Congress is back from its holiday recess, with most of the same problems that confronted them in 2023 still looming in the new year. But as usual, things are moving slowly, and both chambers went home having yet to take a major vote in 2024.
Here’s some of what New Jersey’s 14 members of Congress did this week, including introducing new bills, testifying on flood prevention, and giving impassioned floor speeches related to their recent federal indictments. (Any guesses on who did that last one?)
Stopgap in the name of love
For months, congressional leaders have been trying to hammer out two big deals: one on a long-term government funding agreement, and another to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel while also changing immigration policies at the southern border.
The former goal took a big step over the weekend, when House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer put forward a bipartisan proposal that would fully fund the government with modest cuts in certain areas. But conservative Republicans in the House immediately pushed back on the deal, imperiling its easy passage.
Some parts of the government will run out of funding on January 19, which will likely force Congress to pass yet another continuing resolution (CR), a stopgap measure that Congress utilized twice last year to avoid government shutdowns. Most New Jersey House members from both parties supported those two previous CRs; the lone exception was Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), who said he’d be potentially open to supporting one this time.
“If we can get all the bills done that need to be done before the first deadline, let’s do them,” Van Drew told the New Jersey Globe on Wednesday. “If we can’t do that, I still would rather do a responsible – responsible being the important word – CR. I don’t want a shutdown.”
That showdown is set to come about soon, with Schumer kickstarting the necessary procedural steps to pass a CR in the Senate next week.
Of course, passing a CR was what led a small cohort of right-wing Republicans to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last October, and a few House members are already threatening a similar move against Johnson, who was elected as McCarthy’s replacement after three agonizing weeks. Expect audible groans of dismay from New Jersey’s congressional delegation if that comes to pass.
A thoroughly un-jubilant jubilee
Senator Bob Menendez has been fairly publicity-shy since he was federally federally indicted on corruption charges, but he took to the Senate floor this week for a fiery 20-minute speech in which he excoriated the U.S. Attorney’s Office that indicted him and warned his fellow senators that they could be the next target of overzealous prosecutors.
“I’m innocent, and I intend to prove my innocence – not just for me, but for the precedent this case will set for you and for future members of the Senate,” Menendez said. “Members of the Senate are not above the law, but they are not beneath it either. If for political expediency, an indictment and its accusations are now tantamount to guilt, we have upended our system of justice in America.”
Menendez, who has faced widespread calls for his resignation and had to step down from his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee, became visibly emotional as he defended himself from the explosive allegations leveled against him.
“I am suffering greatly as a result of what they have done,” he said. “After 50 years of public service, this is not how I wanted to celebrate my golden jubilee. But I have never violated the public trust; I have been a patriot for and of my country.”
A day after the speech, Menendez’s lawyers filed a motion arguing that the entire indictment against the senator should be thrown out for running afoul of the Constitution and past Supreme Court decisions. Assuming that doesn’t happen, the trial is set to begin in May.
Flooding the airwaves
A rainstorm on Tuesday evening brought about flooding across New Jersey, and another storm set to hit the state tonight may do yet more damage. With that in mind, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) testified before the Transportation Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee this week to request federal research into, and funding for, flood prevention in New Jersey.
“Flooding is a recurring problem in my state, with severe consequences for communities in the Passaic River Basin,” Pascrell said. “I am requesting the committee support a comprehensive study by the Army Corps of Engineers to examine potential measures to improve flood mitigation, river navigation, and environmental sustainability.”
Pascrell’s constituents in Lodi, Wayne, and other towns were among the hardest hit by Tuesday’s storms, and it was far from the first time flooding has impacted towns in his district; his hometown of Paterson, which is surrounded by the Passaic River, has frequently faced flooding issues during rainstorms.
Formula One
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, unveiled legislation this week that adds new testing requirements for infant formula and other baby food products, strengthening federal regulations that Pallone said are insufficient.
The bill, the Improving Newborns’ Food and Nutrition Testing Safety (INFANTS) Act, would require baby food manufacturers to regularly test for lead and other contaminants, and would expand the Food and Drug Administration’s ability to inspect and penalize manufacturers.
“Parents should not have to worry about whether the food they buy for their children is contaminated with bacteria, lead, or another toxic heavy metal,” Pallone said. “In just the last few months, we have read frightening reports about contaminated applesauce leading to potential lead poisoning in dozens of children… The INFANTS Act would establish a testing regime to ensure toddler and infant food products are free of dangerous contaminants and clarify FDA’s authority to recall adulterated products.”
Other Garden State plots
• At an event in Ridgewood on Tuesday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) announced his three-part Childcare Affordability Plan, which includes expanding the Child Tax Credit as part of ongoing tax reform negotiations; restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Childcare Stabilization Grants; and increasing investment in Head Start programs.
“You can see why childcare costs are a huge obstacle to working, and why it has a real impact on our state’s economy and our families’ pocketbooks,” Gottheimer said. “Jersey parents are expected to lose more than $378 million dollars in earnings as a result of being forced to cut work hours or leave the workforce altogether to care for their children. That’s unacceptable and we need to be focused on making life more affordable.”
• New Jersey received a $10 million federal grant this week for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, with the goal of building a more robust EV charging network in lower-income communities and rural areas.
“Everyone deserves to benefit from the transition away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles to cleaner forms of transportation that will not only improve air quality, and therefore health outcomes in our neighborhoods, but also help combat the climate crisis that disproportionately impacts lower-income communities,” Senator Cory Booker said.
• The House, meanwhile, passed a bill this week that would nullify the Biden administration’s waiver of EV chargers from Buy America restrictions, a vote which Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) hailed as a victory over China’s dominance of the EV supply chain.
“President Biden needs to wake up and get serious about becoming less dependent on Xi Jinping’s brutal dictatorship – which has gained almost full dominance of every single step of the electric vehicle supply chain on the back of trafficked workers and child laborers – before it is too late,” Smith said.