D.C. Dispatch: What N.J.’s members of Congress did in Washington this week

This week, Congress successfully averted a government shutdown with another stopgap funding bill, and … that’s about it. A longer-term funding deal, as well as other priorities facing Congress like border security and aid for Israel and Ukraine, will have to wait.

Congress has now headed home for Thanksgiving, and isn’t set to return until the week of November 27. Here’s some of what New Jersey’s 14 members of Congress did in the final rush before hopping in their cars – or boarding an Amtrak train – back to their home districts.

The real continuing resolution was the friends we made along the way

Back in September, Congress narrowly avoided shutting down the government by passing a 47-day temporary funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, just a few hours before the September 30 deadline. The new deadline of November 17, they figured, would provide enough time to at least begin hashing out a proper funding deal between the Republican House majority and the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House.

Then the House decided to throw out its own speaker and plunge everything in chaos, with the result being that long-term appropriations bills remain in as much of a stalemate as they were in September. That forced new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to draft another stopgap measure, this time funding the government through January 19 or February 2 depending on the department.

Both New Jersey senators and 11 of its 12 House members supported the bill, which was signed by President Joe Biden yesterday; the lone exception was once again Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), who also opposed the September 30 continuing resolution.

“I would have voted for it if there was even a 1% cut [in spending],” Van Drew said shortly after the new stopgap bill passed. “The speaker’s a great man, and he’s in a really difficult situation here… Hopefully now that it’s passed, we’ll be able to go forward and do some good appropriations bills.”

The problem, though, is that giving Congress more time doesn’t solve the fundamental disagreements that caused these repeated crises in the first place. The Senate passed three of its 12 appropriations bills on a widely bipartisan vote, but House Republicans have continued to push conservative bills that are opposed by Democrats at every level of government (and, in some cases, that fail to even get enough support within their own caucus).

“Everything that they’re trying on [the Republican] side is going to fall short of what our country deserves,” Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) said.

March in November

Outside the Capitol on Tuesday, members of Congress from both parties joined a massive March for Israel, an event led by Jewish groups in solidarity with Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas. Congressional leaders of both parties were in attendance at the march, as were at least five New Jersey members of Congress: Reps. Chris Smith (R-Manchester), Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), and Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City).

Smith was also among a small number of politicians who spoke at the event, offering a prayer for Israel alongside a bipartisan group of his colleagues.

“We pray before you, o God of redemption, fulfill speedily the words of Genesis: ‘Here I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. Indeed, I will not leave you until I have done what I have said to you,’” Smith recited.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) continues to be the lone New Jersey representative calling for a ceasefire in the region, making her one of a small but growing number of progressive Democrats in Congress to do so.

“Secretary Blinken must work with his counterparts in the region to call for an immediate ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Watson Coleman said in a statement released last month. “I will continue to support every reasonable effort to bring peace to Israel and Palestine and leave our children a world based in peace, dignity, and mutual respect.”

Several other New Jerseyans in Congress have stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, but have emphasized the need for the protection of Palestinians’ lives and rights. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) has repeatedly called for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, while Senator Cory Booker co-authored a letter urging the Biden Administration to address Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“We strongly believe that a two-state solution remains the only genuine option to achieve a just, secure, and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Booker and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-New York) wrote. “However, settler violence against Palestinian civilians destroys the very seeds of trust and cooperation needed to make progress toward a two-state outcome and an enduring peace in the region.”

Bears, Beads, Battlestar Galactica

Water beads – colorful plastic toys that expand when put in water – may sound fun, but according to consumer protection advocates, they can be very dangerous if swallowed, occasionally even leading to children dying. That prompted Pallone to introduce a bill this week that would ban all water beads marketed for kids.

“I know people are going to say, ‘Do you have to prohibit these completely? Aren’t there some that are safe?’” Pallone said at an event outside the Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune Township. “The answer is no. There are none that are safe. We have to ban them, because there’s absolutely no way to ensure, through any kind of education, that they’re going to be safe.”

As the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Pallone is in a strong position to advocate for the bill, and he said he has high hopes for its chances of success.

“We’re going to try to get Republicans to co-sponsor the bill in the House, and get Democrats and Republicans to introduce the bill in the Senate,” Pallone said. “This is not going to be a partisan issue. We’re going to get Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate members, to work on this, and I have no reason to believe that we can’t do this.”

No New Jerseyans were harmed in the making of this Congress

Congress was extra testy on Tuesday amid the debate over the stopgap funding bill, with a number of physical or near-physical altercations happening on the Republican side of the aisle; none of them involved any of New Jersey’s members of Congress.

In one incident in the hallways of the House, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy allegedly elbowed Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee), one of the eight pivotal Republicans who voted to oust him from the speakership. In another, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) challenged Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who was testifying in committee, to a fight.

Some other members used their words: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Kentucky) called Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) a “Smurf,” while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) called Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) a “pussy.”

Watson Coleman blamed the ignoble set of incidents on the seemingly endless legislative session that has trapped House members in Washington for 10 workweeks; with the House now in recess until after Thanksgiving, perhaps cooler heads can soon prevail.

“These people want to lead?” Watson Coleman scoffed on Twitter. “Every mother recognizes what happens when their kids are cooped up in the ‘House’ for too long.”

Other Garden State plots

• The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a panel chaired by Smith, held a hearing this week on the human rights abuses involved in mining cobalt, which is critical in the production of electric cars and other electronic devices. The world’s cobalt supply chain is dominated by Chinese companies, but most of the cobalt itself comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where child labor and other abuses are rampant.

“From dirt to battery, from cobalt to car, the entire system is fueled by violence, cruelty, and corruption,” Smith said in his opening remarks. “China has gained almost full dominance of every single step of the cobalt supply chain. Money talks, and human rights go right out the window.”

• On Wednesday, Biden nominated Adeel Mangi to succeed retired Judge Joseph Greenaway on the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the appellate court that includes New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The New Jersey Globe had first reported Mangi’s likely nomination earlier this month.

Mangi, a partner at the New York law firm Patterson Belknap, would be the first Muslim appellate court judge in United States history if he’s confirmed by the Senate.

“Having come to know Adeel Mangi over the years as a fixture in the New Jersey legal community, I have seen firsthand that he is a person of integrity and deep conviction with an unflinching commitment to fairness and equality,” Booker said in a statement. “He represents the best of New Jersey: Mangi is a preeminent lawyer who has secured landmark legal victories, and I have the utmost faith in his ability to serve the people of New Jersey and our country fairly and impartially on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.”

• Yesterday, the House Ethics Committee released a damning report on Rep. George Santos (R-New York), who is accused of spending campaign money on personal expenses (among many other things). The report has opened the floodgates for a second expulsion effort against Santos; the theatrical congressman had previously survived an expulsion vote two weeks ago, with a small cohort of Democrats joining most of the Republican caucus in defeating a resolution that would have kicked him out of Congress.

Congressman Menendez voted against that initial resolution, while Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) voted “present.” The offices of both congressmen would not confirm how they intend to vote on this second effort – but Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) left no mystery as to his plans.

“Enough games,” Pascrell said. “We know all we need to know. George Santos has no business in Congress and should be expelled as soon as possible.”