Legislation fights terror, youth vaping, algae blooms, & anti-Semitism — Protects vets, rural farmers, students, & local economy.  Includes key provisions for SALT & tax cuts.

This week, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) had a total of ten amendments voted on and passed out of the House of Representatives.

Gottheimer’s provisions will: 

1. Address Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including Hezbollah and Hamas, and their use of online social media platforms; 
2. Help National Guard members quarantine safely from COVID-19 before returning home from the front lines the pandemic;
3. Provide resources to the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Inspector General to ensure proper compliance of state-run veterans homes, including the Paramus Veterans Home;
4. Publicize lead water testing results at K-12 schools on military bases;
5. Report on the high cost of living for NJ military families impacted by cutting the SALT deduction; 
6. Encourage congressional support for family-owned dairy farms in Northwestern New Jersey, which are facing economic challenges from the pandemic;
7. Boost investment for medical care at non-VA facilities, to continue the fight for greater access to health care for North Jersey veterans;
8. Address the Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) impacting many North Jersey lakes and harming our recreation, local businesses, and residents;
9. Prohibit funds from being used to promote the sale of vaping and dangerous e-cigarette products which can harm our children; and 
10. Increase resources for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s outreach services and education on anti-Semitism.

“This was a big week of wins for northern New Jersey. We passed ten amendments in the House that will help Fifth District families. My legislation will help fight global terror on social media platforms, to stand up for our brave military families and their children, to support our National Guard as they work to get us through this pandemic, to help North Jersey dairy farmers during this difficult time, to ensure veterans have the care and access to medical services they all deserve, to protect our local lakes and eco-tourism industry from toxic algae and our kids from vaping, and to better educate Americans about the history of the Holocaust.” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). 

Gottheimer’s amendments that passed the House this week include:

• Addressing the SALT deduction cut’s impact on military families: Requires the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to prepare an annual report to Congress containing an analysis of the nationwide costs of living for members of the Department of Defense.

• Combating Foreign Terrorist Organizations spreading extremist propaganda on social media: Requires the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to report to Congress on the use of online social media by U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and the threat posed to U.S. national security by online radicalization.

• Ensuring Compliance at State-Run Veterans Homes: Providing more resources for the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to investigate and ensure proper compliance at state-run veterans homes — like the disaster-stricken state-run New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus, where 81 residents and 1 staff member tragically died from a coronavirus outbreak. This provision will provide much stronger federal oversight of these facilities and will help protect our veterans.

• Providing quarantine protections for National Guard members: Ensures members of the National Guard responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are provided with 14 days of housing to quarantine safely.

• Protecting children from dangerous lead water: Ensures public disclosure of results from lead and copper testing at Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) K-12 military base schools.

• Supporting NJ Dairy Farms: Supporting resources to assist family-owned dairy farms — the backbones of the rural economy in Northwestern New Jersey — which are facing massive challenges due to the pandemic. Dairy farmers have suffered more than $5.7 billion in losses due to the crisis, and encouraging Congressional support for the Agricultural Marketing Service will help dairy farmers survive.

• Investing in Health Care for Veterans: By boosting investment for medical care at non-VA facilities, this continues Gottheimer’s fight for greater access to health care for veterans in North Jersey — who can be referred to local hospitals, imaging centers, and clinics for care.

• Addressing Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs): This provision addresses the Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) impacting many North Jersey lakes and harming recreation, local businesses, and residents, by ensuring a U.S. Geological Survey be reported to Congress on ways to combat toxic HABs like those found in Greenwood Lake and Lake Hopatcong.

• Protecting Kids from Vaping and E-cigs: This provision prohibits any funds in the bill from being used to promote the sale of vaping and dangerous e-cigarette products which can harm our children — to help save lives and protect families by combatting the youth vaping epidemic. 

• Educating on the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism: Increased investment for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s outreach services will help more Americans learn about the history of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and other forms of hatred, bigotry and intolerance.

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Source:  https://gottheimer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2104