Dear Neighbors,
I voted against the Republicans’ Israel bill this week, because it sets a dangerous precedent by politicizing support for Israel and making our ally a pawn of partisan politics. House Republicans must abandon their political stunts and work with Democrats to pass a bipartisan package that provides Israel with the military assistance it needs to defend itself and eliminate Hamas.
New Ferry Service for South Amboy
I was proud to join state and local leaders in South Amboy this week to celebrate the launch of the new ferry service to New York City. I advocated for the $5.3 million in federal funding that was awarded from the Federal Transit Administration in support of the city’s Passenger Ferry Grant Program application.
The South Amboy ferry will give residents a new way to commute between Central Jersey and New York City and reduce traffic congestion. The ferry will also bolster economic opportunities in the city and surrounding area. I’m glad to see the federal funding I helped secure for the project in action. Read more here
Cleaning Up Contaminated Land and Revitalizing Our Communities
I joined a press conference this week in Sayreville to announce the relaunch of the Brownfields Development Assistance Program for New Jersey municipalities. I authored the bipartisan bill that created the federal Brownfields program in 2002. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law injected $1.5 billion nationwide into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields program to help communities clean up contaminated industrial sites and turn the spaces into parks, housing developments, or new businesses.
With this program and federal funding, communities across New Jersey will be able to repurpose the land and return it to good use. The relaunch of this program will help build on our progress across New Jersey to clean up and revitalize these contaminated sites so we can generate new jobs and economic opportunities.
The Transition to Clean Energy is Lowering Costs for Families and Creating Jobs
I joined a cord connection event with local elected officials and New Jersey-based renewable energy company Solar Landscape to launch a new solar energy project that will provide eligible households in New Jersey with affordable, clean energy. This community solar project will save households in the area an estimated $160 per year on their utility bills. This event officially makes New Jersey home to the largest number of community solar projects for low- and moderate-income families in the country. Solar Landscape will have 50 operational community solar projects, bringing affordable community solar to over 10,000 New Jersey households and saving them an estimated $2 million per year on their home energy bills.
The solar energy project was made possible by a solar investment tax credit from the Inflation Reduction Act. As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee last Congress, I included provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the transition to a low-carbon economy by investing in clean energy, distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, and microgrids – all of which are crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This project is just more proof that we can empower our workers with new, good paying jobs as we work to lower costs for hardworking Americans. I'm proud that our state is leading the way on our path toward a clean, low-carbon future and showing that we don’t have to choose between fighting climate change and economic growth.
Click here to visit my website or call my offices directly if you have questions or need help with a federal agency:
Middlesex County: 732-249-8892
Monmouth County: 732-571-1140
Sincerely,
