September Wrap-up

The recent unprovoked Hamas terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli children, women, men, and elderly underscores why I will always stand with Israel — our most vital ally in the region — and support our partner’s right to defend herself from those who seek her destruction. The U.S.-Israel relationship will remain, as it has for decades, ironclad. 

 

You can read my full statement on the war against Israel here.

Above: Gottheimer with New Jersey law enforcement and firefighters as the government shutdown threatened public safety and national security.

 

On September 30, 2023, just hours before a government shutdown, Congressman Gottheimer voted for bipartisan legislation to stop a government shutdown. The legislation passed by a 331 to 91 vote. 

 

The last shutdown in 2019 cost taxpayers $66 million a day – or more than 2.2 billion over the 34 days it lasted. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the last shutdown cost our economy $11 billion dollars in just five weeks. 

 

“As I’ve said for weeks, with a divided government, a bipartisan solution is the only way to stop the ultra-right from holding the country hostage,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “I helped deliver a bipartisan vote to stop a shutdown and protect our military, first responders, seniors, and children.”

Gottheimer helped pass bipartisan legislation to:

• Stop a government shutdown for 45 days.

• Protect pay for more than a million service men and women and federal law enforcement who are critical to keeping our communities safe and protecting our national security.

• Continue major national and international operations, including combating drug traffickers and terrorists and securing our borders.

• Protect federal investments for key programs like SAFER, LESO, AFG, and COPS grants that protect our police, firefighters, and first responders.

• Ensure that countless defense projects — key to our national security — receive investments.

• Protect investments for the federal school meals program, meals on wheels for seniors, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for lower-income pregnant and nursing women, babies, and young children, and for SNAP to help lower-income families with their groceries.

• Ensure there is support for veterans, childcare, and seniors.

• Protect the economy, infrastructure projects, federal food inspections, the safety of our nation’s transportation.

Read more here.

Above: Gottheimer with state and local public officials and labor to fight against bureaucratic delays to the Bergen- Hudson Light Rail Project.

 

On September 15, 2023, Congressman Gottheimer led public officials and labor leaders from across New Jersey calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Transit Authority to commit to expediting the expansion of the Bergen-Hudson Light Rail project. 

 

In 2018, NJ Transit submitted a full EIS in 2018, but now, USDOT rejected the decades-long in-depth study and demanded that NJ Transit start from the beginning. USDOT’s decision could delay the project at least two years and cost millions of taxpayer dollars. 

Bergen-Hudson Light Rail Expansion Benefits:

• For every $1 dollar we invest in infrastructure, there’s more than $3 dollars of economic output.

• Thousands of Northern Bergen County residents will be able to commute to and from Hudson County and New York City. 

• Project will extend the current light rail from Tonnelle Avenue in Hudson County, north to Englewood Hospital in Bergen County — providing service to towns between and improving commutes for residents and hospital workers at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. 

• Rather than driving or taking the bus to New York, the expanded light rail will allow families to take the train to the City in about thirty minutes. 

• The light rail is faster, cheaper, more reliable, and better for the environment, and will boost economic development in North Jersey, create jobs, and attract businesses.

Read more here.

Above: Gottheimer with Fifth District residents he helped.

 

On September 7, 2023, Congressman Gottheimer announced that he has clawed more than $85 million straight back into the pockets of his constituents, including veterans, seniors, local businesses, towns, communities, and North Jersey families, since taking office.

 

Over the past two years, Gottheimer has helped more than 350 veterans access their VA benefits and service medals; helped more than 850 seniors access their earned Social Security checks; helped get 60 constituents back home from being stranded overseas; assisted with over 3,400 passport processes; helped more than 1,600 constituents fight the IRS; and helped more than 4,000 constituents receive unemployment benefits. Additionally, local businesses have received tens of millions of dollars by cutting through red tape at federal agencies. 

 

“To help make life more affordable, I’ve been working overtime since the day I come to Congress to make sure North Jersey residents — including our seniors, veterans, and local businesses — receive what they are owed from the federal government,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “My team and I have made it our mission to have the best constituent services in the nation. I think the numbers behind our work speak volumes to my all-star team’s dedication to North Jersey.”

Gottheimer’s Constituent Service Team can help if you’re experiencing an issue with a federal agency, including with VA benefits, Social Security, Medicare, and more. Call Gottheimer’s Constituent Services Team at 201-389-1100 or reach them online at Gottheimer.House.Gov.

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 team here.

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