Winter 2023 Wrap-Up Newsletter

Gottheimer Sworn into the 118th Congress

"In the 118th Congress, and as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, I will continue to fight for North Jersey families, veterans, seniors, first responders, small businesses, and all our communities. I will continue to fight to lower taxes and health care costs, keep our air and water clean, fix our roads and bridges, solve problems, and get things done.” said Congressman Gottheimer upon being sworn in for his fourth term. "As part of my oath I took, I swore to support and defend the Constitution — a responsibility I endeavor to uphold every hour of every day. At its core, it’s about protecting our fundamental freedoms: from speech to religion, to safeguarding our democracy and the values we all hold dear."

Above: Gottheimer thanking union workers at the Portal North Bridge Groundbreaking.

Congressman Gottheimer announced a new $292 million federal investment clawed back from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to help build the Hudson River Tunnel — a key step to completing the Gateway Train Tunnel.

 

Gottheimer helped craft and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which will fund a major portion of the Tunnel, including the Hudson River Tunnel and Portal North Bridge, invest in New Jersey’s ports, roads, rails, and bridges, address supply chain issues, create jobs, and boost our local economy.

 

The Gateway Tunnel will connect 20% of the nation’s GDP between New York and New Jersey. The current tunnel between the two states is more than 110 years old and, if it were to crumble, it would cost the regional economy $100 million a day.

 

The Hudson Tunnel Project will:

 

• Allow rehabilitation to the existing more than 100-year-old North River Tunnel — the only passenger rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York.
• Build a new tunnel beneath the Palisades, the Hudson River, and the waterfront area in Manhattan.
• Create 72,000 good-paying jobs with union partnerships for job training.
• Improve service for more than 200,000 passengers on NJ Transit and Amtrak.
• Boost the economy, strengthen supply chains, and improve commutes for North Jersey residents.

 

In 2020, passengers experienced hundreds of hours of delays on more than fifty days in the year due to problems caused by aging tunnel infrastructure. In 2012, millions of gallons of salt water flooded into the tunnel during Superstorm Sandy — damaging critical infrastructure that affects service today.

Read more here.

Above: Gottheimer in Bogota announcing new federal investment clawed back for the Bogota Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office. 

Congressman Josh Gottheimer — on what he called “Lower Tax Tuesday” — joined with local officials, county leaders, and law enforcement to announce new bipartisan federal investments successfully clawed back from Washington to help ease the burden on town and county budgets, helping lower taxes and keep our families safe.

 

Gottheimer’s “Lower Tax Tuesday” Announcement of New Federal Investment Clawed Back from Washington to Fifth District Towns Include:

 

• $255,000 in Federal Public Safety Investment for the Bogota Police Department: After lightning badly damaged their two-way radio system in June 2021, this new federal investment will help the Bogota Police Department upgrade to a new state-of-the-art communications system, help build the necessary base for the infrastructure of the project, and help purchase 25 mobile radios, 16 car radios, two complete dispatch consoles, antennas, microphones, and chargers — all allowing the Department to tie directly into County communications and with other towns.

 

• $954,000 in Federal Public Safety Investment for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office: With the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and its more than 600 dedicated personnel responsible for safeguarding a population of nearly one million residents, this new federal investment will help the Sheriff’s Office purchase around 100 new cameras to be placed in strategic points along County roads and parks — to help the Sheriff’s Office expand their ability to monitor incidents and combat car thefts around the County. This new investment will also help the Sheriff’s Office purchase trailer mounted message boards to better communicate with the community during County park events, to direct traffic, to display security guidance, and during emergency incidents.

 

• $800,000 in Federal Clean Water Investment for Mahwah Township: to design, purchase, manufacture, and implement a new filtration system for their largest well. Mahwah operates seven ground wells which pull 68% of the town’s water supply, with the remaining 32% coming from Veolia. Their largest well — Well #19 — is offline, waiting for the installation of a new filtration system to meet the State’s new PFAS standards, according to updated NJDEP guidelines. This new federal investment will help implement an entirely new filtration system for Well #19 and enable Mahwah to address lead, PFAS, and forever chemicals. Once the filtration system is completed and the well is filtered to new standards, it can be put back online.

 

Gottheimer also announced a new $3.4 million federal investment clawed back to Fair Lawn for new and improved water treatment. This investment will help keep Fair Lawn water clean by addressing three wells that are currently offline from increased levels of lead and forever chemicals known as PFAS. Because the Borough is now operating with fewer wells, Fair Lawn has been forced to purchase water from private companies which can increase utility bills for families.

Read more here.

Above: Gottheimer announcing the bipartisan HEAL Act in the U.S. Capitol.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Gottheimer introduced new, bipartisan legislation — the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act — which now has nearly 100 cosponsors.

 

The bipartisan HEAL Act will direct the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide, which will:

 

• Determine which states and school districts require or do not require Holocaust education in their curriculum;
• Determine which states and school districts offer optional Holocaust education;
• Identify the standards and requirements schools mandate on this Holocaust education;
• Identify the types and quality of instructional materials used to teach;
• Identify the approaches used by schools to assess what students learn; and
• Report the results of the study to Congress.

 

There is mounting evidence that knowledge about the Holocaust is beginning to fade. A 2020 survey measuring Holocaust awareness in the U.S. found that roughly two-thirds of those asked did not know how many Jewish people died. The survey of Americans between 18 and 40 also found that 48% could not name one concentration camp or ghetto. 

 

“We cannot — and we must not — ever ignore the stunning rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial — across Europe, around the world, and increasingly, here at home in the United States, including the violent, antisemitic attacks we have experienced in my own home state of New Jersey and around the country. The mounting evidence that knowledge about the Holocaust is beginning to fade should also alarm us all,” said Congressman Gottheimer, the lead sponsor of the bipartisan HEAL Act. “We all have an obligation to teach future generations about this evil. We have an obligation to try to heal our communities. We have an obligation to teach about this stain of hatred, so that it never happens ever again.”

Read more here.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day,  Congressman Gottheimer worked with 28 local elementary schools to make Valentine’s Day cards for local veterans. 
 
Gottheimer then distributed the student-made Valentines to local veterans at the Paramus Veterans Memorial Home to thank them for their service. The cards were also delivered to local veterans, American Legion posts, and VFW posts.
 
“Having the backs of our veterans and our active-duty service members is one of my top priorities in Congress,” said Congressman Gottheimer. “We owe the freedoms we enjoy, living in the greatest country in the world, to those who fight to protect and defend those freedoms every day. This is just one small way we can say thank you to them for their service. I am so proud of all the students participating for recognizing the sacrifices our brave men and women make every single day.”

Above: Gottheimer announcing new steps to his new Senior Security Strategy at the Northwest Bergen County Senior Center.

Congressman Gottheimer announced new steps as part of his Senior Security Strategy — to help end financial scams targeting our seniors.

 

Senior scams, which can include harassing robocalls and phone calls impersonating the government, cost older Americans more than $36 billion a year according to the National Council on Aging. According to the AARP, senior scams have more than doubled since 2020.

 

New steps Gottheimer announced for his Senior Security Strategy:

 

• The U.S. House of Representatives passed critical bipartisan legislation — co-led by Gottheimer — the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act: The bipartisan Financial Exploitation Prevention Act passed the House by a sweeping vote of 419 to 0. This bipartisan bill will require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to report to Congress with recommendations on how to combat financial exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults. It will also create better protections by allowing investment companies, including mutual funds, to delay the selling of a security, like a stock, if they believe it was fraudulently requested to exploit a senior.

 

• Gottheimer will be introducing his bipartisan legislation, the Empowering States to Protect Seniors from Bad Actors Act,​which will do more to educate and better protect seniors from these financial scams: The bipartisan legislation will create a new Senior Investor Protection Grant Program to support state enforcement agencies and task forces to protect and educate seniors on financial fraud. They will be able to hire additional investigative staff, invest in equipment and training for law enforcement, and educate seniors on financial scams. This bipartisan bill passed overwhelmingly out of the House last year.

 

• Gottheimer will be introducing his bipartisan legislation, the Senior Security Act: This bill passed the House last year and will create a Senior Investor Taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that will examine how seniors are being targeted by fraudsters who seek to take financial advantage of them. Every two years, the Taskforce will be required to submit a report to Congress outlining trends and innovations — like robocalls and voice spoofing — that are impacting senior investors, helping us stay ahead of changes in financial scams as they arise.

 

• In 2019, Gottheimer helped pass the bipartisan Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, known as the TRACED Act, which requires phone companies to verify that the caller ID matches the caller’s real phone number. It also requires companies to offer call-authentication technology, as well as opt-in or opt-out robocall blocking to consumers at no additional charge. This new effort has resulted in countless fines for providers hosting robocalls, helped put an end to international robocallers reaching Americans’ phones, and is helping improve blocking tools to protect families from dangerous robocalls and robotexts.

Read more here.

Above: Gottheimer and Malliotakis near the Lincoln Tunnel, announcing new action to combat the MTA’s Congestion Tax plan.

Congressman Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) announced the leadership for a new, bipartisan Congressional Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus to combat New York’s proposed Congestion Tax. The Co-Chairs of the new bipartisan Congressional Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus will be Gottheimer, Malliotakis, and Mike Lawler (NY-17). 

 

The Congestion Tax would cost Jersey and New York drivers up to $23 dollars a day — more than $5,000 a year — on top of the $17-a-day tolls for bridges and tunnels, to drive to work or visit New York City south of 60th Street. No revenue from the Congestion Tax goes to support NJ Transit, PATH, or New Jersey in any way, unlike the shared Port Authority tolls.

 

Gottheimer and Malliotakis outlined three priorities and the start of an action plan for the bipartisan Congressional Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus:

 

• Environment: Studying the true impact the Congestion Tax will have on the environment, especially in the outer boroughs and suburbs.

 

• Economic Impact: Protecting drivers and communities from the economic impact of the Congestion Tax.

 

• Oversight: Conduct oversight of the MTA and audit the billions in federal assistance the MTA has already received.

Read more here.

As always, if you’re experiencing an issue with a federal agency, Congressman Gottheimer's Constituent Service team is here to listen & help with VA benefits, Social Security, Medicare, & much more.

 

Call at 201-389-1100 or email [email protected].

 

You can also follow Congressman Gottheimer's Twitter here, Facebook here, and Instagram here.

Contact the Constituent Service's team here.

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