Who We Are
As the state's largest citizen watchdog coalition, New Jersey Citizen Action works to protect and expand the rights of individuals and families and to ensure that government officials respond to the needs of people rather than the interests of those with money and power.
Through organizing campaigns that promote economic, social, racial and political justice, NJCA encourages the active involvement of New Jersey residents in challenging the public and private institutions and agencies that impact our lives. NEW! Photos from our 25th Annual Awards Dinner, held June 5, 2008 with keynote speakers Donna Brazile and Governor Jon Corzine.
Find Out Where Your Members of Congress Stand on Health Care!
Ask your member of Congress which side they are on: Quality affordable health care for all... or being left on your own with the insurance companies.
As our political leaders gather for the Democratic and Republic conventions, critical decisions about each party's position on health care reform are being made. Let's make sure our voices are at the table! Click here to make a TOLL-FREE call to your Member of Congress now!
Save the date! On Sunday, September 14th HCAN is holding hundreds of House Parties across the country where we'll show local activists a brand new movie by Robert Greenwald. This documentary is part of Greenwald's "War on Greed" series and focuses on why we can't trust the insurance industry to solve the health care crisis in America. At the parties, we'll generate letters and calls to Members of Congress, energize activists and give folks a chance to contribute to our campaign.
NJ Citizen Action is working with Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a broad-based national coalition consisting of hundreds of organizations across the country, to win quality affordable health care for all hard-working American families.
Right now, our goal is to make 100,000 calls to Congress, making sure every member is asked multiple times which side they are on.
We need your help to get the message across! HCAN has put together an easy-to-use webpage for you to call your member of Congress. Just click here, enter in your information — including your phone number — and click the "Call" button. In a few moments, you'll receive a call to that phone number that will automatically put you in touch with your member of Congress. It couldn't be easier, and it's FREE!
With formal letters, in-person visits, and tens of thousands of phone calls, our message will be impossible to ignore: We want quality, affordable health care for all, and we want every member of Congress on our side!
Or, if you'd prefer, you can be automatically connected to Congress by calling, toll free, 1-888-436-8427.
More information about HCAN House Parties soon to come! Contact NJCA's Health Care Campaign Coordinator, Eve Weissman at (732) 246-4772 ext. 22 or eve@njcitizenaction.org for more information about Health Care for America Now and to register for or host a House Party.
Support Clean Elections
UPDATED August 13, 2008! In the next couple of days, members of the legislative clean elections ad-hoc committee will reconvene to discuss the reauthorization of New Jersey's Clean Elections program.
A100—the 2009 New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project Act, improves and expands New Jersey's full public campaign financing pilot program to eights districts. It would be available for the first time with the primary for the 2009 Elections.
We need your help to insure that members of the ad-hoc committee hear from voters like you — urging them to keep the momentum of clean elections moving forward and to reauthorize the program this fall.
TAKE ACTION TODAY! Click here to send a letter to members of the clean elections ad-hoc committee today. Tell him/her New Jersey needs Clean Elections now more than ever and to reauthorize the program this fall in time for the 2009 Elections.
Read the Media Release "Flawed Research and Phony Findings: Desperate Effort by D.C.-Based Right-Wingers to Kill Election Reform in New Jersey" – August 7, 2008. Also see "NJ's Largest Citizen Watchdog Testifies on New State Clean Elections Proposal" — the Statement of Marilyn Carpinteyro, NJCA Legislative/Political Director on A100: The 2009 New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project Act.
Urgent!! Take Action Now!
Oppose 'Bush Style' Big Media Bill!
On June 23, the NJ State Senate and Assembly very quietly passed A-2906 (Chivikula) and S-1886 (Lesniak, Sweeney), a huge corporate give-away that is anti-consumer and anti-worker. The legislation seeks to eliminate public oversight of the financial wheeling and dealings of private equity firms, huge holding corporations and media giants and would prevent the Board of Public Utilities from reviewing these complex transactions to determine if they will undermine the public interest and the provision of affordable and reliable communications services.
A2906/S1886 is on the Governor's desk.
New! Click here to read Citizen Action's letter to Governor Corzine asking him to veto A2906/S1886.
Take Action! Click here to send an email to Governor Corzine and urge him to veto this anti-consumer and anti-worker legislation!
Or call Governor Corzine TODAY at: 1-609-292-6000 and tell him:
Veto A-2906, a huge corporate give-away that is both anti-consumer and anti-worker that will undermine the provision of affordable and reliable communication services in NJ.
The NJ Board of Public Utilities should continue their oversight of the financial wheeling and dealings of cable and telecommunication holding companies to ensure that the public's interests are being protected.
Urgent!! Take Action Now!
Tell Congress: No Blank Check for Iraq War!
Iraq vote coming soon! Congress will vote to extend funding for the Iraq War until April 2009, giving the President a blank check for endless war in Iraq and no timeline for withdrawal. You must act quickly and urge your representative to VOTE NO BLANK CHECK!
Call Your Representative Now!
Capitol Switchboard (Toll Free):
1-888-460-0813
Ask the Capitol Switchboard operator to connect you to your member of Congress' office. If you don't know your Representative's name, click here.
YOU can make the difference! Here's a suggested script: "I am calling to urge Rep ____ to vote NO to another blank check for the Iraq War. We cannot continue to fund this endless war without a certain date for withdrawal."
After your call, please forward this message to three members of your friends and family. Together we can end the Iraq War and ensure Congress passes a package that provides for a shared recovery. But time is of the essence!
Take Action!
Greater Disclosure of Medical Errors
Nearly 100,000 Americans die each year from Preventable Medical Errors. In recent years, according to the NJ Department of Health, almost 100 died in New Jersey — but we don't know where. You can help!
Take Action! Call the AARP health care quality hotline at 1-800-844-2272 and urge Health Commissioner Heather Howard to make this important medical information public.
Preventable Medical Errors (PMEs) are avoidable mistakes that result in serious injury or even death. All too many New Jerseyans have experienced the terrible effects of preventable medical errors. However, in New Jersey, consumers are being denied the right to know where these errors are occurring.
For more information read the editorial "Don't Conceal Medical Errors" in the July 22 Asbury Park Press and view the AARP Video News Release, which sheds light on the horrors of PMEs and calls for Health Commissioner Heather Howard to release to the public each NJ hospital's safety record. Please take action today.
You have the right to know where Preventable Medical Errors are occurring in New Jersey. Please call 1-800-844-2272 and ask Commissioner Heather Howard to release the numbers by health care facility!
Join the New Jersey for Health Care Campaign!
The New Jersey for Health Care Campaign is a broad-based alliance of health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations working to make guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care a reality for all New Jerseyans.
TAKE ACTION! Join the New Jersey for Health Care Campaign. Download the 2008 Endorsement Form and become an active coalition member now! Sign the Health Care Voter Card to pledge your support for quality, affordable health care for all, without gaps in coverage or access. Learn more about NJCA's Quality Health Care for All Campaign. For more information, please contact NJCA's Health Care Campaign Coordinator Eve Weissman at 856-966-3091 ext.205 or email eve@njcitizenaction.org.
NJ Energy Master Plan
In October 2006, Governor Corzine initiated a process to develop an Energy Master Plan (EMP), with the intention of planning and implementing strategies to maximize the energy efficiency of our residents and infrastructure, as well as ensuring reliable, safe and affordable energy for all of our residents. In April 2008, the State of New Jersey released a Draft EMP and then sought further public input on the draft before a final EMP is formulated and submitted to the Governor.
On July 25, 2008 NJCA submitted comments to the State on the Draft EMP. In our comments, NJCA applauded certain aspects of the Draft EMP, like the creation of Public Power Authority, while cautioning the State against energy efficiency measures that would prove ineffective and costly. In addition, we also called on the State to include additional actions in the final EMP that would immediately lower the cost of electricity for our ratepayers, like ensuring true transparency for the State's annual Basic Generation Service (BGS) Auctions and instructing the NJ Board of Public Utilities to immediately review PSE&G's unwarranted Stranded Costs reward from 1999 and order the company to stop collecting this windfall from their customers and return the $7 billion they have already collected.
Click here to view NJCA's Comments on the State's Draft Energy Master Plan. Learn more about our Fair Utility Rates and Energy Education Campaign.
Invest in America's Future
As our country enters an economic downturn and millions of families face foreclosure, the Bush Administration continues to give tax cuts to millionaires and invest in an endless war in Iraq. In order to change these upside down priorities, we must invest in America's future.
Take Action! Please download and sign on to our letter asking NJ's Congressional Delegation to support an Economic Stimulus Package that provides relief for low to moderate income families and invests in our country's infrastructure to create jobs and economic growth.
The time is now for Americans to come together to push for a progressive moral agenda that provides real security for our country. We can see now more than ever, war is not the answer and spending on the war has made families and communities less secure. Security is more than just being safe from terrorism, as the administration would have us believe. Security is being able to earn a living, have a secure retirement, provide food for your family, live in affordable housing and know that if you get sick you can afford to see a doctor.
On April 15, 2008, NJCA launched our Invest in America's Future campaign by hosting simultaneous Tax Day events in Mt. Holly and Westfield. We called on Congress to support increased investments in Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment benefits without holding them hostage to additional tax breaks for the wealthy or further funding for the war in Iraq. Video! See a broadcast of our Tax Day Protest (from the Home News Tribune). Also visit the Invest in America's Future Campaign.
Invest in America's Future Events
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In Mount Holly Tell Jim Saxton to WAKE UP To the Needs of His Constituents
WHEN: Tuesday, September 9 at 11am |
In Warren Tell Mike Ferguson to WAKE UP To the Needs of His Constituents
WHEN: Tuesday, September 9 at 11am |
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2nd Annual Inter-Faith Peace Parade & FestivalSunday, September 21, 2008,
2pm – 5:30pm |
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September 9 / Economic Recovery Day of Action — Mount Holly & Warren
Victory!
Verizon-NJ and Embarq's Bid to Deregulate All Local Telephone Services
On June 24, 2008 the NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) held a public hearing regarding the settlement that was reached with Verizon-NJ and their petition to deregulate all local telephone services in the State.
Throughout this campaign, NJCA was primarily concerned that the deregulation of basic local service and Lifeline service could lead to steep rate increases that would limit access to affordable and reliable telephone service to the millions of New Jerseyans who still rely on this no frills service to stay in touch with their friends, family and literally the rest of the world.
While the settlement will include some increases to the cost of basic local service that will be spread out over three years, NJCA feels that the schedule of rate increases will maintain the affordability of basic local service and are likely much less than the increases consumers would have dealt with if basic local service was deregulated by the Board. In addition to the continued regulation of basic local service, BPU regulation was also maintained over the other essential services (i.e. single-line business, residential Directory Assistance, residential installation) and Verizon's current Telecommunication Lifeline Assistance program (as well as other social service programs for vulnerable populations) would remain as before with no additional rate increases.
NJCA presented testimony in support of the settlement that was reached between the Board, Rate Counsel and Verizon-NJ. Read the June 24, 2008 Statement of Atif Malik, North Jersey Regional Organizer: In the Matter of the NJ Board of Public Utilities Investigation Regarding the Reclassification of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) Services as Competitive.
Following the June 24 public hearing, the BPU approved the settlement at their monthly meeting in Newark on July 11, 2008. A similar settlement has also been reached with Embarq and the BPU will take comments on at a public hearing on August 7, 2008 at the Clinton Municipal Building at 7pm.
Background:
Read NJCA's report: No Dial Tone: Will the NJ Board of Public Utilities Cut the Last Line of Affordable Basic Local Telephone Service in New Jersey? Click here for the report.
This report shows that there is no competition in New Jersey's basic local phone service market and calls on the BPU to reject Verizon and Embarq's petition to deregulate the industry.
In what could amount to over a half billion dollar a year increase for ratepayers, Verizon-NJ and Embarq have petitioned the NJ Board of Public Utilities to deregulate all local telephone services in New Jersey.
If deregulation of basic local telephone service had occurred, the lack of competition in the local wire-line telephone market could have caused the estimated 1.3 million NJ residents who still rely on basic local service to see steep increases in their telephone bills (as much as $30/mo); making these services unaffordable to many low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities.
The NJ Board of Public Utilities must stop this ratepayer rip-off by rejecting Verizon-NJ and Embarq's petition to deregulate phone services in its entirety!
For more information contact Atif Malik at atif@njcitizenaction.org or 973-643-8800.
More resources:
- Download the campaign fact sheet.
- Read the Statement of Evelyn Liebman, Director of Organizing and Advocacy – In the Matter of the Board Investigation Regarding the Reclassification of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) Services as Competitive.
- Download the campaign flyer to distribute.
Victory!
Merging Banks Vow $676 Million For Affordable Homes
As reported in the The Star-Ledger on July 3, 2008: "TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank, which are in the process of merging, yesterday committed to providing $676.5 million statewide over the next three years to support affordable housing development and improvements. The banks signed an agreement to provide the financial support with the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey and New Jersey Citizen Action, two nonprofit organizations, at a gathering in Trenton.
"The banks will provide roughly $160 million for below-market-rate mortgages for low- and moderate- income, first-time homebuyers or those who are refinancing; $130 million for loans and investments for nonprofit community development organizations; $350 million for small business loans; $24 million in low-income tax credits; $1.5 million in grants for nonprofit housing groups, and at least $10 million in unsecured "Helping Hand Improvement Loans" at discount rates for homeowners and renters.... Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, New Jersey Citizen Action director, said, "Both TD Bankorth and Commerce have been leaders in innovative ways to provide loans, products and direct services to those who most desperately need assistance in the state." Read the complete news article.
Clean Elections Bill
The Clean Elections Bill was on the agenda for the Assembly Budget Committee onJune 19, 10:00 am, State House Annex, 4th floor, Committee Room 11.
Full update coming soon.
Read the Media Release "NJ's Largest Citizen Watchdog Testifies on New State Clean Elections Proposal" — the Statement of Marilyn Carpinteyro, NJCA Legislative/Political Director on A100: The 2009 New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project Act.
Take Action Now!
Support Foreclosure Prevention!
The "New Jersey Home Ownership Preservation Act" (A2517/S1599) – legislation aimed at addressing the state's widening foreclosure crisis – is moving quickly through the NJ Legislature. We need your support now to protect NJ residents and communities. Please sign on to the Support Statement now. For more information, contact Crystal Snedden at 973-643-8800 ext. 31, or email crystals@njcitizenaction.org.
What is the Foreclosure Prevention Bill?
On March 11, New Jersey Citizen Action, the Housing and Community Development Network and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, announced the introduction of legislation to address New Jersey's growing foreclosure crisis. The bill, A2517/S1599, introduced by Senator Ronald Rice (D-28) and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-15) can be viewed here. Here is a quick summary of what the legislation does:
- Provides for a six-month moratorium on certain defaulted loans to allow the borrower time to work towards a more favorable solution.
- Creates a fund to provide foreclosure prevention counseling and "catch-up" loans to help people stay in their homes.
- The fund would be built on a $2,000 impact fee charged to lenders who foreclose on subprime loans, and is projected to raise between $27 million and $33 million for the year.
- Allows former homeowners who lose their homes due to foreclosure to remain in the property as tenants until the property is acquired by someone who plans to occupy it.
- Provides other protections against future lending abuses.
- For a complete bill summary click here.
Learn more about NJCA's Insurance, Banking and Community Reinvestment Campaign, and our Loan Counseling Service.
In 2008, between 13,500 and 16,500 New Jersey homeowners are likely to face foreclosure as a result of high-cost, subprime loans.
New Jersey's homeowners and neighborhoods are at risk. Camden, Newark and Edison were already among the 50 United States metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates in 2006, and conditions are worsening throughout the state. There are 179,873 estimated outstanding subprime mortgages in New Jersey, and 35,117 subprime foreclosures are expected to occur here between the third quarter of 2007 and the end of 2009 – nearly 1 out of every 5 subprime loans. For full details, download the NJ Foreclosure Fact Sheet.
New Jersey has a compelling interest in protecting existing homeowners and their communities from the effects of the current subprime lending crisis to the extent feasible, and in ensuring that going forward, home owners and home buyers – particularly those of lower income – are not victimized by loan practices that place the affordability of their homes at risk.
Links
Victory!
Governor Corzine Signs Family Leave Insurance into Law!
WE DID IT!
On Friday, May 2, 2008, after twelve years of advocacy, Citizen Action and the NJ Time to Care Coalition realized a great victory when Governor Jon Corzine signed Family Leave Insurance legislations, A-873, into law and made New Jersey only the third state in the nation to enact one of the most far-reaching and progressive workplace reforms in many, many decades. Given that at least one million NJ workers (and probably more) don't have a single paid day off from their job and 40% of all low-wage workers don't have a single sick day, this legislation will make a significant and real difference in the lives of NJ's working families and their loved ones.
Family Leave Insurance will be 100% worker-funded through a small paycheck contribution (no more than 64 cents/wk) starting January 1, 2009. All NJ workers who contribute to the program will have the opportunity to receive 2/3 of their normal paycheck (capped at $524/wk in 2008) for up to six weeks starting July 1, 2009.
NJCA and the NJ Time to Care Coalition would like to thank the thousands of supporters who helped make this victory happen by sending over 100,000 letters to our elected officials over the last year and a half urging them to create a NJ Family Leave Insurance program.
We would also like to thank Governor Corzine for his continued support, the Senate and Assembly sponsors and all the legislators who stood firmly behind New Jersey's working families and voted Yes on Family Leave Insurance (A873/S786)! Learn more about the Family Leave Insurance Campaign — and why it is so necessary for New Jersey's workers, seniors, families and businesses.
Join the New Jersey for Health Care Campaign!
The New Jersey for Health Care Campaign is a broad-based alliance of health care, consumer, senior, student, disability, women's, labor, faith-based, civil rights and social justice organizations working to make guaranteed, high quality, affordable health care a reality for all New Jerseyans.
TAKE ACTION! Join the New Jersey for Health Care Campaign. Download the 2008 Endorsement Form and become an active coalition member now! Sign the Health Care Voter Card to pledge your support for quality, affordable health care for all, without gaps in coverage or access.
For more information, contact Eve Weissman at 856-966-3091 ext. 205 or eve@njcitizenaciton.org. Learn more about the Quality Health Care for All Campaign.
Clean Elections Campaign
Sign-on to the New Jersey Coalition for Clean Elections, a statewide coalition dedicated to reducing the corrupting influence of money in politics and establishing a permanent, state-wide system of full public campaign financing.
In 2007, New Jersey implemented the NJ Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Program to determine the best way to establish a permanent, statewide system of full public financing. The 2007 Pilot overwhelmingly succeeded in meeting the Legislature's thresholds for expansion. Now is the time to move beyond pilot projects and implement a permanent full public financing program for New Jersey.
Take Action! Download and sign-on to the New Jersey Clean Elections Coalition Principles and Join the Coalition today! Please return the completed form to Ladonna Blount, NJCA Organizer by fax 732-214-8385 or email ladonna@njcitizenaction.org. If you have questions, please call Ladonna at 732-246-4772.
The New Jersey Clean Elections Coalition supports a full public financing program that establishes these Five Principles:
- A Clean Elections program that permanently expands to all 40 legislative districts.
- A Clean Elections program that provides full campaign financing for primary and general elections.
- A Clean Elections program that provides equal funding to all qualified candidates.
- A Clean Elections program that provides adequate resources for program implementation and public education.
- A Clean Elections program that includes proper enforcement to protect public funds.
New! Read the Media Release "Flawed Research and Phony Findings: Desperate Effort by D.C.-Based Right-Wingers to Kill Election Reform in New Jersey" – August 7, 2008. Also see "NJ's Largest Citizen Watchdog Testifies on New State Clean Elections Proposal" — the Statement of Marilyn Carpinteyro, NJCA Legislative/Political Director on A100: The 2009 New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Pilot Project Act.
Learn more about the Fair And Clean Elections Campaign.
NJCA Oil Group
New Jersey Citizen Action Oil Group is a project of New Jersey Citizen Action. The Oil Group was formed in 1983 to provide consumers with an alternative to the high cost of heating fuel. The Oil Group uses group purchasing power to negotiate discount prices. New! See a 10-minute video interview with NJCA Oil Group Director Wende Nachman, on "Help With High Heating Bills."
For more information about the NJCA Oil Group, please call 1-800-464-8465, or visit njcaoilgroup.com.
September 20 / 20 de Septiembre — Women's Housing Initiative / Iniciativa Como Obtener Su Propia Casa
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NJCA: A Home of Her Own: Women's Housing Initiative Saturday, September 20, 2008, 2:00 – 4:00PM |
NJCA: Iniciativa Como Obtener Su Propia Casa Sábado, 20 de Septiembre del 2008, 2:00 – 4:00PM |
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NJCA's Loan Counseling Service
New! On February 17, 2008, The New York Times's coverage of the mortgage crisis featured NJCA's loan counseling program:
Someone to Speak for Borrowers in Trouble
By Kareem Fahim
NEWARK — As she leafed through her client's mortgage papers, the housing loan counselor just shook her head.
The numbers and interest rates and payment schedules formed such a familiar, dispiriting picture. The 32-year-old man who was sitting across the desk from her said he had been persuaded to take out an adjustable rate mortgage called an option ARM when he bought his home, the first he has owned. The terms of the loan put him in danger of joining millions of people dragged under by the mortgage crisis that has washed through towns and cities across the country....
The loan counselor, Judy Brzuskiewicz of New Jersey Citizen Action, a nonprofit advocacy group in Newark, picked up the phone. She called the lender, Countrywide Financial, and told the representative that her client still had good credit and needed the 9 percent interest rate on his mortgage lowered, maybe to 6 percent. Politely but insistently, she said the adjustable rate needed to be frozen.
"I'm counting on you," she told the representative, who told her that he fielded calls like hers all day long.
Day after day, Ms. Brzuskiewicz and counselors like her across the country keep making the same calls, trying to stand between homeowners who took out loans they say that they did not comprehend, or could not afford, and foreclosure.... Read the complete news article.
Learn more about NJCA's Loan Counseling Service, Free Tax Preparation (y en Español), and our Insurance, Banking and Community Reinvestment Campaign.
NJCA's Free Tax Preparation Service
1-888-TAXES11 or 1-888-829-3711
STOP paying high fees and interest to tax preparers when you can get the same benefits for FREE!
Call 1-888-TAXES11 for an appointment with a tax specialist. To use this service, you must file a tax return.
Services provided in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and French
Victory!
Law Passed to Expand Lead Inspection Requirements to All NJ Rental Properties
On Friday, January 4, 2008, Governor Corzine signed S2622 — a law that will significantly help protect New Jersey's young children from lead poisoning, a fully preventable but extremely dangerous disease.
The law amends the current Hotel and Multiple Dwellings Code and requires the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to inspect every single-family and two-family rental dwelling for lead-based paint hazards at least once every 5 years. Until now, one and two unit dwellings had been exempt from lead hazard inspections, as the previous Code applied only to rental units in multiple dwellings and left a great number of New Jersey's residents more exposed to the dangers of lead hazards.
This is a major victory for NJCA, as we have long been fighting the battle against childhood lead poisoning and do not believe that children should be used as lead detectors! Learn more at our Lead Poisoning Prevention Campaign.
Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities
In the face of yet another austere federal budget proposal, New Jersey Citizen Action has resumed its work as part of the Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities (ECAP), a coalition of state and national partners urging Congress to pass a federal budget that reflects the priorities of America's working families, seniors, children and citizens with disabilities. Download the report First Things First for New Jersey.
President Bush's budget proposal for fiscal year 2008 falls far short of this mark, imposing cuts to valuable programs on which millions of Americans depend, including cuts of $102 billion to Medicaid and Medicare, $500 million to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program, the WIC nutrition program for poor mothers and children, the Community Services Block Grant program, and many others.
This proposal will especially affect New Jersey by cutting $35 million to NJ FamilyCare, the state's health insurance program for low-income children. These cuts will drop coverage for 30,000 New Jersey children. The budget also proposes to cut $7.0 million for New Jersey's HeadStart program, $21 million from Special Education, $24.4 million from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and $7.7 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. At the same time, the budget proposes to extend tax cuts of $92 BILLION for the wealthiest five percent.
Read about ECAP and NJCA in the News. For more information on the federal budge, download these reportst:
- USAction Education Fund Report: "Getting U.S. Back on Track: Congress needs to reverse the upside-down priorities – from Washington to Iraq – that are shortchanging New Jersey families and communities"
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Report: "President's Budget Calls For Deep Cuts In A Wide Range Of Domestic Programs: Cuts Start in 2008 and Grow Deeper Over Time"
- Center for Law and Social Policy Report: "Families Forgotten: Administration's Priorities Put Child Care Low on the List"
- Coalition on Human Needs Report: "The Bush Budget: Less Help for People in Need; Needless Help for Those with High Incomes"
TAKE ACTION! Write or call your Congress member and Senator now to urge them to oppose any budget with upside-down priorities!
More From NJCA
NJ State Budget — Give a Voice to Critical Human Needs
The Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey (APN) needs your help to give critical human needs a voice in the state's budget process. State decision-makers have already begun the process of developing the state budget for 2006-2007, but most of the conversation has been about cuts. We need to get the message out that even in tight budget times, the state government must respond to basic human needs. See APN's mostcriticalneeds.org for areas requiring immediate state investment. And see how the Fairness Alliance graded Governor Corzine's Proposed Budget in the Fairness Alliance 2006 Budget Principles list and the Fairness Alliance on the Budget.
TAKE ACTION! Distribute the Most Critical Needs Flier to your members, service recipients, and anyone else who wants to have a voice in expressing the most important areas for state investment in human needs. Learn more about our Fair Tax Campaign and The Fairness Alliance.
Victory!
Ratepayers Victorious! — Exelon's PSEG Buy-Out Bid Collapses
Citizen Action scored a huge victory on September 14, 2006 when the Chicago-based Exelon Corporation's friendly takeover bid of PSEG collapsed. The merger would have created a giant super monopoly that could have manipulated energy supplies and prices, costing ratepayers up to $2.3 billion a year in additional rate increases. This merger, which had already received approval of the Bush administration in D.C., is the only utility merger ever to fail to be approved by the NJ BPU and only one of a very few around the country to collapse in the current wave of utility mergers around the country.
"This is a clear victory for ratepayers," said NJCA Executive Director Phyllis Salowe-Kaye. "It shows that citizens can win when we're organized and make our voices heard." Learn more at our Fair Utility Rates and Energy Education Campaign.