Dear Neighbors,

The House of Representatives took more action this week to make our neighborhoods safer. We are confronting a rising tide of gun violence across America - from Uvalde to Buffalo to countless communities across the country. This violence is unacceptable and must stop. That’s why the House passed two bills that I supported and that would help make our communities, schools, and workplaces safer.

The Protecting Our Children Act would:

• Raise the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old
• Crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off our streets
• Subject ghost gun purchases to background check requirements
• Strengthen safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings
• Close the bump stock loophole to ban these deadly tools from civilian use
• Outlaw high-capacity magazines, which are designed for mass killing

The Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act would allow family members and law enforcement officers to petition a federal court for an extreme risk protection order to temporarily remove access to firearms for an individual who is deemed a danger to themselves or others by the court.

These bills build on the progress the House made when it passed bills to strengthen background checks. In the coming weeks, the House will take additional action by voting on the Active Shooter Alert Act to create an AMBER Alert-style notification during a mass shooting, which is a measure law enforcement officers widely support. The House will also advance an assault weapons ban bill: a step the Congress took decades ago that was shown to save lives and one that the American people support today.

New Belford Dredging Project

I joined local elected officials and members of New Jersey’s fishing industry on Monday to announce a major dredging project in Belford. I secured $8 million for the project to dredge in Shoal Harbor and Compton Creek in a federal spending bill that was signed into law earlier this year. The funding will be used for maintenance dredging of approximately 160,000 cubic yards in the channel.

Our waterways are critical to our state’s commercial fishing and recreation industries, and this dredging will help ensure the waterway is safe and accessible for the Belford Fishing Co-Op and the commuter ferry. At a time when our state’s economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, this dredging will go a long way to help our state’s economy thrive.

Safe and Affordable Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices

The House passed my bipartisan bill this week that will help make prescription drugs and medical devices safe and effective. My bill will also facilitate the development of new medical products to treat rare diseases, help reduce the cost of prescription drugs by bringing more affordable generics to market sooner, and make sure clinical trials reflect the diversity of the patient population. 

It also addresses the current baby formula shortage and will help prevent future food safety crises by empowering the agency to hire much-needed staff across the entire Food and Drug Administration. I was glad to see that the bill passed with strong bipartisan support and that it is one step closer to going to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccines, tests, or resources available to New Jerseyans during the coronavirus pandemic, click here to visit my website or call my offices directly:

Middlesex County: 732-249-8892

Monmouth County: 732-571-1140

Sincerely,