Hillary talks about Queens issues

New York State Senator Hillary Clinton visited LeFrak City in Corona on Thursday, August 10, along with fellow Senator John Sabini, and took time to discuss some of the important issues concerning Queens.
Clinton, who recently visited Astoria following the blackout, said that although there have been steps taken to assist those who were affected, there is still more that needs to be done, especially by Con Ed. Currently, Clinton said she is particularly worried about small businesses and that her office is trying to help them.
&#8220I don't think it's enough yet and I don't think Con Ed is doing enough,” she said. &#8220I think Con Ed has to bear a greater burden of responsibility.”
Immigration was another relevant issue that Clinton addressed. She said that there are several things that need to be done to improve this area, including tightening border security, punishing employers who take advantage of illegal immigrants and creating more ways for legal immigrants to come into the country.
&#8220I hope we're going to have a change in our immigration laws,” said Clinton. &#8220That's what I have been supporting in Congress.”
In regards to health care, Clinton said that no progress is currently being made because of cuts being made by the Bush administration, although she said she would continue to fight to improve health care just as she has done for the last 10 years.
&#8220We are treading water at best and I think we're probably falling backwards because we have more uninsured people. The Bush administration is cutting payments to doctors, cutting payments to hospitals, cutting the Medicaid program while they give tax cuts to the richest of Americans,” Clinton said. She continued, &#8220We're trying to prevent bad things from happening while we try to get enough Democrats to make something good happen.”
In light of the recent cuts to funding from Homeland Security to New York City, Clinton said the fight to get the money back is ongoing.
&#8220I'm fighting every day to get more resources to New York,” she said. &#8220We have so many potential targets that we have to have more help than we're getting.”
Other things that Clinton said need to be done included creating more affordable housing, finding alternative energy sources, increasing minimum wage, creating more jobs and investing further in mass transit.
When asked if she intended to run for the presidency in 2008, Clinton deflected the inquiries by saying that she is running for re-election for Senator in November.
&#8220I have a great job in New York and I hope the people will vote for me again,” she said.