Several D.C. political sources are reporting today that Speaker Paul Ryan threatened Rep. Frelinghuysen with the loss of his powerful Appropriations Chairmanship unless he flips his opposition to the AHCA and instead supports it. If the Congressman truly represents his constituents, he must face down Ryan’s threat and continue to oppose Trumpcare, which would be disastrous for New Jersey and the country.

This amended AHCA bill, endorsed by the conservative Freedom Caucus Republicans, is even worse than the late March effort that Frelinghuysen called "unacceptable." By allowing states to acquire waivers on core provisions of the current law, it essentially removes the most crucial and popular protections. 

By Liz Haigney-Lynch

An Earth Day message worth repeating: Never underestimate the power of voters’ voices, especially with a planet on the line.

At an Earth Week Environmental Defense Forum hosted in Little Falls by NJ 11th For Change last week, talk revolved around policy challenges, threatened funding cuts and the growing impact of climate change. Across the board, speakers emphasized the vital role of concerned citizens.

Moderated by astrophysicist Matthew Buckley of Rutgers University, founder of the NJ March for Science, the panel included:

• Assemblyman John McKeon (27th District)
• Lori Heiger, Steering Committee member of Coalition Against the Pilgrim Pipeline (CAPP), Founder of #Get2Work, Member, NJ 11th For Change Research Team
• Mark Brownstein, climate and energy program, Environmental Defense Fund
• NYU climate scientist Sonali McDermid
• Dan Hartinger, Parks and Public Lands Defense Campaign, Wilderness Society
• Jamie Pang, policy specialist, Center for Biological Diversity
• Julia Somers, executive director, New Jersey Highlands Coalition

The Rodney Report is NJ 11th for Change's response to Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen's weekly newsletter.

• Tax Reform Talk
• Listening Tour
• A 100th Day Shutdown?
• March for Science

 In Friday’s newsletter, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen bemoaned “our broken tax code,’’ calling it “desperately in need of reform.’’ But until our president releases his tax returns, this is not a conversation any representative of the American people should be willing to have. We support Democrats who say they’ll refuse any action on tax reform until Trump makes his records available.

The public needs to know how Trump earns his income and whether he’s paid his fair share in taxes. We need to know if he has paid taxes to any foreign governments or has foreign bank accounts. We also need to know how he might benefit from his proposed reforms.

Frelinghuysen has suggested more than once that President Trump should release his tax info. The New York Times last week even included him on the list of GOP politicos who are pro disclosure. But Frelinghuysen has voted against legislative attempts that would compel Trump to release his taxes, denouncing efforts as “political theater.’’

We hope that Frelinghuysen will do more than pay lip service to transparency.

The Rodney Report is NJ 11th for Change's response to Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen's weekly newsletter.

• Syrian Airstrikes
• Turning Away Refugees
• A Plan for North Korea?
• Rodney and the War Machine

'While I am horrified by the deaths of so many innocent men, women, and children, I want to know how the president's strategic plans will change the course of this civil war. I cannot support any authorization unless and until my questions are answered fully. .... I don't think there is a great partisan divide. I think people just want to know what the president's plan is."

This was Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s 2013 response to President Obama’s request for congressional approval to use force against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after sarin gas was dropped on a Damascus suburb. Frelinghuysen voted against approval, yet in his April 7th e-newsletter, he trumpeted his endorsement of Trump’s unsanctioned Syrian airstrike and condemned Obama-era policies toward North Korea.

Syrian Airstrikes

Congressman Frelinghuysen commends the president for acting “decisively” on Syria. We agree that Assad’s brutal use of chemical weapons is a criminal act and that the ongoing civil war is a “humanitarian crisis,” but unlike Frelinghuysen, we are alarmed that the president acted without seeking Congressional approval. We urge Frelinghuysen to demand the same answers from Trump he sought from Obama four years ago: “What is this president’s Syria policy? What’s the end game here? Are we going to war here? Or is this attack a one-off? We deserve to have answers. What are the real goals here?’’ They were reasonable questions in 2013 and are more urgent now. Whether or not good people agree that the recent air strikes were justified, there is much concern that this president should ever be given unilateral power to make war.