Your Republican rep just used the Congressional Review Act to wreck air quality, screw workers, give guns to the mentally ill and toss coal waste into your waterways. Your democracy. Cherish it. Watch video
Good news from Washington: Now even schizophrenics can purchase a gun. You can thank congressional Republicans for that, including the five from New Jersey.
Three of the five GOP representatives from our state also decided that dumping coal waste into our waterways - heavy metals, mostly - is a good idea.
And all five helped tear down workplace protections, clean air regulations, and corporate transparency - a total of five sloppy kisses they gave to special interests in just one week of work.
Imagine what these intrepid souls can do with other safeguards over the next four years with Donald Trump and Paul Ryan as their puppet masters.
The most baffling vote from Rodney Frelinghuysen (11th Dist.), Tom MacArthur (3rd Dist.) and Leonard Lance (7th Dist.) was to repeal the "stream protection rule," which forbids the coal companies from burying its corporate corpse in our rivers. They were part of a 228-194 majority that believed the rule was forcing coal companies out of business.
Odd, we thought coal was dying domestically because natural gas had taken over the energy market, that people were learning that burning fossil fuels threatens everything we value, and that the product was killing its own employees.
Either way, this repeal won't bring back coal jobs - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell now admits as much - and Reps. Frank LoBiondo (2nd Dist.) and Chris Smith (4th Dist.) were only two of nine House Republicans to acknowledge his earlier lie.
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The aforementioned gun regulation affected about 75,000 people who suffer from a disabling mental disorder. It was repealed by a 235-180 vote, and those who signed off...oh, just read this:
"This is a slap in the face for those in the disabled community," House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) told USA Today. "It assumes that simply because an individual suffers from a mental condition, that individual is unfit to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights."
In other words, the GOP is OK with the next Adam Lanza having a Bushmaster.
Then there was a 2010 regulation that mandated oil companies to disclose payments they make to foreign governments for drilling rights. It forced dictators in impoverished countries to reveal the wealth generated from these contracts, but the GOP thinks it's an unfair burden on U.S. companies to be transparent about its bids. Besides, Rex Tillerson had lobbied hard against as ExxonMobil CEO because it cost him business in Russia, so there's that.
So Big Oil's congressional pals granted them permission to hide their payments to petro-thugs - and every Jersey Republican has helped make it impossible for American taxpayers and citizens of fragile countries to follow the money.
The House GOP also repealed a Bureau of Land Management rule (221-191) that required toxic methane emissions to be captured - picture those giant flares shooting out of refinery stalks on Federal land out West, and be happy you don't live there.
Finally, our five GOP congressmen helped kill a rule that requires companies bidding on federal contracts over $500,000 to report labor law violations.
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"It's all ideological for Republicans, not logical," Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th) said Friday. "Many of the regulations in place now are responses to the financial crisis or decades of pollution. Again and again, we've seen deregulation cost lives and money. Republican are apparently content to deregulate, cross their fingers and hope for the best."
Most regulations were developed after years of study, with input for many stakeholders. The five representatives in our state should be forced to explain these votes, and why they favor Trump's meat-axe approach to governance.
Then, let them reap the whirlwind, starting with the lines that are forming outside the doors of their district offices - because their constituents know that this isn't the time to stop paying attention.
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If you would like to have a civil discussion with your congressman who voted to repeal these necessary regulations - or any other issue - his contact information is below. If the mailbox is full, try another number. If you don't know who your congressman is, click here.
Rodney Frelinghuysen - 973-984-0711, 202-225-5034.
Tom MacArthur - 856-267-5182, 732-569-6495, 202-225-4765.
Leonard Lance - 908-788-6900, 908-518-7733, 202-225-5361.
Chris Smith - 732-780-3035, 609-286-2571, 609-585-7878, 202-225-3765.
Frank LoBiondo - 800-471-4450, 609-625-5008, 202-225-6572.
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