for tenants, and reinforced eviction protections. A safe, affordable home should never be a luxury; it must be a given.
Additionally, we continued building on our Majority’s legacy of comprehensive housing support that began in our first year by making the property tax cap permanent. Recognizing that homeowners, much like renters, face considerable challenges, we took targeted actions to bolster their stability and prosperity. We expanded resources for first-time homebuyers, enhanced foreclosure prevention programs, and increased funding for home repair and energy-efficiency initiatives. These measures not only protect the dreams and investments of hardworking homeowners but also contribute to stronger, more resilient neighborhoods across New York.
Amid economic uncertainty, we ensured stability. We expanded capital access for small businesses, lifted up MWBEs, relieved seniors facing inflation, and provided clarity in uncertain times. Economic security must reach every generation and every community.
We never exploit crises politically; we pursue solutions. This principle guided us as we confronted the layered crisis in our state’s correctional system. The reforms enacted are vital first steps toward meaningful change, moving beyond a failed status quo toward safer communities.
While some debate climate reality, we addressed the existential threat head-on. We fortified infrastructure, doubled renewable energy efforts, regulated toxic biosolids contaminating farmland, and set bold environmental standards. Climate justice is economic justice. It’s public health. It’s survival.This year, we have again taken action on what truly matters: housing, healthcare, education, agriculture, clean energy, and economic opportunity, all while keeping our fiscal house in order. That’s good government.
New Yorkers face daily pressures: groceries cost more, rent consumes paychecks, utility bills grow burdensome. So we acted decisively, capping utility rate hikes, improving billing transparency, lowering energy costs, keeping the lowest middle class tax rates in over 70 years and guaranteeing Universal School Meals for nearly three million children.
We expanded the child tax credit, increased rental assistance, protected tenants, and declared housing unequivocally a human right. Behind every policy are real families, parents making difficult choices, children needing nourishment and stability.
While Washington looked to gut consumer protections, we enacted some of the strongest consumer protection measures nationwide, including cracking down on algorithmic price-setting and regulating subscription and cancellation services.
As we adjourn, let’s reflect not just on bills passed but lives impacted. We showed what leadership looks like in an age of uncertainty. We met fear with action. We met cynicism with courage. And we proved, once again, that New York leads.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins holds the positions of President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, and she is the Senator for the 35th District. As the longest-serving Democratic Majority Leader in New York State Senate history, and the first woman and African American woman to occupy this role, her tenure is distinguished by significant legislative achievements and a steadfast commitment to addressing the needs of New Yorkers.
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