ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on Congress to “stop playing politics with New York jobs and businesses.”

Hochul slammed the White House’s decision to cut $500 million in clean energy grant funding last week to over two dozen factories and businesses in the Empire State.

Hochul adds that the cuts will put more than 1,000 good-paying jobs at risk.

“These cuts directly impact local businesses and major companies, putting workers out of jobs, shuttering factories, and slowing our state’s economic progress,” said Hochul. “New York Republicans should grow a spine, stand with our workers, and demand that President Trump restore this funding.”

The sentiment was echoed by the CEO and Commissioner of Empire State Development, Hope Knight.

“These federal cuts are shutting down projects already underway and will stifle New York’s clean energy economy while killing good-paying jobs,” said Knight. “Communities that were on the brink of transformative growth will now face stalled investments and lost paychecks, as New York’s progress toward a sustainable future stalls.”

Locally, the canceled contracts include over $7.5 million to Cornell University, $3.6 million to Ecolectro Inc., and over $2 million to Dimensional Energy Inc., all based in Ithaca.

“Families and small businesses in the Southern Tier are already getting squeezed by sky-high utility bills, and now this administration wants to make it even harder to keep the lights on,” said Congressman Josh Riley. “These cuts will only make life more expensive for working people.”

Hochul says the cuts, which happened during the government shutdown, will have an estimated negative economic impact of $650 million in New York. Read more here.