Town hall includes discussion of I-80 wall

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) hosted a telephone town hall with thousands of North Jersey residents, which included discussions about clawing back more of our federal tax dollars to fix our crumbling roads, bridges, and tunnels, especially the Gateway Tunnel; fighting to protect carpool discounts; and fighting back against higher tolls and congestion taxes. Fixing our roads and rail is key to the local economy and to shorter commute times, so residents can get home to see their families.

“This week’s telephone town hall allowed me to connect with thousands of constituents across North Jersey, even while I’m here voting in Washington this week. I hear about it from our residents all the time, and the data clearly shows — we have some of the worst commutes in the state and our roads and bridges are literally crumbling,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “We need to be reducing drive times, clawing back more tax dollars to help improve our crumbling infrastructure, working with the federal government to get the Gateway project back on track, fighting to protect carpool discounts that help reduce congestion and harmful emissions, and fighting back against absurd congestion taxes on our residents. At the end of the day, I want to make sure our residents can get to work and get home to see their families.”

Gottheimer has been fighting in Congress to reduce commute times and improve our infrastructure by:

· Fighting back against the proposed New York congestion taxes targeting New Jersey families driving into Manhattan by introducing the bipartisan Anti-Congestion Tax Act.

· Ensuring the federal government has a contingency plan for the “Doomsday” scenario if one, or both, of the two North River Tunnels is shut down beneath the Hudson River, by introducing the bipartisan Preventing Doomsday Act.

· Working with the Port Authority to maintain the carpool discount on George Washington Bridge, to preserve the lower tolls, keep congestion down, and reduce emissions.

· Working to change federal transportation and infrastructure formulas to get more federal tax dollars away from Moocher States and back to New Jersey. These are the federal tax dollars New Jersey is disproportionately paying and should get back for our roads, bridges, and tunnels.

· Working with the NJDOT Commissioner to alter the proposed plan to build a rockwall along a half-mile stretch of I-80, which many local residents and officials fear will be a major eye-sore and hurt the eco-tourism of the area, to seek a mutually agreeable solution that works for the community.

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