Mission One: Lowering the Cost of Living on Long Island
Mission One: Lowering the Cost of Living on Long Island
Before I left for my last deployment, one hundred dollars could fill an entire shopping cart. Today, I am lucky if it covers a couple of bags. Life on Long Island has become unaffordable. Health care feels out of reach, education is harder to access, and childcare costs are through the roof.
Too many young people are told that higher education is the path to opportunity, only to graduate buried in debt with fewer chances to get ahead. I am still paying off my own student loans, and I know how hard it is to build a future when debt follows you long after graduation. That pressure makes it even harder for young people to stay on Long Island and put down roots.
I saw the cost of living take its toll early in my life. When I was growing up, my family felt the impact of Long Island’s rising costs firsthand, as we were forced to leave because staying was no longer affordable. That experience stayed with me. No one should have to choose between staying close to family and being able to afford a decent life.
Long Islanders are working harder than ever and still falling further behind. Affordability is about fairness, opportunity, and respect for the people who make this region work. I will fight to make Long Island a place where working families, young people, and seniors can not only stay, but build a real future.
Objective:
Lower the cost of living so Long Island families can stay here, raise their children here, and give the next generation a real chance to buy a home in the communities they grew up in.
For too many young people, the Long Island dream feels out of reach. Families are being squeezed by high taxes, rising grocery prices, expensive childcare, prescription drug costs, and housing prices that make it nearly impossible for our children to build a future here. Chris Gallant believes the next generation should not have to leave Long Island just to afford a life.
Congressional Action Plan:
- Fight to expand SALT deductions so Long Island homeowners can keep more of what they earn.
- Support legislation that lowers prescription drug costs and reduces the burden on families, seniors, and veterans.
- Advocate for expanded Child Tax Credits to help working parents manage everyday expenses.
- Push for affordable childcare tax incentives so parents are not forced to choose between their careers and caring for their children.
- Support efforts to stop corporate price gouging on groceries, gas, and basic necessities.
- Secure federal housing grants to increase workforce housing, starter homes, and attainable housing options for young professionals, first responders, teachers, nurses, veterans, and working families.
- Bring federal resources back to Suffolk County to strengthen infrastructure, support small businesses, and reduce the local tax burden on homeowners.
Mission Success Metrics:
✅ Lower federal tax burden for Long Island homeowners
✅ More money back in the pockets of working families
✅ Expanded housing opportunities for young people and first-time homebuyers
✅ Greater support for parents raising children on Long Island
✅ A future where our children can afford to live, work, and buy homes here
✅ Long Island remains a place families can grow, not a place they are forced to leave
