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Posted by Pepe Bonmot
on May 24, 2002 at 18:23:11:
Congressman Donald M. Payne Working for the 10th Congressional District Urban Time News As the Representative of the 10"" Congressional District in COngress, it has been my privilege to serve the interests of all of my constituents, including the residents of Jersey City and Bayonne in Hudson County. I have worked diliently to secure federal resources to meet the needs of local communities for housing, health care, education and crime prevention. Recently, 'in the wake of the September 11th tragedy, we were able to secure $10.7 million in Department of Defense emergency monies and $1.75 million in an additional Justice Department appropriation to enable the Jersey City Police Department to make critical improvements to enhance the safety of local residents. The funds we were able to secure in Washington will help enhance emergency preparedness in the local community. Additional federal funding in the amount of $540,000 for Liberty HealthCare System in Jersey City and $125,426 for Bayonny Hospital was allocated for expenses incurred following the September 11th attack. I have also worked closely with residents of Union County to help bring federal funds into local communities. Working togehter, we were able to obtain a $1 million Economic Development Administration grant to the city of Rahway for construction of a new public library and office building complex and a $1.45 million Environmental Protection Agency grant for work in Elizabeth, among many other items. I believe that my voting record in Congress over the years reflects the needs of my constituents in Hudson County and throughout the 10th Congressional District. I have consistently been awarded one of the highest ratings in Congress for my strong support of education, the environment, social security and medicare, and benefits for working men and women. I was surprised to read in this newspaper recently that Reverend Edward A. Allen criticized me for opposing a Republican-sponsored funding measure, the Labor, Health and human Services and Educaction Appropriations Bill, which would have cut millions of dollars for key programs such as class size reduction, school modernization, violence prevention initiatives, and afterschool services. The Republican-sponsored bill for which Reverend Allen expressed support would have eliminated Head Start assistance to 53,000 children, cut bilingual instruction to 140,000 students, ended college preparation assistance for 644,000 low-income middle and high school students, eliminated $36 million to ensure that 1.6 million seniors and disabled persons receive quality nursing care and cut Social Security Administrative expenses by $156 million, thus threatening the ability of seniors to receive their benefits on time. Working throughout the funding process with my Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives, I am proud that we were able to restore funding for key programs, including a 27% increas for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which helps over 4 million low-income households meet their home heating bills; a 25% increase in the Pell Grants to give students from less affluent families the opportunity to attend college; and $1.2 billion for school renovation efforts. Overall, we were able to secure funding at a level 15% higher for critical health and education programs. We have consistently been successful in fighting efforts to eliminate Summer Jobs for Youth. I am proud to have stood with my Democratic colleagues in opposition to the harmful Republican-sponsored funding cuts. Reverend Allen also criticized me for opposing a bill put forth by the Bush Administration, the so-called Faith-Based Initiative, which would allow groups and organizations to receive federal funds without complying with existing civil rights laws. Because the Bush proposal allowed discrimination, it was opposded bu a number of civil rights, educational and religious groups, including the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Baptist Joint Committee, the Interfaith Alliance and the AFLCIO. The Bush proposal supported by Reverend Allen provided no new funds to help address homelessness, lack of access to health care, drug addiction and other problems facing our communities. I strongly support and encourage the involvement of our churches in addressing criticla needs, but I refuese to support the Bush Administrtation measure which allows discrimination. I also felt that it was the right decision to support the Democrat] c-backed retirement security bill, which provided a refundable credit for low and middle income workers who save for their retirement and would have enabled small business employees to become eligible to claim a tax credit for establishing a qualified pension plan. The Republcican-backed plan which Reverend Allen supports did not include these provisions. As the 107th Congress continues its work, I will be pushing for initiatives which benefit my constituents throughout the entire 10 Congressional District, and I will continue to mee with local residents on a regular basis to hear their concerns. |
