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

A federal government shutdown is looking ever more likely, after the House and Senate both left for a weeklong break today without coming to an agreement on how to keep the government funded.

That will put a tremendous amount of pressure on Congress when it returns on September 29, with just one day before government funding runs out and with both Democrats and Republicans dug into their respective positions. Here’s some of what New Jersey’s members of Congress did in Washington this week.

On October 1, he asked me what day it was.

The crux of the shutdown showdown in Congress: Republicans want to pass a “clean” stopgap bill that largely keeps government funding at current levels, with a handful of add-ons, through November 21. Democrats say there need to be guardrails on what the Trump administration can do with that funding, given that the White House has been intent on rescinding appropriated funds, and also want to pass legislation that extends Affordable Care Act tax credits and rescinds the GOP’s cuts to Medicaid as part of a government funding deal.

In the House, that’s a workable impasse. Republicans put up their two-month stopgap bill and passed it by a narrow margin, 217-212, with just one Democrat voting in favor; every New Jersey Republican voted yes, and every New Jersey Democrat voted no.

“This bill does not protect Americans’ health care. Nor does it allow Congress to finally stop the President’s destructive tariffs that raise the price of groceries and everyday goods,” said Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) in a statement on the GOP’s bill that echoed many of her colleagues’ views. “Instead, it gives the President a blank check to continue his bad policies.”

‘It’s shutdown day,’ he said.

But in the Senate, things aren’t that simple. Because any funding bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, Republicans need at least seven Democratic senators to join them, and Democrats have shown little interest in doing so thus far.

Two different proposals came before the Senate today: one from Republicans that matches the House’s stopgap bill, and another from Democrats that funds the government through the end of October while also extending ACA subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts. The GOP bill failed 44-48, and the Democratic bill failed 47-45; Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker, predictably, both voted for their party’s bill and against the other’s.

“Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House,” Booker said in a statement on his vote. “If they want to earn my vote, they cannot continue to put forward proposals that continue to raise our costs, jeopardize our health care, and hurt the people of my state.”

Therein lies the impasse. In March, presented with a similar conundrum, a critical handful of Democrats folded and voted to keep the government open; this time, party leaders say they’re not willing to give Republicans their votes without hard concessions, potentially paving the way for a shutdown beginning on October 1.

Legacy loggerheads

Before it left town, the House also voted on a resolution commemorating the life of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and condemning his shocking assassination. The resolution passed on a broad bipartisan margin, but a number of Democrats – among them New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), and LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) – couldn’t bring themselves to vote for it.

“The resolution voted on today called on members to honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk. I could not honestly lend my name to his legacy,” Watson Coleman said. “Charlie Kirk had a conviction and passion for expressing his opinions and for moving them forward in the national conversation. Unfortunately, much of that legacy involved hateful rhetoric about many fellow Americans, specifically the LGBTQ community, Muslims, and other minorities, particularly Black women. For that reason, I could not vote for this resolution.”

Republicans unanimously backed the resolution, and were quick to criticize the Democrats who didn’t.

“118 Democrats refused to condemn the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 118 refused to reject political violence,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), referring to the Democrats who opposed the resolution, voted “present,” or didn’t vote at all. “This was a simple resolution honoring the life of a husband and father who was assassinated – something we should all be able to agree on. Shameful.”

Kash check

FBI Director Kash Patel testified this week before committees in both houses of Congress, where Republicans generally praised his tenure in office – and Democrats very much did not.

Senator Booker, from his perch on the Senate Judiciary Committee, got into an especially heated exchange with Patel, who has come under increased scrutiny in the midst of Kirk’s assassination and debates over the Epstein files. Booker said that Patel’s “failures of leadership” make him unfit to lead the FBI, Patel called Booker an “embarrassment,” and the two spent nearly a full minute talking over one another.

“You are making a mockery of this committee,” Booker said as Patel tried to interject. “You don’t tell me my time is over; the people of New Jersey tell me what my time is. You can’t lecture me. You may be in charge of the FBI, but I am not afraid of you.”

Rep. Van Drew, meanwhile, gave Patel a much warmer reception on the House Judiciary Committee; Van Drew railed against the conduct of the FBI under President Joe Biden, and told Patel to “continue to do the work you’re doing, continue to uncover what needs to be uncovered.”

His colleagues are gonna love this idea

Senator Andy Kim is continuing a quixotic quest he began in the House: banning a huge swath of government employees, including members of Congress, congressional staffers, presidents, top Executive Branch officials, and federal judges, from trading or even owning stocks or cryptocurrencies.

The bill, the Restoring Trust in Public Servants Act, would also impose a lifetime ban on lobbying for former members of Congress and prevent members from earning outside incomes while in office. Its prior iterations in the House failed to garner any co-sponsors, but Kim said he still firmly believes in the mission of the bill.

“Trust is the scarcest resource that we have right now, and one our democracy cannot go without,” Kim said. “With a single standard against corruption and conflicts of interest, I believe we can restore the sacred trust between government officials and the people they are there to serve and take an essential step toward healing our country.”

It’s all Greek to me

Two North Jersey Congressmen, Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), have teamed up on a bill to improve American relations and cooperation with three allies in the eastern Mediterranean: Israel, Greece, and Cyprus.

The American-Hellenic-Israeli Eastern Mediterranean Counterterrorism & Maritime Security Partnership Act, as it’s catchily known, has been included in the House’s State Department reauthorization bill, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week.

“Whether in the Eastern Mediterranean or elsewhere, there is simply no substitute for robust U.S. leadership and strong cooperation with our allies,” Gottheimer said. “I’m proud that key provisions of my bipartisan legislation advanced out of committee this week.”

“The Eastern Mediterranean is crucial to America’s national security and economic future, and this bipartisan legislation strengthens our partnership with Israel, Greece, and Cyprus to confront mutual threats,” Kean said. “With the passage of the Department of State Policy Provisions Act out of committee, we are one step closer to improving cooperation between these countries and promoting stability in a critical region.”

Other Garden State plots

Lots of New Jersey members introduced a variety of bills this week, including:

• Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester)’s Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act, which would require the State Department to make plans on how to repatriate Americans detained in China.
• Rep. Menendez’s Family-Friendly Facilities Tax Credit Act, which creates a new tax credit for small businesses seeking to add diaper changing facilities to their restrooms.
• Rep. Pou’s Promoting Economic Resilience and Unity (PERU) Act, which would add Peru to the list of countries eligible for E1 and E2 trade visas.
• Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden)’s Faster Labor Contracts Act, which mandates quicker negotiations between employers and unions; Senator Booker has co-sponsored the bill in the Senate.