Congressman Chris Smith’s Statement Regarding President Trump’s Announcement On Ending The Shutdown

“I welcome the President’s announcement. We need to immediately restore essential government functions—which I have repeatedly voted to do in recent weeks—while allowing more time to negotiate for funding to secure our border, which I voted for in December.

“In 2006, I and other members from both parties in Congress—including then-Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—voted for the Secure Fence Act to authorize a physical barrier where applicable on our Southern border. The bill became law but was never adequately implemented, and by neglecting for years to build a border wall, we have placed a greater burden on the safety of our border security personnel and put undue stress on a primary function of government—keeping our citizens safe.

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Hackensack Meridian Health Waives Co-Pays And Deductables For Furloughed Federal Employees and Families

New Jersey’s largest healthcare network announced today that it is waiving co-pays and deductibles for emergency visits at all network hospitals and urgent care centers for furloughed federal employees and their insured family members.

“We have seen the financial impact the federal government shut down has had on many families and we want to ensure that people will receive the care they need without worrying about the cost,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.

“We believe that we need to step forward and do our part to help furloughed federal employees and their families,’’ Garrett said.

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Local Bank Offers Mortgage Relief For Borrowers Impacted By Federal Shutdown

OceanFirst Bank N.A. is offering a forbearance or temporary suspension of mortgage and home equity loan payments for up to 90 days to its customers who work for the federal government or businesses affected by the government shutdown, the bank announced last week.

“As a community bank, OceanFirst wants to provide support to every mortgage customer who works for the federal government or businesses that are affected by the current shutdown,” said Anthony Giordano, III, OceanFirst Bank’s Senior Vice President and Senior Operations Officer. “We recognize these are stressful times for these customers, many of whom are worried about meeting their mortgage and other financial obligations, especially if there is a prolonged shutdown. By offering the Mortgage Relief Program, we hope we can ease any concerns relating to their mortgage or home equity loan until they get back to work and are paid.”

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Phony Pallone votes against reopening the government

Congressman Frank Pallone

Despite his rhetoric against the U.S. government shutdown, Congressman Frank Pallone voted against the continuing resolution which reopened the government after giving ‘non-essential’ federal employees an unscheduled three day weekend.

Pallone issued a statement on Monday blaming President Trump and the Republicans in Congress for the shutdown which started on Saturday morning:

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Government shutdown ends. Booker and Menendez vote to keep it closed

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans and Democrats reached a deal Monday to reopen the government, with an end to the three-day shutdown expected by the end of the day. Most Senate Democrats agreed to fund the government through Feb. 8 after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed to bring a separate bill allowing unauthorized immigrants brought… Read the rest of this entry »

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ArtG and Tommy G on the radio this afternoon

MMM publisher Art Gallagher will be Tommy G’s guest this afternoon at 4:06 PM on the best afternoon drive time radio show in New Jersey.

Tommy invited Art on to talk about the U.S. government shutdown.

Tommy’s show is always good for laughs and provocative conversation about local, state and national news.   Tune in!

The Tommy G Show is broadcast Monday through Friday from 3pm – 6pm in Central New Jersey on AM WCTC, on the Internet by clicking this link , on iHeartRadio, and via the TuneIn app on your smartphone.

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NJ State Government Shuts Down

Without a budget from the Democrat controlled State Legislature, Governor Chris Christie ordered non-essential government operations to cease.

In an Executive Order issued at the midnight June 30 deadline for a State Budget, Christie declared a state of emergency and ordered that State Police, state correctional facilities, key child welfare services, state hospitals and treatment facilities, NJ TRANSIT, and operations linked to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, including certain environmental and health monitoring will continue to operate.

Gambling is essential to the operation of New Jersey. The state lottery will not be affected by the closure. Atlantic City Casinos and racetracks will remain open with state oversight.

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Guadagno calls on Murphy to intervene in budget showdown

Kim Guadagno

With New Jersey’s state government on the verge of shutting down because the Democrat controlled legislature has failed to pass a budget, Lt.Governor Kim Guadagno, the GOP nominee for Governor, has called on her Democrat opponent, former Goldman Sachs banker Phil Murphy, to intervene in the impasse.

“What is happening with the state budget is a disgusting display of Trenton politics that threatens to grind our state to a halt,” Guadagno said. “With so many problems in New Jersey from property taxes to healthcare, our leaders should be communicating with each other to pass a budget that puts the taxpayers of New Jersey first and separate the Horizon bill from negotiations so it can be thoroughly reviewed. Phil Murphy – as the head of his party – should immediately call his political bosses who are orchestrating this and tell them to stop playing politics with the lives of the people who will be hurt by a government shutdown.”

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Conservative Republicans Resist Boehner’s Plan to Avoid Budget Fight

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, holds a news conference in Washington September 9, 2014. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative Republicans on Wednesday resisted a plan to avert a budget fight over President Barack Obama’s immigration order, raising the likelihood that the spending struggle in Congress could last right up to the Dec. 11 deadline for a government shutdown. Tea Party lawmakers stood firm against House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner’s plan… Read the rest of this entry »

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Opinion: The Federal Government Shutdown, Looking at the Longer Run (via NJSpotlight)

Opinion: The Federal Government Shutdown, Looking at the Longer Run (via NJSpotlight)

Even as Congress and the president took the first tentative steps toward a debt-ceiling deal last week, the press was already declaring who won the budget showdown (Obama) and who lost it (Republicans). That could well turn out to be the case, but a…

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