Our Beaches Need Lifeguards

Dear Neighbor,

With summer in full swing and millions of Americans heading to beaches, I led a letter to the Trump Administration demanding immediate answers from Trump’s Interior Secretary about the dangerous shortage of lifeguards at Sandy Hook and national park beaches across the country.

This comes after the Trump Administration failed to address my June 9^th letter raising urgent concerns about lifeguard and maintenance staffing at Sandy Hook. I gave them months to explain whether they’re prepared to keep families safe at national park beaches this summer, and they continue to keep the state of operations a secret. Now beach season is fully underway, and families visiting Sandy Hook are at potential risk.

That’s unacceptable. If President Trump wants to gut the Park Service, he should at least be honest with the American people about what that means.

Here’s the truth: Trump has illegally slashed staff levels that Congress funded and approved and blocked park personnel from communicating with the public about the consequences of these actions. I am demanding answers and won’t stop until we know for certain that our national park beaches are safe and clean for all residents and visitors.

Defend New Jersey Public Schools

Instead of working with Congress to implement a strategy that strengthens and improves our public education system, the Trump Administrations is launching a direct attack on our state’s 1.3 million students and over 100,000 educators. President Trump is unlawfully withholding $7 billion in federal education funding promised to K-12 schools across the United States, including $162 million that was supposed to go out to New Jersey schools on July 1^st.

This will create massive budget shortfalls for local school districts leading to teacher layoffs, increased classroom sizes, diminished services for students, and higher property taxes for residents. It will also disrupt critical services like after school programs, professional development for educators, and STEM education support.

The American people deserve full transparency as to how the federal government is spending their tax dollars, especially when it concerns the education of our nation’s children. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has failed in that respect. That’s why I sent a letter to Trump’s Budget Director demanding answers and the immediate release of the federal funding that he is illegally withholding from NJ schools.

Read more here.