My August ‘Innovation in NJ’ Tour

My first stop was a tour and employee town hall at Onkos Surgical in Parsippany. At Onkos, they are bringing back cutting edge manufacturing and R&D jobs from overseas to their newly expanded facility to produce high tech prostheses for children fighting sarcoma. It’s so exciting to see this economic growth in New Jersey!

I met with Newport Associates to learn more about how they are approaching issues like congestion pricing, the SALT cap, and how federal infrastructure funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are already helping to grow New Jersey’s economy.

Ferring is leading the way in medical advancements to improve health care outcomes for women, including with reproductive and maternal health. It was exciting to hear from another company bringing jobs to New Jersey as they scale up manufacturing of a new gene therapy for bladder cancer at their facility in Parsippany.

My next ‘Innovation in NJ’ tour stop was to HNTB in Parsippany! I was able to give them an update on the Gateway Tunnel project — which I fought tirelessly to fund — and learned about their plans for expansion. We also hosted an employee town hall and heard directly from employees on how I can continue to support world class, green infrastructure in New Jersey.

Mayor Karr joined me in Morris Plains to see The Lab by Evernorth. I toured the facility that opened in 2022, bringing over 2,000 jobs to NJ-11, and took questions from employees during a town hall.

Princeton is home to a Department of Energy Plasma Physics Lab that is paving the way for cutting edge green energy solutions and sustainable manufacturing. At this stop, I learned more about how the school is using federal funding to push New Jersey into the future.

Advocating for Labor & Working Families

After I introduced my bipartisan Expanding Labor Representation in the Workforce System Act as part of my Jersey STRONG Agenda, the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters invited me to tour their training center in Edison to show me the high-quality workforce development they provide. It’s always rewarding to partner with organized labor to strengthen New Jersey’s workforce for the future.

At the Carpenters, we presented a dog house to The Seeing Eye (Mikie, my namesake, and I loved it!), and we discussed how my legislation to expand the level of labor union participation on state and local workforce boards will benefit unions and working families.

Supporting New Jersey Businesses

I met with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s new CEO Peter Connolly to discuss how we can continue to work together to keep New Jersey manufacturing competitive for years to come. It was exciting to hear how NJMEP is reaching new audiences on career opportunities in advanced manufacturing through initiatives like their new mobile training lab and the Department Of Defense funded veterans training program.

Big thanks to the Morris County Chamber of Commerce for hosting the annual Washington update to local business and community leaders. I answered questions about my 'Innovation in NJ' tour, our work to level the global playing field for NJ business, and how we’ve strengthened American supply chains over the past year.

I spoke with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce about how I’m working to level the playing field for New Jersey business through my work on the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. It’s critical that we stand up for U.S. job creators in the face of illegal and unfair trade practices by the CCP.

Expanding Economic Opportunities at the Crossroads of the American Revolution

Did you know General George Washington spent more time in New Jersey than any other state during the American Revolution?

Senator Booker and I sat down with local leaders and historical organizations to foster broad collaboration on educational and economic opportunities in New Jersey during our country’s upcoming 250th birthday in 2026. NJ-11 is the crossroads of the American Revolution and we must be prepared to welcome an influx of heritage tourism.

After our panel, I was excited to bring Senator Booker to Jockey Hollow to learn more about the Continental Army’s encampment during the worst winter of the war. We’re proud to have secured federal funding through the Great American Outdoors Act and the American Rescue Plan to ensure Jockey Hollow could make much needed infrastructure updates.