Democrat,
I want to start this week with sending congratulations to Rob Menendez for (finally!) being sworn in to the 118th Congress, where he will serve the residents of New Jersey’s Eighth Congressional District as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Menendez has been a strong advocate for expanding the Child Tax Credit, curbing gun violence, upholding rights to organized labor, freedom of choice, and advancing voting rights. We are lucky to have him serving the people of New Jersey and I look forward to working with him within his first term- and the years to follow.
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On Tuesday, Governor Phil Murphy delivered the first in-person State of the State address since the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted some of the significant achievements that have been made this past year and throughout his time in office, including: the historic ANCHOR Property Tax Relief program, which is now allowing eligible residents to continue applying through February 28, 2023, implementing a Child Tax Credit of up to $500 per dependent, raising the minimum wage and putting it on a path to $15 an hour, and continuously promoting the economic success of our state, resulting in three credit rating upgrades in 2022, job retention and growth for 31 consecutive months, GDP growth among the top 10 states in the nation in the last recorded quarter, and a current unemployment rate lower than the national average.
Throughout Gov. Murphy’s address we saw again what real leadership for New Jersey looks like. It hasn’t been easy, but Governor Murphy and our Democratic legislators have led the state out of decades-long debt and into five years of historic growth. In the last year alone, we have seen a heightened commitment to affordability for New Jersey’s middle and working class with investments like the ANCHOR Property tax relief program, making full pension payments for the second year in a row, and receiving three credit rating upgrades in just one year - all while still investing in essential services like education and public safety. New Jerseyans can see the difference between a leader devoted to driving the state forward and keeping up with progress, and the disingenuous and extremist agenda coming from the GOP that is only meant to take us backwards.
Governor Murphy strongly reaffirmed New Jersey Democrats’ commitment to making New Jersey a fairer and more affordable place to live by staying focused on growing our economy, creating good-paying jobs, and making sure there are more opportunities for everyone — not just the wealthy and well-connected. I look forward to another year of continuing to work alongside Governor Murphy and legislative Democrats to build on the progress we have made so far and address the needs of New Jersey families.
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President Biden touted the success of Democrats and the Biden administration’s efforts in tackling inflation and rising prices with the newest inflation report showing the sixth straight month of decline. In his speech, which you can watch here, Biden also shared that unemployment is the lowest it’s been in half a century- a major victory for American workers.
Biden also criticized House Republicans for passing a bill Monday night that would slash tens of billions of funding dollars for the IRS and benefit the wealthy at the expense of middle class taxpayers, and make inflation worse. The measure is not expected to pass the Senate, where Democrats are the majority, and Biden vowed to veto it even if it did, but it is indicative of the regressive, extremist policies that House Republicans intend to take up during the next two years.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Democrats in 2022, lowers costs for families, caps seniors’ out of pocket expenses at the pharmacy at $2,000 a year, reduces the deficit, finally makes the largest corporations pay their fair share, and, for the first time, allows Medicare to negotiate the price of certain high-cost drugs. These are all things that directly affect working and middle class families because Democrats are committed to building back an economy with better jobs and better pay and paying attention to the communities that are too often forgotten.
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— Chairman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.
P.S. Our LGBTQ+ Caucus kicked off the new year with over 100 members at their meeting! Thank you and incredible work to Chair Lauren Albrect and Vice Chair Joe Forte for their achievements in 2022 - I am looking forward to your success in 2023. If you are interested in joining a NJDSC Caucus this year, you can sign up here: |
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