Dear Neighbor,
It’s been 55 years since Earth Day was established in 1970 to celebrate our planet and emphasize the urgent need to protect our environment. Decades later, we have made significant progress but still face tremendous challenges that have only been exacerbated by the Trump Administration’s unprecedented efforts to gut our country’s most fundamental environmental and public health protections. Trump and his Republican enablers are threatening future generations, hurting the economy, and making the climate crisis worse.
Democrats made historic investments in cheaper, cleaner energy. Now Trump and his Republican allies are threatening to reverse our progress and do the exact opposite of what we need right now. Instead of holding corporate polluters accountable and doubling down on investments in clean renewable energy, like wind and solar, Trump is selling out to big oil and gas, while leading a dangerous rollback of environmental protections that were designed to keep our air, water, and land clean.
Earth Day is a time for us to band together to fight these abhorrent actions and push for a government that protects our communities, our homes, and our planet. Democrats will not stand idly by as Republicans and the Trump Administration attack our most foundational environmental protections and undermine our right to a safe, livable planet. We will not allow Republicans to wave the white flag of surrender on our future. Now more than ever, we must fight to ensure our planet is safe and habitable for our children and future generations. |
Our Coasts Are Not for Sale!
I reintroduced the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act, a bill to permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and codify President Biden’s historic executive action permanently protecting over 600 million acres of ocean from fossil fuel development.
Offshore drilling threatens our marine ecosystems, our economy, and the very character of coastal communities in New Jersey. Trump has made it very clear he is trying to illegally overturn environmental protections he doesn’t like, including laws to protect our beaches from a devastating oil spill. Anyone from New Jersey can tell you how important our coasts are to our economy. Tourism and recreation account for nearly half a million jobs—roughly 10 percent of the New Jersey’s workforce—and the commercial and recreational fishing industries contribute billions annually to our economy as well. A single oil spill would devastate fragile marine ecosystems and cause catastrophic economic harm to small businesses up and down the shore.
I have been leading efforts in Congress to PERMANENTLY ban all offshore drilling off the Atlantic Coast. I have been joined by elected officials, both Republicans and Democrats, from various coastal states, including Florida and the Carolinas, to push back against Trump’s efforts to open our waters up to oil and gas exploration. I will not stop until we know for sure that our oceans and our coastlines are permanently protected by the law. |
NJ Energy Costs Are Too High
In March, at a hearing in my Energy and Commerce Committee, I pressed the CEO of PJM Interconnection—New Jersey’s regional power grid operator— for answers as to why New Jerseys households are seeing their energy bills spike. |
It’s been nearly a month, and we still don’t have answers even as New Jersey households are preparing for another rate increase this summer. That’s why I sent a letter this week demanding swift action from PJM to fix its broken process for connecting new renewable energy projects to the grid. PJM dragged its feet in making necessary changes that would increase power capacity and reduce prices. Unfortunately, PJM’s delays are driving up electricity prices across the state.
It's ridiculous and unfair. I won’t stay silent as New Jersey families are being ripped off.
Read more about it here. |
Protecting NJ Humanities
This week, I led Democratic members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse its abrupt and unlawful decision to terminate federal funding for humanities programs across New Jersey. We sent a letter objecting to the agency’s decision to rescind grant funding already awarded to institutions across the state, including the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH).
Humanities use history, language, art, and ideas to help us think critically, communicate clearly, and see the human story behind every issue. Access to the humanities is the key to a strong democracy. Funding for humanities comprises a miniscule percentage of the federal budget but pays massive dividends for us in the future by providing opportunities for lifelong learning, fostering community conversations, and supporting local economies.
Rutgers-Newark’s Lives in Translation program is an example of the impact NEH and NJCH grants have had in New Jersey. The program, which began as a volunteer effort, has grown into an academic initiative that allows students to serve as interpreters in courts, hospitals, food banks, and schools across the state while receiving professional certification thanks to NEH-supported funding. Additional examples include the Thomas A. Edison Papers and the New Jersey Digital Newspaper Program, which serve to ensure the great history of our state is not lost. These initiatives are just a few examples of what’s on the chopping block because of Trump’s reckless cuts.
Read my full letter here . |
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, |
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