Dear Neighbor,
This week, I hosted a virtual Medicaid town hall to discuss the need to protect Medicaid for New Jersey families and to push back on President Trump’s extreme policies. I was joined by Medicaid recipients and advocates who shared their personal experiences and stressed the dangerous consequences of House Republicans’ proposal to cut billions in federal funding to Medicaid. After hearing directly from them and many of my constituents, one thing is absolutely clear: the people that I represent do not want Trump and the Republicans to take health care away from the 1.8 million people, including almost 800,000 children who rely on Medicaid in New Jersey.
I won’t stand idly by as Republicans threaten them with at least $880 billion in cuts. These budget cuts will directly impact every New Jerseyan and the entire health care system at-large. If Republicans have their way, millions of people will lose health coverage nationwide; health care costs will rise significantly, and services and quality of care will be reduced dramatically. All so that billionaires and large corporations can get more tax breaks. It’s cruel and unacceptable.
As the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I’m leading the fight to protect health care for New Jersey families. I will continue to fight with everything I have to protect Medicaid from Trump and his radical Republican enablers.
Defending Social Security
I joined more than 60 House Democrats in urging the Social Security Administration (SSA) to maintain its critical phone services after reports that the agency was considering eliminating telephone services. In our letter, we raised concerns that eliminating or reducing phone-based assistance would harm millions of Americans, especially older adults and individuals with disabilities, who rely on this essential service to manage their benefits and navigate the complexities of the Social Security system.
I recognize that for many Social Security beneficiaries, online services are simply not an option due to technological limitations, lack of internet access, or cognitive and physical impairments. It’s unconscionable that Trump wants to cut Social Security phone services and force them to deal with a chatbot to access their benefits. Please know that we are fighting every day to protect the Social Security benefits that New Jersey seniors have earned.
Not Another Summer of Hell
Amtrak has been working closely with NJ Transit to fix the Northeast Corridor, but New Jersey commuters are still stuck with delays and service failures. That’s why I led members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation in demanding answers from Amtrak on the status of long-overdue repairs to the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and the implementation of federally funded infrastructure upgrades, including the $112 million in federal funding awarded last year through the historic Infrastructure Law’s RAISE grant program passed by Democrats and signed by President Biden. We stressed the need for immediate action to prevent another catastrophic summer of train delays, service outages, and commuter misery in the Garden State.
The problems ailing our rail system are not new, but the solutions are clear. Amtrak needs to commit to a strong plan of action and execute these badly needed repairs. Doing so will greatly decrease service disruptions, improve train speeds, and enhance reliability for daily commuters. We will keep pushing Amtrak to ensure New Jersey commuters aren’t faced with another summer of hell.
New Jersey Students Need the Department of Education
This week, Trump launched an unlawful and reckless attack on our nation’s public schools. Despite requiring an act of Congress, Trump’s issued an executive order that will effectively dismantle the Department of Education from within. This comes after the Department has already decimated its workforce with massive budget cuts and irresponsible mass-firings. Trump's plan means mass teacher layoffs, overcrowded classrooms, and less support for students. It’ll price millions out of college and force towns to increase local property taxes. Ultimately it will harm students and educators the most as schools will have to lay off teachers, increase classroom sizes, and tighten budgets.
Trump's billionaire Education Secretary doesn't care about public education, but the American people do. I will stand with the hardworking families, dedicated teachers, and educational support staff who make New Jersey’s public schools among the best in the nation. We will do everything in our power to push back against this senseless attack on public education.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
It was great to talk to many of you and see so much Irish Pride as we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day the past couple weeks! Here are some highlights from my parade tour:
