{"id":743,"date":"2026-09-14T19:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=743"},"modified":"2026-09-14T19:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:34:42","slug":"trump-has-promised-to-issue-checks-if-the-gop-holds-the-house-is-he-taking-a-page-from-hochul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=743","title":{"rendered":"Trump has promised to issue checks if the GOP holds the House. Is he taking a page from Hochul?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For the second year in a row, Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending checks directly to New York residents ahead of November elections. This time, it\u2019s her own reelection. But rest assured, the direct-mail checks from the state are nothing like the checks President Donald Trump recently promised to voters and that Hochul criticized.<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani attends Staten Island 9\/11 event, over GOP rancor<\/a><\/p>\n

Hochul announced Monday that, starting next week, the state will begin mailing out utility rebate checks \u2013 dubbed Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate, or POWER, checks \u2013 to 8.2 million New Yorkers making $300,000 or less annually. Those checks, which will be between $100 and $200, will total about $1 billion, as was included in this year\u2019s state budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Washington Republicans continue to send the cost of everything from utility bills to gas and groceries soaring, I\u2019ll never stop working to address the rising cost of living for New Yorkers,\u201d Hochul said in a statement ahead of an event in Rochester Monday to announce the checks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But just last week, Hochul criticized Trump for promising to send a $5,000 check to every adult American if Republicans maintain control of the House, calling the promise \u201ca trillion-dollar campaign bribe\u201d in a post on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s office insisted that there is no comparison to be made between Trump\u2019s admittedly more overt voting incentive checks and the governor\u2019s conveniently timed rebate checks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers are facing rising utility costs and sky-high gas bills because of Washington Republicans\u2019 failed policies and endless war in Iran,\u201d Hochul spokesperson Jen Goodman said in a statement. \u201cInstead of bribing the American people for votes, Trump should follow the Governor\u2019s lead and deliver immediate relief from the energy affordability crisis he\u2019s created.\u201d<\/p>\n

The approximate timing of the checks for September and October \u2013 hitting mailboxes before Election Day \u2013 was first reported by Gothamist in late July. When lawmakers passed the budget in late May, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the checks would be sent out \u201cfrom September to December.\u201d But the exact dates were not disclosed until now.<\/p>\n

If checks mailed in early autumn from New York sound familiar, it\u2019s because Hochul mailed so-called \u201cinflation refund\u201d checks to the same group of 8.2 million people at this time last year. The governor used surplus tax revenue the state brought in, in order to send checks of up to $400 to New Yorkers last fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know $200 isn\u2019t going to magically change your lives, but I know this: When we did the inflation rebates a year ago \u2026 when people got $150 back in those rebates, people came up to (me) and said, \u2018You know what, this helped a little bit at the end of the month,\u2019\u201d Hochul said at a press conference in Rochester. She spoke in front of a sign that read \u201cMore Money \u2192Your Pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to Hochul\u2019s office, the timing of the checks both this year and last year have to do with the capacity of the state Department of Financial Services rather than their proximity to elections. During the months of October and November, the agency takes a pause from the time-intensive School Tax Relief, or STAR, program, enabling the mailing of direct rebate checks for other programs. The STAR Program also provides eligible New Yorkers with checks or direct deposits to help with local school taxes.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s inflation refund checks drew scrutiny from members of the state Legislature and fiscal watchdogs, many of whom said the money could be better spent than on relatively small checks sent to a large number of people. During budget negotiations, members of the state Senate attempted to narrow the pool of recipients to seniors in order to send larger checks to fewer people, but Hochul\u2019s initial proposal prevailed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

State Sen. James Skoufis, a frequent critic of Hochul\u2019s, even introduced legislation last year meant to prevent the governor from putting her name or image on the checks. \u201cNo Governor should have the opportunity for this kind of self-promotion, and this Governor would be well-served by paying less attention to her gimmicky checks and more attention to the deep-seated challenges facing New Yorkers such as crippling property taxes,\u201d he said in a statement at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The legislation never advanced. Still, Hochul\u2019s signature was not on last year\u2019s checks, nor will it be on this year\u2019s checks, per her office.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s inflation refund checks were a key part of Hochul\u2019s affordability agenda last year, a proposal she included in her executive budget and one she touted repeatedly any time she spoke about putting \u201cmoney in your pockets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s utility rebate checks are a little different, having originated as an Assembly proposal. The lower chamber initially proposed higher check amounts \u2013 up to $500 per household \u2013 at a $2.6 billion price tag and only for 5.4 million New Yorkers. But it\u2019s not stopping Hochul from taking credit for the checks now that they\u2019re about to be sent out. What\u2019s more, Hochul now gets to tout the checks going to nearly 3 million more people \u2013 and with a lower price tag to the state too.<\/p>\n

Trump seems to think that promised money will move votes. Hochul prefers to give the cash in advance.<\/p>\n

Read more How many Primetime Emmys will New York take home?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before the governor\u2019s reelection, your check is in the mail. Again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,27,3],"tags":[16,29,7],"class_list":["post-743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albany-agenda","category-kathy-hochul","category-new-york-state","tag-albany-agenda","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-new-york-state"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump has promised to issue checks if the GOP holds the House. 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