Cuomo received $ 5 million for a book on the pandemic: state officials are outraged

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo received $ 5,1 million for the publication of his memoir on the COVID-19 pandemic. State lawmakers consider this excessive and are now proposing a legislative measure that would limit the external income of New York City's elected officials. NYPost.

The proposed law, drafted by the chairman of the State Senate Finance Committee, Liz Krueger (Democrat from Manhattan), will limit the external income earned by state officials and legislators to 15% of their salary.

Cuomo's book is the subject of numerous investigations, with claims that he used government resources to publish it and that he underreported coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes so that his success in the fight against the pandemic seemed better and the book sold well. Nursing home representatives called the $ 5 million payment "blood money" earned from loved ones and relatives of people who died from COVID.

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Krueger cited the Cuomo book scandal, as well as corruption scams involving other lawmakers, as the reason why it is necessary to impose restrictions on the external income of civil servants.

“Over the past several decades, public confidence in elected officials has been steadily eroded by a series of scandals that have rocked Albany. There have been several criminal investigations into the use by legislators of their positions to generate additional external income, ”said Kruger.

The politician was likely referring to the disgraced former Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who were convicted of individual corruption fraud.

Krueger added: “Recently, an elected state official received over $ 4 million in advance from a publishing company to write a book on the coronavirus pandemic in New York. While investigations into this and a number of other issues are ongoing, this bill will address the aforementioned issues by eliminating corruption among government officials by limiting the external income of legislators and elected officials of the state. ”

Cuomo earns $ 225 a year, the highest salary of any governor in the country. Legislators in the State Assembly currently make $ 000.

The Kruger Bill is modeled on a federal law that restricts the external income that members of the United States Congress can receive. This measure will exclude from the 15 percent cap certain incomes of civil servants, in particular pensions and benefits received from previous work, military service or the National Guard, or passive income from investment activities or family businesses.

Kruger, who recently introduced the bill, will be looking for an Assemblyman to submit it to the state's lower house of parliament.

The New York legislature is on summer vacation, so the law will likely not be considered until next year, when all state officials and legislators are re-elected.

Cuomo's office did not comment. He denies any wrongdoing on his part in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Before the pandemic and the publication of his memoir, "The American Crisis: Lessons from Leadership During the COVID Pandemic," Cuomo advocated limiting the external income of civil servants to avoid conflicts of interest. He put forward the introduction of such a limit as a condition for raising the wages of legislators. But the courts blocked the restrictions on external income recommended by the state wages commission.

“You have to pay them a salary that will enable them to live and not be martyrs. I also agree that there should be a ban on receiving income from outside. I've been talking about this for many, many years. And the commission figured out how to do it, so I think that's good news, ”Cuomo said in 2018.

A year later, he said: "In the worst case, the legislature can pass a law that says that we ourselves will prohibit the receipt of third-party income."

Republican lawmakers have previously proposed legislation prohibiting elected officials from profiting from the books they publish. This happened immediately after the disclosure of Cuomo's book contract.

Democrats control both houses of the legislature, so Kruger needs the support of her party colleagues for the bill to pass.

Attorney General Laetitia James and the State Assembly Judicial Committee are investigating allegations that Cuomo used government officials to help prepare and promote his memoir, The American Crisis: Leadership Lessons During The COVID-19 Pandemic.

Meanwhile, a federal investigation into Cuomo's work with nursing homes amid the pandemic has expanded to include his book deal, sources said, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.