January Wrap-up

Above: Gottheimer at the Ridgewood YMCA childcare center.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer voted to pass a bipartisan tax package that will help Jersey families pay for childcare and child-related expenses like food and diapers. It serves as a critical down payment on expanding the Child Tax Credit which ultra-right extremists tried to cut drastically. The legislation will also lower taxes for Jersey small businesses, make housing more affordable, and offer important relief to victims of disasters. The legislation passed by a 357 to 70 vote.

Previously, the American Rescue Plan temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit for 2021 and helped more than 61 million children, lifting nearly four million out of poverty. This helped cut child poverty in half nationally, including a 48 percent reduction in New Jersey. Since its expiration, child poverty rates have skyrocketed, more than doubling the rate from a historic low of 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022 — wiping out all the gains we made as a nation.

Across the nation, from 2019 to just this past October alone, the average cost of childcare is up 32 percent. Jersey was ranked the second most expensive state in the country for childcare last year, costing $442.19 per week on average.

Earlier this month, Gottheimer announced his new, three-part Childcare Affordability Plan which helps parents go to work and ensure their children have the care they deserve and need to grow and learn safely.

Expanded Child Tax Credit

• Increases the maximum refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit from $1,600 in 2023 to $1,800 in 2023, $1,900 in 2024, and the full credit in 2025.
• Adjusts the $2,000 maximum per Child Tax Credit for inflation.
• Applies the credit’s phase-in rate on a per-child basis, helping larger families afford the higher costs. 
• Offer a one-year income “lookback” provision to create flexibility for families to use either current- or prior-year income to calculate their credit.

Above: Gottheimer with Bergen County Commissioner Rafael Marte and VFW Post-6467 Commander Warren Williams at the Paramus Veterans Home.

Congressman Gottheimer, with Bergen County Commissioner Rafael Marte and VFW Post-6467 Commander Warren Williams, were at the Paramus Veterans Home to sound the alarm on the immediate, negative impact a shutdown would have on our nation's veterans and strongly urged Members of Congress to come together and keep the government open.

Gottheimer called on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to stand up to ultra-right wing extremists, honor the government funding agreement he made with Leader Schumer, avert a government shutdown, and help protect our veterans.

Government shutdown impacts on veterans:

• Stops the VA from working through the backlog of veterans claims in their system. This will even further delay those sick or injured from receiving disability benefits including for physical conditions, chronic illnesses, and mental health conditions like PTSD. 
  • More than 400,000 veterans are waiting to hear back from the VA – and a shutdown will make the wait even longer.
• Stops the VA from providing veterans with career counseling or transition assistance program activities when veterans return home from active duty.
  • About 250,000 Service members transition to civilian life each year.
  • These programs help deliver information, resources, resume training, interview prep, and tools to help prepare for the move from military to civilian life.
• Cuts off the GI Bill Hotline, which helps veterans navigate the education benefits that they’ve earned.
• Stops the VA from being able to properly honor veterans who have passed away. The VA will be unable to place permanent headstones on veterans’ graves, and prevent them from maintaining the grounds at VA national cemeteries.

Gottheimer Action to Stop a Government Shutdown:

• First, Gottheimer is sending an urgent letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, calling on him to stand up to ultra-right extremists, honor the government funding agreement he made with Leader Schumer, avert a government shutdown, and help protect our veterans.
• Second, Gottheimer is urging his colleagues in the House to support a six week government funding extension and protect our veterans, children, seniors, and families from a shutdown.
• Third, Gottheimer will work to avoid the lack of certainty that comes with patchwork solutions to government funding. This strategy impacts every government department, and can cost our military hundreds of millions of dollars and almost 5,000 years of lost productivity and halted projects due to staff furloughs.

Above: Gottheimer announcing new Congressional Report on NY’s Congestion Tax.

Congressman Gottheimer released a new Congressional Report on New York's proposed Congestion Tax. It's based on a detailed study and analysis of the MTA's announcement this past December with the specifics of their pricing scheme. The Congestion Tax will increase commuter costs, congestion, and cancer-causing pollution in New Jersey and the outer boroughs.

Key Findings from Gottheimer’s Congressional Report on NY’s Congestion Tax:

• The Congestion Tax is estimated to raise $3.4 billion in a year, three times the New York State Legislature’s required $1 billion objective.
• Even if the MTA doesn’t charge a nickel to those using New Jersey crossings into the Central Business District (60th Street via George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, and Holland Tunnel), the Congestion Tax is estimated to raise $1.4 billion in a year. That’s $400 million above its target. Mathematically, the MTA could — and should — exempt all New Jersey crossings from the Congestion Tax and still raise its target $1 billion.
• Through current tolls to cross the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, George Washington Bridge, Bayonne Bridge, Goethals Bridge, and Outerbridge Crossing, New York already made $1.8 billion in 2022 from these New Jersey to New York crossings.
• Per the MTA’s current proposal, the Congestion Tax will cost New Jersey and New York drivers up to $24.75 a day — nearly $6,500 a year — on top of the $17-a-day tolls for bridges and tunnels and the cost of gas and parking, just to drive south of 60th Street in New York City.
• On a Gridlock Alert Day, at the MTA’s sole discretion, a driver entering into the Central Business District will pay up to 25 percent more or $30.94 a day in “Surge Pricing.”
• The MTA, by their own authority, can raise the Congestion Tax by 10 percent in 2024 — up to $16.50 a day and more than $20 on Gridlock Alert Days.
• The Congestion Tax will likely result in a $830 million loss to the Port Authority capital projects in infrastructure investment over the next decade, directly damaging mass transit in the region, such as renovating the Port Authority Bus Terminal, replacing the Lincoln Tunnel helix, and repairing the George Washington Bridge suspension cables.

Congressman Gottheimer honored Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Pastor Lester Taylor, civil rights activist Theodora Lacey, and community members by helping pack more than 2,000 weekend snack packs for children in need with the Community Baptist Church of Englewood.

The event was organized by the Center for Food Action, a North Jersey nonprofit that operates in more than 100 towns. The weekend snack packs will be sent to schools in Englewood, Hackensack, Cliffside Park, Garfield, and Edgewater.

“It’s no secret that here in Bergen County — and across our entire state — we have faced incredibly trying times in recent years. From the rising tide of hate, and extremism, to assaults on our democracy and voting rights. Today, in honor of Dr. King, we the North Jersey community united to help thousands of children who are food insecure,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “As Dr. King once said, ‘our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.’ That is why we must raise our voices and work together for justice, for opportunity, and for good.”

Above: Gottheimer packing snack packs for MLK Day of Service.

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.

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