Your voice deserves to be heard.

Dear Neighbor,

Like many of you, the impending closure of Monmouth Medical Center is weighing on me. Thousands of people are about to lose access to convenient hospital care in the middle of a nationwide health care crisis.

This week, I unpacked some of the latest developments in my video below.

Last week saw more than 500 people flock to Eatontown to speak out against the closure of Monmouth Medical Center hospital in Long Branch. They came in spite of the hearing being moved out of Long Branch entirely and being held during work hours.

Instead of being welcomed, they were denied entry and forced to wait outside in the bitter cold because the state forced the hearing into a room so small that RWJ Barnabas employees filled nearly every seat.

What I saw disgusted me.

It would appear that RWJ Barnabas and the Murphy administration designed that hearing for the specific purpose of shutting out the Long Branch community from any opportunity to speak out against the closure of their hospital and against its replacement with a facility in Tinton Falls, much further away. The closure is totally harmful, but the cloak-and-dagger way that RWJ Barnabas is trying to go about it is also unfair.

That’s why this week, I demanded that the New Jersey Department of Health schedule a second in-person hearing in Long Branch, after work hours, so that everyone can be heard and have the chance to explain their opposition directly to RWJ Barnabas and State officials. I won’t stop fighting until you’re able to make your voice heard.

Good riddance, Dave!

FEMA’s Acting Administrator put in his two weeks on Tuesday after I called on him to resign for his disastrous running of FEMA and letting hundreds of Americans DROWN on his watch.

Americans deserve a FEMA leader with at least the most skills in emergency management—something David Richardson never demonstrated. His absence during the deadly Texas floods, his refusal to participate in daily operations, and his willingness to hollow out FEMA during peak hurricane season made New Jersey and our country less safe.

Now that he’s gone, his old boss, Kristi Noem, should take a page out of his book and follow suit. She is equally unqualified for her job—and the Trump administration can’t keep taking a sledgehammer to our disaster response as storms are only set to get worse.

I’m fighting to lower your drug prices.

Democrats made drug prices more affordable for seniors on Medicare in 2022, but there’s more we can do to provide relief at the pharmacy counter.

That’s why I introduced the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act this week. It’s time we expand these lower prices and out-of-pocket caps to everyone with private health insurance.

My bill would allow Medicare to negotiate more drug prices each year, making those lower prices available to the commercial insurance market, capping people’s annual out-of-pocket costs on prescription drugs and insulin at $35 per month, and closing loopholes made by the Trump Administration that allow manufacturers to avoid negotiating prices for years.

The solution for high drug prices isn’t the President’s corrupt TrumpRx scam—it’s with commonsense, meaningful relief through already existing programs.

You can read more about my bill HERE.

RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!

I’ve been back in Washington fighting to lower your costs and demand transparency from the White House and House Republicans, who have been stalling a release of the Epstein Files for MONTHS. That’s pretty damning, if you ask me.

These files need to see the light of day. We owe it to the survivors, their families, and the American people to know the full truth of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, and to determine his involvement with the people currently in power in Washington.

That’s why on Wednesday I voted to release the Epstein Files in full.

After passing both the House and the Senate, Trump signed the bill late on Wednesday night. Now, it’s time for his Justice Department to follow suit and make the files accessible for the American people.

Make no mistake, Trump is trying to hide something. He was unenthusiastic about releasing the files until he realized he had completely lost control of his rubber-stamp Republicans in both the House and the Senate. If he tries to mess with the truth or in any way delay the release of the files, I won’t be silent. I’m watching Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and his entire administration like a hawk.

Ruperto is home!

Members of the Atlantic Highlands community have been celebrating Ruperto Vicens Marquez's freedom from unjust detention by ICE after my colleagues and the local community fought for his release. His homecoming is a big victory for his family and for our community here in the 6^th District, but his detention shows just how brazen the Trump Administration is becoming in terrorizing our New Jersey communities.

The Trump Administration can't just pluck members of our community out of their homes and lives without any due process. Our America is one that honors the rule of law and the hard work that immigrants have put in to building our country, brick-by-brick. I won’t stand for any more members of our community being unjustly snatched by Trump’s militarized ICE raids.

Have you or a loved one been impacted by Trump’s ICE raids in New Jersey? Do you have thoughts on this issue? I want to hear from you.

Send me a message on my website, or learn how to contact my offices at the conclusion of this newsletter.

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