Reed goes to Albany to criticize Cuomo on Covid nursing home controversy

Feb. 9—ALBANY — U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican, took his criticisms of New York's Covid nursing home fatalities' controversy to the state Capitol Tuesday and one floor above his chief target in the matter: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Calling Cuomo responsible for the deaths of thousands of nursing home residents from Covid, Reed said he has "hope" the Biden administration's Justice Department will look into the matter "and hold the governor accountable."

"These mothers, these fathers, these grandmothers, these grandfathers deserve justice," Reed said Tuesday as he joined Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a North Tonawanda Republican, and Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, an Oswego County Republican.

Reed said he wants to know the status of an inquiry that began during the Trump administration into the New York nursing home deaths, as well as what the new Biden administration will do going forward on the matter.

Reed is among the possible Republicans who might try to challenge Cuomo in the 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

The Cuomo administration released a statement seeking to tie Reed to Jan. 6 riot in Washington that led to impeachment proceedings against former President Trump.

"With the impeachment trial starting today, of course he's trying to change the subject," the statement said.

The congressman and state lawmakers held their briefing following the recent report by New York Attorney General Letitia James that found Cuomo's health department undercounted nursing home resident deaths by not revealing information about Covid patients transferred from the facilities to hospitals where they died.

After the James report, the Cuomo administration within hours updated its numbers showing more than 3,800 additional nursing home patients died from Covid. Since then, the state added to the numbers by revealing another 1,500 deaths in other long-term adult facilities. In all, nearly 15,000 such residents died from Covid.

Critics, like Reed, blame a Cuomo administration order last spring that required nursing homes to admit Covid-positive patients coming from hospitals.

Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker later this month is to testify on the health portion of Cuomo's recent state budget plan, a session certain to be Covid-focused.

But Republicans in the state Legislature want additional hearings with Zucker and top health officials — with lawmakers using subpoena power — looking only into how the state handled Covid in nursing homes. "The Assembly minority conference is going to continue to hammer on this issue," Barclay said.

"One day focused only on this," Ortt said of the need for a singular topic — Covid in nursing homes — to be called by Democrats who control the state Assembly and Senate.

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