Long Island congressional reps united in push to nix SALT cap but differ on DOGE approach

All four congressional representatives serving Nassau and Suffolk counties forged a mostly bipartisan front at a breakfast event Friday, teaming up on local tax issues but disagreeing on funding cuts by DOGE.

Reps. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) called once again on their fellow representatives to nix the controversial SALT tax cap.

The $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, signed into law in 2017 by President Donald Trump in his first term, has been a heated point of contention and is an expected roadblock to passing federal tax legislation this year. While Long Island and state elected officials have repeatedly called for a full repeal of the cap, opponents have described it as a handout for millionaires.

Suozzi and Garbarino cochair a bipartisan group of congressional representatives, the SALT Caucus, with LaLota and Gillen also serving as members. The deduction cap hit Long Islanders with high incomes and high property values particularly hard, a Newsday investigation found.

The quartet were in lockstep Friday, asking for a meaningful increase in the cap, if not a full repeal. Trump has indicated he’ll lift the cap — which, in its current form, is set to expire at the end of the year.

"Today our Congressional delegation demonstrated that their first priority is Long Island, not partisan politics ... It’s refreshing to see them working together to advocate for our region’s economy," Matt Cohen, president and CEO of the Long Island Association, a business group that hosted the event, wrote in a statement to Newsday.

The delegation shared laughs on stage, with LaLota joking that the bipartisan group should start a company together.

"The Italian American law firm of Suozzi, Garbarino, LaLota brought a new partner on," LaLota joked. “[Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] is not totally dead on Long Island," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

But the delegation split along party lines when it came to recent federal funding cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency overseen by billionaire Elon Musk.

"It’s been reckless ... They’re killing us here on Long Island," Suozzi said. "They’re creating this fear and panic. I understand the need to disrupt things ... But it’s been too cavalier in the way it’s affecting people."

Gillen, a former town supervisor for Hempstead, agreed, conceding, "There’s tons of waste in government ... But it’s a wrecking ball approach. [Trump] says he’s going to use a scalpel, but so far I haven’t seen the scalpel."

Meanwhile, Suffolk’s two Republican representatives offered varying degrees of support for the cuts.

"If we do nothing ... We won’t get anything done," LaLota said. "Time is of the essence. There needs to be something done now to ensure that we put our country on a way better track."

Garbarino said while some cuts have been too extreme, the Trump administration has been amenable to reversing course.

"There’s bumps in the road along the way, and they’re working on fixing them," he said.

The gathering came two weeks after Congress narrowly passed a bill to keep the government open, with Gillen and Suozzi voting no and Garbarino and LaLota backing it.