September was a big month for New Jersey’s congressional delegation: two new members, interim Senator George Helmy and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), were sworn in, finally remedying the months of reduced representation in New Jersey caused by the corruption trial of former Senator Bob Menendez and the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark).
Both McIver and Helmy could participate in Congress’s most notable vote this month: passing the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, which will keep the federal government’s lights on through December. Otherwise, most of what Congress passed in September was more obscure – though as the several New Jersey members whose own bills got passed can attest, that doesn’t mean it was unimportant.
Click here for a web version of the New Jersey Globe’s September 2024 vote tracker, with links to the bills and votes in question, or scroll to the bottom of this article for a PDF version.
On September 18, the House took up its first attempt at a stopgap funding bill, one that was combined with a measure to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. The bill was widely anticipated to fail, and fail it did; 14 Republicans joined with nearly every House Democrat to sink the bill 202-220. In New Jersey’s delegation, the vote broke down on predictable party lines: the state’s three House Republicans voted yes, and its seven Democrats (McIver had not yet been sworn in) voted no.
Shortly before the vote, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) predicted what would happen next: “I think within a few days, you know what’s going to happen? We’re going to vote on a clean [stopgap bill]. That’s my prediction.”
He was right. A week later on September 25, the House and the Senate took up a different funding bill that had buy-in from both sides of the aisle, and it passed both chambers with little difficulty: 78-18 in the Senate, 341-82 in the House.
Every single opponent of the bill was a Republican, and among their numbers was one New Jerseyan, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis). Van Drew has consistently been the only holdout in New Jersey’s delegation on government funding legislation this congressional session, voting against bipartisan bills because they don’t make enough cuts to spending or include other conservative measures.
There was one other moment of bipartisan coordination between the two chambers in September: the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, a bill that grants equal Secret Service protection to presidents, vice presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates. The bill, written in response to multiple attempts on former President Donald Trump’s life, passed both chambers unanimously.
The House began the month with “China Week,” a week devoted to bills targeting Chinese influence in the United States in a variety of ways. House Republicans also put forward a number of partisan bills in September that are unlikely to progress through the Democratic-controlled Senate, including measures targeting sanctuary cities, the World Health Organization, and ESG considerations in retirement plans. (The New Jersey delegation voted on party lines on those three bills, among others.)
The Senate, meanwhile, took up minimal legislation in September, though Senate Democrats did make a second attempt to pass the Right to IVF Act, which would protect fertilization treatments nationwide. Like their first effort, the attempt failed thanks to Republican opposition; Helmy voted for the bill, while Senator Cory Booker was absent (though he supported the bill when it first came up in June).
Lastly, a number of bills drafted by New Jersey’s own members came up for consideration this month. The House passed Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch)’s bills on cardiomyopathy education and traumatic brain injury research, the latter of which also included a provision renaming the program for the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson); Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield)’s bills on NASA’s data access and veterans’ aviation careers; and Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester)’s bills on Hong Kong trade offices, autism research, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
None of the bills were hugely controversial, and in fact most passed on voice votes; Smith’s three bills were subject to roll-call votes, but they all passed easily with unanimous support from the New Jersey delegation.
Click here for a web version of the vote tracker.
September 2024 votes - House September 2024 votes - Senate