Rep. Josh Gottheimer wants to streamline the U.S. government. The North Jersey lawmaker’s bipartisan Cut Red Tape Act aims to eliminate outdated bureaucracy that he says will spur economic growth by creating jobs and ease the burden on small businesses. The proposed legislation would create an independent, bipartisan commission—the Regulatory Improvement Commission—to review rules that are duplicative or in conflict with one another. “Unfortunately, we have many of the same issues at the federal level—and they trickle down to the states. Government bureaucracy comes up with new rules that contradict other rules and layers on new ones without actually getting rid of the old, out-of-date ones,” said Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen will warn of major consequences for the global economy as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during testimony before a House committee on April 6. Yellen is expected to underscore how the war in Ukraine is causing global food prices to surge amid disruptions to wheat exports, casting the effect as especially problematic for poor countries. She will also argue that Russia’s actions are a reminder to invest in energy independence so the world is not reliant on such nations for oil and gas. The New York Times
The chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are among top oil-industry leaders set to face questioning from lawmakers on why gasoline prices have hit near-record levels. Democratic lawmakers who lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight panel are planning to direct blame at the oil industry, which they say is making use of energy shortfalls to boost profit. Conversely, Republican are expected to argue consumers would have seen less-severe price increases if President Joe Biden had done more to promote domestic production of fossil fuels. The Wall Street Journal
The highest number of congressional candidates since 1974 filed for the June primary in New Jersey. In North Jersey alone, there are 35 candidates running to be their party’s nominee in the 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts. For Democrats, Reps. Tom Malinowski and Donald Payne will face primary opponents while Josh Gottheimer, Bill Pascrell and Mikie Sherrill will not. In the 8th, Rob Menendez will be one of five candidates seeking to replace retiring Rep. Albio Sires. For Republicans, frontrunners to face the incumbents include Nick DeGregorio in the 5th, Tom Kean, Jr. in the 7th, Billy Prempeh in the 9th and Morris County Commissioner Tayfun Selen in the 11th. North-JerseyNews.com
Fred Schneiderman released his opening TV ad, beating both of his main Republican rivals to the airwaves ahead of the June 7 primary in New Jersey’s 5th congressional district. “Joe Biden and the radical left are crippling America,” the ad’s narrator says. “We need a common-sense conservative to turn things around. Meet Fred Schneiderman. A husband and father of two daughters, Fred spent 30 years as CEO of his own company. In Congress, Fred Schneiderman will fight unrestrained spending, tackle inflation, and stand up for law enforcement.” New Jersey Globe
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes Tom Kean, Jr. did not go far enough in condemning the mayor of Clark who was caught on tape making racial and sexist slurs against blacks and women police officers. When asked about Sal Bonaccorso, Kean replied that “These are very disturbing allegations. As elected officials, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards. We cannot tolerate racism in public service and I know the mayor understands that.” The DCCC statement called “Tom Kean Jr’s response isn’t good enough. He should reject (Mayor Sal) Bonaccorso’s endorsement and call on him to resign.” InsiderNJ
Ivanka Trump, former President Donald J. Trump’s eldest daughter, reportedly testified for about eight hours before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. It was not immediately clear how revelatory her testimony was for the committee, but those familiar with the interview said Trump did not seek to invoke any privilege—such as executive privilege or the Fifth Amendment, as other witnesses have done—and broadly answered the panel’s questions. The New York Times
Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to begin U.S. Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise, pressing to entangle the bipartisan package with an election-year showdown over immigration restrictions. Republicans said they’d withhold crucial support for the measure unless Democrats agreed to votes on an amendment preventing President Joe Biden from lifting Trump-era curbs on migrants entering the U.S. “This is a bipartisan agreement that does a whole lot of important good for the American people. Vaccines, testing, therapeutics,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “It should not be held hostage for an extraneous issue.” NJ.com
Advisers to U.S. health regulators are scheduled to review data on COVID-19 vaccines, boosters and variants April 6, part of the federal government’s preparations for dealing with the virus going forward. The experts are due to discuss how the Food and Drug Administration could review and authorize future vaccines, including strains that the vaccine makers should target and the dosing schedule of boosters as well as the efficacy of shots, including in children, and the FDA’s plans to address future COVID-19 variants or outbreaks. The Wall Street Journal
President Joe Biden plans to extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments through Aug. 31. The move will mark the fifth extension since the pause took effect in March 2020. The freeze saves 41 million borrowers about $5 billion a month, the Education Department has said previously. The Record
Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea have donated a $500,000 “motivational pledge” to the new Together for Ukraine fund, created by Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy to support food security for displaced Ukrainians. The Murphys have announced a $1 million challenge grant with funds raised going toward Chef José Andrés World Central Kitchen, which is feeding Ukraine residents and refugees. New Jersey Herald
State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair Paul Sarlo (D-36) used the term “nonnegotiable” as he called for language to be added to the annual budget to ensure both the legislative and executive branches of state government play a role in determining how the remaining COVID-19 federal money is spent. “I believe we should have a seat at the table,” stated Sarlo during the first Budget meeting of the State Senate. Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio suggested that Murphy has not changed his position and referred to a Budget-in-Brief document recently published by the Murphy administration that says the governor and lawmakers will work together in 2022 and 2023 to allocate remaining funds towards short-term recovery and long-term restart efforts. “I’m not going to speak for (the governor), but I know he has repeatedly said he wants to work with the Legislature on this, and I’m assuming that language will be discussed as we get through the budget process,” said Muoio. NJ Spotlight News
A package of bills aimed at improving childcare in New Jersey was announced by a group of lawmakers April 5 and appears likely to be part of the discussion as the new state budget is negotiated. Led by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-29), the whole package of nine bills would cost around $350 million. The suite of bills was cast by supporters as an economic imperative and a way to get working parents, particularly women, back into the workforce. NJ1015.com
Bias incidents in New Jersey are up 29% in just a year, according to preliminary data that state Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced. A total of 1,871 bias incidents were reported to law enforcement agencies in the Garden State for 2021, compared to the 1,447 bias incidents reported for 2020. The 2021 number represents the highest annual number of bias incidents reported since New Jersey began tracking them in 1994. Anti-Black and anti-Jewish bias continued to be the most common race- and religion-based motivations for reported bias incidents in 2021 with anti-Black bias cited as the motivation for 47% and Anti-Jewish bias for 19%. North-JerseyNews.com
The Republican candidate for Passaic County Sheriff is in danger of being tossed from the ballot because he doesn’t meet the three-year residency requirement. Troy Oswald, the former Paterson police chief, lived in Sussex and Morris counties before registering to vote from a multi-family house in Clifton on January 3, 2022, records show. State law requires a county sheriff to “have been a citizen of the United States and a resident of the county for at least 3 years next preceding his election.” Michael Cerone, an attorney representing the Passaic County Democratic Committee, has asked the county clerk to invalidate Oswald’s petitions. New Jersey Globe
The Hoboken City Council is expected to approve increasing the salary of the city’s police chief to $255,000 from $226,000. Hoboken Acting Police Chief Steven Aguiar started as chief March 1 and the increase is a result of negotiations for his contract. Aguiar’s predecessor, Daniel LoBue, had a $226,000 salary, the same salary that former police chief Ken Ferrante, who served before him, was making at the time of his exit. The Jersey Journal
The New Jersey Department of Health has recommended that CarePoint Health should be allowed to transfer 39.1% of its ownership of the operations of Bayonne Medical Center to BMC Hospital, LLC. The NJDOH cited its decision was based on what it thought would be the best for the hospital’s financial health; the promise that it would have no impact on the approximately 900 employees’ work statuses; the alleged minimal impact on the health care system; and the notion that the hospital under BMC Hospital, LLC would seek state approval to expand the number of behavioral health beds to allow more psychiatric admissions. Now that a recommendation has been made, the application will head to the State Health Planning Board for a vote April 7. Hudson Reporter
The Sparta Zoning Board is being asked to determine the proper classification of the 800,000-sq.-ft. building proposal with call for a halt to the developer’s application until a ruling is made. The newly formed nonprofit group Sparta Responsible Development sent a letter April 4 to the Zoning Board secretary asking for an interpretation of the Diamond Chip Logistics Park application on Demarest Road. The site developer, Diamond Chip Realty LLC, has classified the proposed project as a warehouse that fully conforms to township codes. Sparta Responsible Development are arguing the application meets the definition of a trucking terminal, which they said would no longer fall under the jurisdiction of the Planning Board and instead be transferred to the Zoning Board. The Daily Record
Montclair may soon approve a “one-of-a-kind” ordinance mandating that only native species be planted on town property. The Jose German-Gomez Native Species Act, named for a town environmentalist, would “will put Montclair at the forefront of communities working hard to re-populate our local environments with native vegetation so that we can support insects, butterflies, birds and other creatures reliant on a healthy, native ecosystem.” said Councilor Peter Yacobellis. The Record
And finally…Paramus broke the world record of sock collecting on its 100th anniversary. The Record
