Governor Hochul: “We have over 7 million New Yorkers who rely on Medicaid as a lifeline. Whether it's half of the children — we have 2.5 million kids who get health care — or it's our seniors, our parents, our grandparents who are in nursing homes. Over 600,000 people with disabilities. Almost 200,000 pregnant women. These are the people we're talking about when we say, ‘You cannot cut this program, because it is a place like St. Mary's that'll be devastated when they get almost all their dollars from Medicaid.’... And if [Republicans] dare touch this, there has to be a revolt from all Americans, but certainly here in the State of New York. We'll take that fight on. And I think every Republican member of Congress who claims to represent New York State should come to St. Mary's. Look in the eyes of these kids, listen to their voices, talk to the parents and then still see if you can go back to Washington and cut this program. I bet you cannot. Because otherwise you'd be the most heartless, callous people who ever walked this Earth.”

Hochul: “This is the fight we're waging, my friends. I'm ready for it. I'm up for it. And I know we have great partners in government who are going to take it to the mat. And we're there with you, all the way to the end.”

Earlier on March 2nd, Governor Kathy Hochul joined pediatric patients and families to call out federal Medicaid funding cuts.

B-ROLL of the Governor during her visit can be found on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

?I want to thank Dr. Eddie Simpser, the President and CEO of St. Mary's Healthcare, and this is an extraordinary place. You walk in here, it's brightly lit, the sun comes through, it's a place of hope, a place of love and a place of miracles. And I want to thank you and your dedicated staff of just, God's angels on Earth — and you have a big fan over there as well — for all the work you do. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Also really proud to be joined by our champions in Congress. Congressman Greg Meeks and Congresswoman Grace Meng who have been out there on the front lines talking about what devastating cuts, as proposed by the Republicans in Congress, would do all over the State, in their districts, but at a place like St. Mary's. So I just want to thank both of you for being on the front lines.

And to the parents and the children — this place is about the children. And I just had a tour a few minutes ago. I met some wonderful children and families and just — it was really touching. It's hard to see kids that are just in such challenging places because of medically complex conditions. But, you know, you see their smiles and it just warms your soul, and you realize that there's a lot of people who need our help — Yes, darling.

You think about the fact that we have over 7 million New Yorkers who rely on Medicaid as a lifeline. Whether it's half of the children — we have 2.5 million kids who get health care — or it's our seniors, our parents, our grandparents who are in nursing homes. Over 600,000 people with disabilities. Almost 200,000 pregnant women. These are the people we're talking about when we say, “You cannot cut this program, because it is a place like St. Mary's that'll be devastated when they get almost all their dollars from Medicaid.”

We have over 2,000 children served — 1,200 at home, and many, many here every single day — who are getting life saving support and care. And if they dare touch this, there has to be a revolt from all Americans, but certainly here in the State of New York. We'll take that fight on.

And I think every Republican member of Congress who claims to represent New York State should come to St. Mary's. Look in the eyes of these kids, listen to their voices, talk to the parents and then still see if you can go back to Washington and cut this program. I bet you cannot. Because otherwise you'd be the most heartless, callous people who ever walked this Earth.

I challenge you. Come here and tell them you're willing to cut them. This lifeline. But here in New York, we're here for the families. We'll continue supporting them. And when all the parents here — and I talked to the CEO here about what people are feeling when they heard about the cuts in Washington — these families have enough stress in their lives. They're dealing with complex situations, life and death situations.

And now, they have to worry about whether their health care for their kids is going to be covered? We're better than that. New York is better than that. America is better than that. And we won't let that happen.

And I will say as an aside, this is not the only program that's under assault by Washington. Not just Medicare, but Elon Musk representing the Trump Administration just called Social Security — which has been in place since the depression, conceived by Franklin Roosevelt, who once held the job I held now — Social Security is a lifeline for people with disabilities and seniors and everybody who works hard to count on their family. He called it a Ponzi scheme. My God. We have to stand up and say, “You are not unraveling the social fabric of our nation, because we take care of our people.” So this is the fight we're waging, my friends.

I'm ready for it. I'm up for it. And I know we have great partners in government who are going to take it to the mat. And we're there with you, all the way to the end. Let me represent — let me introduce — Congressman Greg Meeks. A tremendous, tremendous champion, not just for his district, but for this entire country.

Congressman Meeks.