John J. Faso: “I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I would close, Mr. Speaker, simply by pointing out that New York State has…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I would close, Mr. Speaker, simply by pointing out that New York State has among, depending on what the measure is, either the highest or second highest real property taxes in the entire Nation. We are the only State that imposes this type of burden on local homeowners, local property taxpayers. If you look at the gross amount that people pay in their real estate taxes, the downstate counties--Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland-- pay the highest in gross amount. But if you calculate the property tax burden as a percentage of the home value, the counties in upstate New York; in western New York; along the southern tier; in the Mohawk Valley, where Ms. Tenney lives; in the Catskills and Mid-Hudson, where I live; and in the Adirondacks, which Ms. Stefanik represents, those counties are being crushed. Those homeowners are being crushed by the burden of real estate taxes. A large part of that reason is this 50-year mandate that started under Nelson Rockefeller that has been imposed on New York homeowners, which is crushing them, driving them out of their homes, and this is what we are intending to stop. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the support of my colleagues here tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time. ____________________”