| 
Welcome to the latest installment of the NJDSC's week in review. Here's a look back at some of the news from this past week and toward the end, some of the upcoming events around the state next week: Republican Right To Work Bill DOA - Speaker Oliver said that the Republican anti-worker bill attempting to make NJ a right to work state is Dead on Arrival: “Numerous studies have shown that these so-called right-to-work laws do not generate jobs and economic growth. In fact, these laws have been found to suppress wages and have had no impact on employment and business growth."
- More from Speaker Oliver: "This legislation is dead on arrival. This type of move may play elsewhere, but, quite simply, this anti-worker bill will never see the light of day."
- Chairman Wisniewski: “I applaud Speaker Oliver for making clear that the proposed Republican ‘Right to work’ legislation is ‘dead on arrival.’ Unfortunately, this is just one of many right-wing assaults on workers rights by New Jersey Republicans. Democrats will stand shoulder to shoulder with middle-class families fighting these misguided attempts. Assemblyman O’Scanlon’s legislation is the next step of the national Republican agenda to bust unions playing out right here in New Jersey. It’s time Republicans stop focusing on scapegoating the workers who didn’t cause these problems in the first place. But while they’re busy finding someone else to blame, Democrats are developing real solutions that will help New Jersey’s middle class families.”
- NJ AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech: “The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is extremely disappointed with Assembly members Handlin and O’Scanlon for sponsoring and introducing this type of radical legislation. We thank Speaker Oliver for her comments and for recognizing this as simply a way to weaken labor unions and negatively impact New Jersey’s middle class workers.”
Christie settles scores instead of sharing sacrifice - NJ 101.5: Mayors angry and worried over Christie's budget cuts.
- The Record: UEZs face future without state funds.
- Star Ledger: Spending wasn’t the only thing Gov. Chris Christie slashed last week. With a handful of vetoes he stripped the Legislature of its formal oversight powers regarding a number of programs while easing restrictions on his own office and the agencies run by his cabinet.
- Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey's struggling municipalities are out $139 million in state aid that was promised — and in some cases awarded — before Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the appropriation in this year's budget.
- Express Times Opinion: Christie’s line-item scalpel will have consequences. He excised large sums from programs for the impoverished, people with disabilities, abused children, and college students seeking financial aid. One cut, axing $240 million for municipalities, will make it tough for many towns to maintain services without raising property taxes.
- NJ Spotlight: Seven words that pack a punch: "This item is deleted in its entirety." It was among the most-used lines in the governor's handiwork, and the results ranged from cutting a $537,000 grant to the Wynona M. Lipman Child Advocacy Center to the $50 million that had been proposed for public-safety grants to high-crime cities.
- Atlantic City Examiner: Governor Christie targets the working poor while protecting millionaires in NJ - "Notice how many cuts are made against women, children, and the elderly"
- Asbury Park Press: Christie’s series of line-item vetoes hit social programs and aid for low- and middle-income communities the hardest. They even included orphans-and-widow items, such as a treatment center for abused kids.
- New jersey Future: After being restored to the budget that was passed by the Legislature last week, funding for the Department of Transportation’s Transit Village program was removed from the FY 2012 spending plan signed by Governor Chris Christie on June 30.
- New Jersey Newsroom: What it comes down to is that the governor acted in angry adolescent and not as a rational leader making measured reductions to the budget.
- Asbury Park Press Editorial: So Much For Shared Sacrifice - Christie's budget "will inflict more needless pain on many of those who can least afford it"
- Star Ledger Editorial: "At least this time, the governor spared us the blather about shared sacrifice. He will no doubt consider it class warfare to point out the obvious, that he favors the rich at every turn and seems to go out of his way to pound on the working poor."
- Assemblyman Moriarty: Last year, NJ After 3 raised $1.8 million and, as a result, was able to secure $2.4 million in matching funds from program partners. The state’s lack of funding seriously jeopardizes the viability of the program. The only thread of logic in the governor’s cut is that it falls right in line with his pattern of balancing the budget on the backs of the working poor.
- Assemblyman Wilson: "His budget is a slap at all working-class families, middle-class families, to people who can't help themselves. And it's not a surprise that it's taking place."
- Forbes: Democrats like Sweeney believe Christie was angry that his original budget was rejected and that he delivered retaliatory vetoes to pay back those who had challenged him. For example, Christie cut three-quarters of the budget for an Essex County center for abused children whose chairwoman is an attorney for the Public Defender who scrapped with the governor before leaving office.
- Star Ledger Editorial: Gov. Chris Christie's budgets cuts to legal aid will hurt the poor - "Our democracy promises access to equal justice. But without the funding to back that up, it’s justice based on your bank account."
- The Hall Institute: Christie's war on the poor.
Fighting and Examining the Impact of Christie's cuts - New Jersey Newsroom: Senate Democrats to attempt overrides of Christie budget vetoes beginning Monday.
- NBC Philadelphia: NJ Budget Override Showdown Set for Monday, Sweeney says he'll place the Senate under call, so members will have to cast votes.
- Star Ledger: Senate President Sweeney calls for 'a vote of conscience' by legislators against Gov. Christie's budget
- NJ 101.5: Democrats hope to override the Republican governor's vetoes of funding for programs for the blind, AIDS patients, cities, child sex victims and more.
- AP: The New Jersey Assembly plans to hold summer hearings to assess - and highlight - the impact of Gov. Chris Christie's budget cuts on the poor and middle class.
- Speaker Oliver: "I want the Assembly to hear first-hand the impact these cuts will have on working class residents and our most vulnerable..."
- Assemblyman Greenwald: "The Governor hasn't been asked to participate in the hearings, so he doesn't have to worry about the 'theater'...Hopefully the Republican members of the Legislature -- who have no problem cashing their paycheck -- will hopefully show up to work...and actually stand up to the Governor..."
- Star Ledger: Christie uses vetoes to strip Legislature of oversight, while easing his office's restrictions.
- NJPP listed the vetoes and compared Governor Christie's budget and the Democratic budget to final budget.
Christie budget cuts will make it hard for towns to stabilize property taxes - Star Ledger: The League of Municipalities says cuts totaling $240 million will adversely impact the ability of municipalities to provide much-needed property tax relief in their towns. Christie slashed all but $10 million from a $149 million aid program for cities and towns facing extraordinary circumstances. He also eliminated a $50 million public safety program for municipalities experiencing crime spikes that Democrats had put into their alternate budget.
- Audubon Mayor John Ward said it was disingenuous for the governor to claim he's lowered both spending and taxes because cuts in aid have forced towns to raise fees -- a kind of backdoor approach toward raising taxes. "Last year we had a perfect storm: Funding was down, tax collections were down, state aid was down, and costs were on rise.
How much school aid did Christie cut for your town? - Assemblyman Schaer released a final analysis from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services regarding how Gov. Chris Christie’s budgetary line item vetoes will affect residents of the 36th District. Fourteen out of the 16 school systems in the 36th District will lose funding due to the governor’s cuts, which reduced local school aid for the district by 9.5 percent.
- Senate President Sweeney, Assemblyman Burzichelli and Assemblywoman Riley noted that Christie’s line-item budget vetoes cost 3rd Legislative District schools $28.5 million in state aid.
- Assembly Speaker Oliver and Assemblyman Giblin said the Governor's vetoes that will cost 34th Legislative District taxpayers $34.6 million in school aid show Christie's disregard for education and the taxpayers.
- Assemblyman Prieto said Governor Christie’s line-item budget vetoes cost 32nd Legislative District taxpayers nearly $60 million in school aid, significantly less than the Democratic plan.
- Assemblymen DeAngelo and Benson called the Governor's decision to veto $23 million in additional aid for suburban schools in the 14th district included in the democratic budget a short-sighted move with long-term ramifications on the children of this state.
- Assemblymen Diegnan and Barnes criticized Christie's cuts, which cost 18th District taxpayers $30.9 million in school aid when he used vetoes on the Democratic budget plan.
- Assemblywomen Voss and Wagner said the Governors vetoes that will cost 38th Legislative District taxpayers $36.9 million in school aid and are a disservice to the taxpayers.
Christie Energy Plan Put Solar In Jeopardy - New Jersey Newsroom: New Jersey is the second largest producer of solar energy in the nation; trailing only California. But the state’s new Energy Master Plan has put that standing in jeopardy.
- Assemblyman Chivukula on Christie's solar cuts: "Everyone is talking about the need for job creation, but the solar industry is the only on creating jobs."
- Senator Smith: "It sent all the wrong signals," Smith said, referring to efforts to scale back New Jersey's renewable energy goals. "We are trying to focus attention that New Jersey stands to lose its way as a leader in renewable energy." Smith also faulted the administration for taking 14 months to overhaul the plan, a delay that he says created chaos in the industry due to the uncertainty whether the state would scale back its renewable energy goals.
- Veteran in Ad: Christie Surrendering to China on Clean Energy - Statewide campaign includes radio, mail focused on Christie’s leadership failure
"Media disconnection from Real people" over Christie - In New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s case, the media’s fascination with his “blunt talk” in defending unpopular actions is framed as a positive. Although more of the state’s voters disapprove of his policies than approve, the New York Times found a pollster to say “the fact that his approval ratings haven’t dipped below 40 percent shows how much his style and personality still resonate positively for a lot of people.” That’s right. As long as Republicans can maintain 40% approval, they can ignore the other 60% with impunity.
About that $2.25 billion line of credit... -
Assemblyman Greenwald questioned the Christie administration taking out a $2.25 billion line of credit to cover a state cash shortfall: "It seems early to borrow the money, especially when we have a higher surplus than expected and increased revenues. We could have waited … and saved money on transaction fees." Obama hosts 1st Twitter Town Hall  Christie Admin shells out at least $130K taxpayer dollars for Republican DC Lobbying firm -
The state has paid at least $130,000 this year to a Washington, D.C., law firm to lobby Congress on behalf of NJ Transit — a tactic criticized last year as "wasteful and unnecessary spending" by Governor Christie. NJ Transit last year hired Patton Boggs to fight the federal government's demands that the state return $271 million spent toward building a new Hudson River tunnel before Christie killed the project in October.  Congressional Corner
- With news that legislation introduced today would allow drilling in Virginia by 2012, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez voiced their strong opposition to the proposal.
- Senators Lautenberg and Menendez joined colleagues from five states and introduced a resolution Thursday that would call for reflective memorial moment to be observed on Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. EDT on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks and would be marked by a minute of reflection and the ringing of bells and the sounding of sirens across the country.
- Senators Lautenberg and Menendez continued to try to find common ground between the state and federal transportation officials over repayment of some $271 million expended on the now scuttled ARC tunnel.
- Senator Menendez called for stepped up federal response to aid Camden firefighters.
- Senator Lautenberg is fighting to make cancer research a priority as Congress sets funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year. "The medical progress made so far is inspiring, but we cannot let up on the effort until there is a cure for cancer,”
- President Obama announced that Congressman Payne will be a member of his Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Sudan to attend the ceremony marking the Declaration of the Independence of the Republic of South Sudan
- Congressman Pallone said the GOP continues to hold Medicare hostage to protect tax loopholes for corporations in debt ceiling negotiations.
- Congressman Rothman presented the Congressional Award Gold Medal to Jonathan Mui, a high school student from Secaucus, NJ in the Congressman’s office in Washington, DC.
- Congressman Holt said that we must focus now on adding jobs, not targeting Medicare and Social Security on The Takeaway on WNYC.(Listen)
- Congressman Sires spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives to oppose the privatization of Amtrak.
- Congressman Pascrell blasted the proposed elimination of the federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office included in the FY2012 appropriations bill released today by the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.
- Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani visited with Congressman Rothman and the two discussed the current situation in Pakistan including the efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the status of relations between Pakistan and India, and Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan. Congressman Rothman and Ambassador Haqqani also discussed the U.S. – Pakistan relationship and U.S. aid to Pakistan.
- Congressman Andrews questioned Chairman Schaumber on the GOP's witch hunt against the NLRB. (Video)
- Congressman Holt will hold a telephone town hall with central New Jersey residents at 7:30 p.m. on July 11.
 Under the Dome
- After poll results showed 77% of NJ voters statewide support red light cameras, Assemblyman Wisniewski said, "Now is the time to make (red light cameras) available to more municipalities throughout the state, in order to mitigate the problems associated with dangerous intersections in our cities and towns..."
- Assemblyman Burzichelli: NJTV leaves much to be desired.
- Legislation that will reduce the amount of money employees pay into the Temporary Disability Insurance fund and refine unemployment benefit instructions have been signed into law.
- A measure that would repeal obsolete and derogatory state statutes pertaining to the status of women has received final legislative approval and now heads to the Governor.
- Legislation to remedy problems surrounding overcrowded parking at NJ Transit train stations was recently approved 45-31-1 by the Assembly.
- Legislation that would require educational brochures on college loan repayment schedules to be created and distributed to high school students unanimously passed the Assembly recently.
- Legislation to ensure victims of sexual assault aren't responsible for paying for forensic sexual assault exams has received final legislative approval and now heads to the Governor's desk.
- Star Ledger: N.J. Legislature bill would regulate foreclosure rescue fraud, offer relief to distressed homeowners.
- Legislation to ensure unemployed New Jerseyans can understand and obtain their jobless benefits has been signed into law.
- Legislation to provide a tax break to New Jersey workers has been signed into law. The law (A-3792) gives the state authority to lower temporary disability benefit contribution rates by employees commencing in 2012.
- The state Assembly recently passed legislation that would require educational brochures on college loan repayment schedules to be created and distributed to high school students.
- A bill which would establish a three-year pilot program in the Department of Human Services in order to make sure Medicaid recipients have access to quality health care was approved by the Senate Wednesday by a vote of 29-9, receiving final legislative approval.
- A bill which would expand a corporate business tax credit for research and development expenses was unanimously approved by the Senate and Assembly Wednesday, receiving final legislative approval.
 Upcoming Events
- July 10:
LD2 Headquarters Grand Opening
4:00-6:00 PM
950 Tilton Rd, Northfield
(609)418-5887 - July 12:
Please join Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallet for a Sunset at the Shore fundraiser
6:30-8:30 PM
The Seagull's Nest at Sandy Hook
Entertainment by Keith Rella
Suggested Donation: $75/pp
Please RSVP to info@amymallet.com or 732-739-8888. - July 13:
Bernice Toledo for Passaic County Surrogate
6:00-10:00 PM
Mountainside Inn, Hazel St., Clifton
$50/pp - July 15:
Denise Farina for Atlantic County Freeholder Fundraiser
Chickie and Pete's, Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Twp.
For more info email: info@atlanticdemocrats.com - July 17:
BBQ Fundraiser in Support of 16th district Assembly candidate Marie Corfield
3:00-6:00 PM
Home of Sue and Pete Vala, 244 Skillman Rd, Skillman
$200/pp
RSVP: 856-903-4526
Middlesex County Young Democrats Support the Troops BBQ
12:00-3:00 PM
Avenel Park, Tappen Street, Avenel
Free Event
RSVP: middlesexyoungdems@gmail.com - July 18:
Colin Bell for Atlantic Couty Freeholder Meet and Greet
Ventnor
For more info email: info@atlanticdemocrats.com - July 19:
DCBC Chairman Lou Stellato’s First Chairman’s Breakfast
Coffee with Governor Dick Codey
9:00-10:30 AM
The San Carlo Restaurant, 620 Stuyvesant Ave, Lyndhurst
$25/pp
RSVP by July 15th to Jeanne: 201-487-0001
Assemblyman Coughlin’s Bowling for Hunger Charity Event
5:30 PM
Woodbridge Bowling Center, 346 Main St, Woodbridge
For More Info: 732-855-7441 - July 20:
Dennis Munoz for Sheriff Fundraiser
6:00-8:00 PM
Sofia's Restaurant, Amherst Ave., Margate
$25.00/pp - July 21:
Democrats 2000 5th Annual Beach Bash
7:00-9:00 PM
The Parker House, 8-12 1st Avenue, Sea Girt, New Jersey
Ticket Price: $50 includes food and two hour open bar
For more information or to RSVP please contact rachel@democrats2000.com.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available. - July 23:
Wes Ifan For Somerset Freeholder Meet and Greet
5:30 PM
The Ifan Residence, 44 White Meadow Road, Hillsborough
Price: Free but there will be requested donations.
Finger Food will be served.
- July 24:
7th Annual Benson Backyard Blast
12:30-4:30 PM
The home of Assemblyman Benson, 81 Hempstead Road, Hamilton, New Jersey
Suggested Donation Levels: $20.11/$53.50/$80.00
Please RSVP to 609-613-4030 or fodb@att.net
Rain Date: Sunday, July 31st Support the New Jersey Democratic State Committee  
Follow us - Are you following us on Social Media yet? If not, you're missing out on the latest news as it happens.
   
We will continue to have updates about news from our elected officials and the many campaigns across the state. There will certainly be more to come next week. Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
John Wisniewski, Chairman
New Jersey Democratic State Committee |
No comments:
Post a Comment