As Republicans Push For $1 Billion In Taxpayer Dollars For Trump’s Gilded Ballroom, Schumer Reveals How That Funding Could Instead Be Used To Lower Costs For New York Families

by Contributor | May 13, 2026 1:03 pm

Schumer To NY Republicans: Why Are You Choosing Trump’s Chandelier Over New Yorkers’ Childcare, Trump’s Ego Over Their Electric Bills, And Trump’s Palace Over The People’s Priorities?

  

Schumer: New Yorkers Don’t Want This Ballroom Blitz – They Want Lower Costs

As Republicans rush to try to pass $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to help pay for Trump’s new gilded ballroom[1], U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today released the following report outlining how that funding could instead be used to help New Yorkers lower costs and help working families.

“New Yorkers want lower costs, not a gold-plated ballroom. Inflation is skyrocketing because of Donald Trump’s costly tariffs, his disastrous war with Iran, and his failed economic agenda, but Republicans are focused on funding a ballroom. This staggering waste of taxpayer dollars does nothing to help Americans afford groceries, gas prices, healthcare, housing, or their electricity bills,” said Senator Schumer. “Despite Trump insisting that the ballroom would be completely privately funded, the truth is now coming out. At a time when Americans are struggling to put food on the table, Republicans say, ‘let them eat cake’ and demand American taxpayers build Trump a palace while they’re at it. NY Republicans need to answer why their priority is building a ballroom instead of helping working families.”

Despite Trump previously saying that “Not one penny is being used from the federal government,” Republicans are trying to pass a bill[2] that would allocate $1 billion in federal funding to pay for Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which he has destroyed the White House’s East Wing to build. Schumer said it is backwards to charge American taxpayers $1 billion to build Trump’s gilded ballroom, while including zero dollars to help Americans struggling with rising costs. Schumer called on New York House Republicans to stand up to this bill that would charge New York taxpayers for Trump’s new ballroom instead of lowering costs.

So what could New Yorkers get with this $1 billion in funding instead of putting it towards Trump’s ballroom?

Healthcare:

• $1 billion could have extended the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credit for nearly two years for every New Yorker
  • In 2025, 118,526[3] New Yorkers relied on these tax credits to help them afford health insurance and saved an average of $434 a month [4]per enrollee

• $1 billion could cover the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for all New Yorkers who rely on it for more than six years
  • For the 464,000 New Yorkers[5] who rely on insulin every day, this funding would have covered the average out-of-pocket cost for insulin at around $35 per month[6] for years

Lowering Costs for Groceries and Electric Bills: 

• $1 billion could restore SNAP benefits for more than three years for every New Yorker who was kicked off this food assistance program due to Trump and Washington Republicans’ cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill
  • 127,445[7] New Yorkers were estimated to lose food assistance between following Republican cuts. The average yearly SNAP benefit per person is $2,508[8]

• $1 billion could fund Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) benefits for all New Yorkers in the program for more than two years
  • According to state data, 462,000[9] New Yorkers rely on WIC
  • WIC provided an average of $978.12[10] per participant per year

• $1 billion could help all 1.67 million[11] New York LIHEAP recipients heat their homes in the winter or cool their homes in the summer for more than 2 years
  • New York families receive approximately $225 a year[12] from LIHEAP on average

• $1 billion could cover groceries for nearly 300,000 New York families for six months
  • According to the most recent data, the average household in New York spends on average$7,074[13] on groceries per year, with costs rising because of Trump’s tariffs

Childcare and Education:

• $1 billion could cut the cost of childcare in half for nearly 100,000 New York infants for a full year
  • The average cost of child care in New York for a year per infant is $20,439[14]

• $1 billion could cover almost half of in-state SUNY tuition for every single undergraduate student for a year
  • Average in-state tuition for a SUNY college is $7,070[15] for the approximately 340,000[16]undergraduate students enrolled per year

• $1 billion could cover a full four years of in-state CUNY tuition for 36,000 New York City college students in need
  • Average in-state tuition for a CUNY college is $6,930[17]. There is an average of 112,820[18]undergraduate students enrolled per year

 

Boosting Main Streets and Helping Farmers:

• $1 billion could provide 50,000 New York small businesses with $20,000 loans

• $1 billion could help 25,000 New York households rebuild with disaster loans of $40,000 each

• $1 billion could provide $30,000 in relief for every farm in New York State
  • There were 30,650[19] farms in New York State according to the 2022 census

Boosting Funding for Public Servants:

• $1 billion could cover a $4,600 bonus to every New York State public school teacher
  • There were 215,761[20] public school teachers in NY in 2022

• $1 billion could cover a $11,000 bonus for each New York firefighter
  • 81,231 volunteer firefighters and 6,944 career firefighters[21] in 2020

• $1 billion could cover a nearly $18,400 bonus to every police and sheriff’s patrol officer in New York
  • There were 54,360[22] police and sheriff’s patrol officers in NY in 2024

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/politics/schumer/as-republicans-push-for-1-billion-in-taxpayer-dollars-for-trumps-gilded-ballroom-schumer-reveals-how-that-funding-could-instead-be-used-to-lower-costs-for-new-york-families/

---