As the April 1 budget deadline nears, Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) today voiced outrage that Gov. Cuomo and the Assembly Majority plans to gut funding for the Joseph P. Dwyer Program and Veterans Counseling Services Program in this year’s state budget.

“During a time when an estimated 22 veterans a day are committing suicide due to the unseen horrors of war, it is as embarrassing as it is dangerous that the Majority is proposing cuts to important mental health programs for veterans like the Joseph P. Dwyer Program,” said McDonough.

Nassau County received $185,000 in funding from the Joseph P. Dwyer Program last year to provide peer-to-peer counseling for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

“I know first-hand the impact the Dwyer Project and Veterans Counseling Services has made in Nassau County and across New York,” McDonough stated. “I will continue to advocate for these programs so all New York veterans can get the services they deserve.”

“As a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard, I cannot stand idly by as lawmakers gut funding to these vital programs for my fellow veterans,” McDonough continued. “Instead of investing billions of dollars of taxpayer money in corrupt economic development projects or passing laws allowing ex-felons to serve jury duty, the governor and his acolytes should focus on fighting for veterans who have fought for them.