We're not going to be silenced.

Dear Neighbor,

RWJBarnabas and the Murphy Administration are doubling down on their plans to close Monmouth Medical Center hospital in Long Branch, but I'm not letting that happen without a fight.

RWJBarnabas can say whatever they like about their plans for the future of medical care in the region, but the fact of the matter is that what they are leaving behind in Long Branch does not qualify as a hospital. A satellite emergency room. Some outpatient care for same day procedures. Facilities for behavioral health. But, without an acute care hospital license, all of the outpatient care, even the emergency room can eventually be closed.

Long Branch residents deserve to keep our world-class hospital that serves us where we are. If the state signs off on this, every hospital system in New Jersey will learn the same lesson: walk away from the communities that need you and chase the ones that can pay more. That's an abandonment of our working class communities that I won't stand for.

This week, the New Jersey Department of Health moved their hearing on the closure of Monmouth Medical Center out of Long Branch entirely and into Eatontown. RWJBarnabas is using every underhanded tactic in the book to ensure Long Branch doesn't have a say in this closure of our hospital—from ILLEGALLY scheduling the initial hearing without proper advance notice, to rescheduling the hearing outside of the community the closure would devastate. We’re not going to be silenced.

I held an information session on Wednesday to inform members of our community what exactly would happen if Monmouth Medical Center hospital closes for business in Long Branch. We're not letting our hospital close without YOU having something to say about it!

The public hearing is now scheduled for Thursday, November 13, 2025 from 4:00 - 6:00 PM.

It will be held at the Anne Vogel Family Care and Wellness Center, located at Monmouth Mall, 200 Wyckoff Road, Eatontown, NJ 07724.

ONE MONTH of the Republican Shutdown, and it's only getting worse

We've finished a fourth week and are now entering a FIFTH week of a government shutdown because Republicans refuse to lower the cost of your health care. It's been a MONTH since the government has been shut down, and over a month since Republicans abandoned their posts and called the House out of session.

People are facing steep insurance hikes because Republicans let Affordable Care Act tax credits expire. Thousands of New Jerseyans are logging on and window shopping for their insurance on Get Covered New Jersey and seeing these eye-popping new rates. Soon, they'll be getting letters in the mail, too.

The average consumer covered by Get Covered New Jersey who receives those tax credits would pay 110% more for their insurance—more than DOUBLE what they were previously paying.

According to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, a couple in their early 60s in Middlesex County with a household income of approximately $94,000 would see a premium increase of more than $22,000 for the year without the enhanced tax credits, consuming 31% of their income.

The bottom line here is that thousands of people will be kicked off their insurance. Many of these premium hikes come at costs that working families simply can't afford, and if it comes to putting food on the table for their kids or paying significantly more for health insurance, they will go without health insurance.

Americans deserve affordable health care and freedom from poverty. The fact that Americans are being forced to make these choices is deeply cruel. But that's been the Republican agenda under the Trump Administration in a nutshell. I’m ready whenever Republicans are to reopen the government and save your health care. We can end this government shutdown and save thousands of people countless dollars and hours of anguish—Republicans just need to come back to work.

Did your health insurance premium just go through the roof? I want to hear about it.

Fill out my survey, send me a message on my website, or contact my offices.

What to know about SNAP during the shutdown

Right now, 42 million Americans are at risk of losing their November SNAP benefits because the Trump Administration is refusing to use funds that are legally available.

SNAP provides critical food assistance to some of our most vulnerable neighbors:

• 16 million children (39 percent of all beneficiaries)

• 8 million seniors aged 60+ (20 percent of all beneficiaries)

• 4 million people with disabilities (10 percent of all beneficiaries)

• 1.2 million veterans (3 percent of all beneficiaries)

The Trump Administration's own September shutdown plan stated they could use a contingency fund during a shutdown to pay SNAP benefits. Legal experts have confirmed this. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has previously directed the Trump Administration to use these funds in exactly this situation. Federal law is clear: "Assistance under this program shall be furnished to all eligible households." The administration has not identified any legal justification for refusing to follow this requirement.

I’m calling on President Trump to immediately release the SNAP contingency funds and use their legal transfer authority to ensure that families can put food on the table in November.

I also want to hear from you. If you or someone you know relies on SNAP, contact my office and share your story. You can find contact information at the conclusion of this newsletter.

Big Oil can't have our coastline!

Leaked plans from the Trump Administration have showed that Trump wants to sell our coastline to the highest bidder. He wants to open offshore oil and gas leases in U.S. federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. This drilling would devastate coastal economies like ours, jeopardize our national security, ravage coastal ecosystems, and put millions of Americans’ health and safety at risk.

The U.S. already leads the world in oil and gas production. Legally, the Administration is BARRED from opening new leases to offshore drilling without an act of Congress, after I worked with the previous administration to protect our coastlines. Now, Trump wants to TRAMPLE Congress and the courts to do it anyway. My colleagues and I in Congress recently took action to demand the Trump administration put a stop to offshore drilling projects, and instead prioritize flood protection and beach replenishment projects for our communities.

Beach replenishment is particularly important as we commemorate the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy making landfall in our state.

The Shore learned the hard way what happens when we underinvest in coastal resilience and disaster assistance, and Trump's attacks on FEMA and beach replenishment are ensuring that our communities will be left more vulnerable in the wake of the bigger, stronger storms that are continuing to batter coastal and Bayshore communities.

You can learn more in my video below.

Interested in public service?

Applications for my internships in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. are open until November 14th at 11:59 PM. If you're interested in government, public policy, and digital communications, this opportunity is for you!

Application materials and more details are available on my website.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and Bluesky to keep up with my work in Congress.

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,

Congressman Pallone