When you’re in Congress, legislating is important, but you know what takes higher priority? Winning re-election.
Both the House and Senate passed a stopgap funding bill on Wednesday this week, then skipped town immediately afterwards so that vulnerable members can campaign for re-election; they won’t return until after the November elections are done, nearly two months from now.
Here’s some of what New Jersey’s members of Congress – including one brand-new one – did during this abbreviated week.
The owner of the Seattle Supersonicas celebrates LaMonica
Two weeks ago, New Jersey got a new senator in George Helmy. This week, it got a new House member: Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), who was sworn in on Monday after overwhelmingly winning a September 18 special election for the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark)’s seat.
McIver’s situation is a bit odd: after being sworn in, she got to participate in just three days’ worth of votes before immediately heading home again to run for re-election to a full term (right now she’s filling the remainder of Payne’s current term). At the very least, though, it meant that she got to provide a vote for the government funding bill, and it will give her a leg up in seniority over any new members elected in November.
In her first speech as a U.S. representative, the 38-year-old McIver – the new youngest member of the state’s delegation, and the 19th-youngest member of Congress overall – said that she hopes to live up to the legacy left behind by Payne and his father, the late Rep. Donald Payne Sr. (D-Newark), while also forging her own path in Congress.
“The city of Newark, my lifelong home, has produced fierce, unyielding leaders who have dedicated their lives and careers to the pursuit of justice,” McIver said. “My predecessor, Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr., embodied the vibrant spirit of our city and the people he faithfully served… As I stand before you tonight, I pay tribute to him.”
“While I walk in the footsteps of those who came before me, it is my hope to blaze new trails together on the march towards fully realizing the promise of our great American nation,” she continued. “As I stand here tonight, I am filled with more optimism than ever before that we can accomplish so much together.”
The last year has used up all of my puns on the word “stopgap”
The 2024 government funding process is sure looking a lot like the one Congress witnessed in 2023. House Republicans put up a partisan stopgap funding bill strongly opposed by Democrats; the bill fails on the House floor thanks to defections from within the GOP caucus; both chambers pass a bipartisan stopgap bill instead to avert a shutdown on September 30.
The final stage of that process happened this week: both the Senate and House overwhelmingly approved a bill that will keep the government funded through December 20, with extra funding for the Secret Service included. It passed 78-18 in the Senate and 341-82 in the House, with all “no” votes coming from Republicans.
In the New Jersey delegation, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) was the only one to vote against the bill, in keeping with his consistent opposition to funding bills that don’t include substantial spending cuts or other conservative provisions. Everyone else, Republican and Democrat, supported the bill, though many Democrats griped about the drawn-out process it took to get to this point.
“Democrats once again had to step up and pass a CR because House Republicans couldn’t get their act together to pass a full-year funding bill,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) said. “They’ve spent months pushing extreme cuts instead of working on a bipartisan budget that funds veterans care, disaster recovery, and national security.”
Ted reckoning
Senator Cory Booker caused a stir in the Senate on Wednesday with just two simple words: “I object.”
The two words came in the context of a debate over the Take It Down Act, a bill sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz that would criminalize the publication of nonconsensual sexual videos, including those made with AI. Cruz asked for unanimous consent to pass the bill, which would have required every senator present to agree to passage; Booker objected and stopped the bill in its tracks.
Cruz was furious, saying that Booker had not provided any reason for his objection and that it may have been politically motivated. Booker, though, insisted that he and other senators have issues with some of the bill’s language – issues that he said Cruz has declined to discuss with them.
“Senator Cruz refused to work together to resolve Senator Booker and other Senators’ legitimate concerns with the bill,” a Booker spokesperson said. “It’s clear from Senator Cruz’s social media posts that his floor stunt was not about advancing bipartisan legislation, but a cynical attempt to score political points in his tight race with Colin Allred. Senator Cruz is trying to create controversy where there has been none and should only be cooperation and collaboration — something he clearly has no interest in.”
The story also has a New Jersey angle: one of the chief proponents of the bill outside the halls of Congress is Francesca Mani, a teenage Westfield native and anti-deepfake activist who said she was disappointed in Booker’s decision to block the bill.
“I am asking, why, Mr. Booker?” Mani said in a statement. “Make no mistake, without this legislation swiftly becoming a law, teens like me will continue to have no accountability.”
Combs: over
The Southern District of New York has had a busy few weeks, unsealing bombshell indictments against both New York City Mayor Eric Adams and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs – and the latter indictment has a New Jersey connection.
Among other things, Combs was indicted on charges of sex trafficking, which Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) has devoted much of his 44-year career in Congress to combating. In 2000, Smith authored the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton; that act formed part of the basis for the charges against Combs, who is alleged to have created a “criminal enterprise” of sexual abuse and trafficking.
“My Trafficking Victims Protection Act created a new whole-of-government domestic and international strategy to combat sex and labor trafficking and established numerous new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and to the extent possible, prevent it in the first place,” Smith said in a statement. “The legislation had its naysayers at the time, but the law has proven critical in locking up criminals that abuse and traffic in women and children.”
All aboard the Kean Train
The House passed two bills this week sponsored by freshman Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), both on unanimous voice votes.
One bill, the Veterans Flight Training Responsibility Act, would ease certain GI bill requirements in order to make it easier for veterans to pursue aviation careers. The other, the Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries (ASCEND) Act, would give NASA the ability to acquire private companies’ datasets to support its scientific research.
“This bipartisan bill would provide access to datasets and imagery from the commercial space sector, providing critical scientific research so that the United States can pave the way for a sustainable future for generations to come,” Kean said of the ASCEND Act. “I thank my House colleagues for supporting my bill, and I look forward to seeing this on the Senate floor soon.”
Other Garden State plots
• Senator Booker plans to introduce legislation in the Senate that would authorize the Secret Service to reimburse local governments for the resources they use, matching a bill authored by Rep. Kean in the House last month.
“Local law enforcement and first responders are critical partners to the Secret Service, but their support places a significant financial burden on municipalities such as Bedminster, New Jersey,” Booker said, referencing the fact that former President Donald Trump frequently visits his Bedminster golf club. “We must ensure the Secret Service’s partners can continue to perform these vital functions by authorizing federal reimbursement of their costs.”
• Amid escalating rhetoric against Haitian Americans, including a racist tweet from a Louisiana congressman this week calling the immigrant group “thugs” and “gangsters,” four New Jersey representatives – Reps. Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), and Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) – have signed on to a resolution condemning bigotry towards Haitian Americans and recognizing their contributions to the country.
“Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are intent on dividing Americans – pitting us against each other and sowing chaos for their own personal, political gain,” Sherrill said in a statement. “Now, after spreading blatant lies and misinformation about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, the community is reeling – shutting down schools, government buildings, and community events due to bomb threats and other public safety concerns. This is reprehensible and dangerous – and has caused pain and fear among the Haitian American community in New Jersey.”
• Rep. Pallone’s Cardiomyopathy Health, Education, Awareness, Research, and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, which aims to better equip schools to handle cardiomyopathy and other heart conditions, passed the House on a voice vote this week.
“I introduced the HEARTS Act because too many young people are tragically dying from sudden cardiac arrest,” Pallone said. “The HEARTS Act ensures that schools have the AEDs, training, and resources needed to act swiftly during a cardiac emergency. No child should lose their life because schools weren’t prepared – we owe it to our students and their families to act now.”