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Senate Republicans just declared they want to kill your property tax deduction, New Jersey

Senate Republicans just voted in favor of killing your property tax deduction, New Jersey. The GOP senators, whose states received $223 billion more from the federal government than their residents send to Washington, voted Thursday in favor of eliminating the state and local tax deduction. Read article here

Politico: Senate GOP tries one last time to repeal Obamacare

Obamacare repeal is on the brink of coming back from the dead. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his leadership team are seriously considering voting on a bill that would scale back the federal government’s role in the health care system and instead provide block grants to states, congressional and Trump administration sources said. It would be a last-ditch attempt to repeal Obamacare before the GOP’s power to pass health care legislation through a party-line vote in the Senate expires on Sept. 30. - Burgess Everett and Josh Dawsey, Politico The GOP is threatening to take away health insurance for millions of Americans. Again. It is clear that they are doing this for political reasons, with little regard for the millions of people that will be adversely affected by the Graham-Cassidy bill; why else would they push for a vote before the Congressional Budget Office can score it? ACA (Obamacare) isn't perfect, but it's much better than anything the GOP has proposed. It needs to be fixed. Thanks to concerted public outcry from individuals and organizations like the AARP, the American Diabetes Associan, the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and other secular and religious groups, it was saved in July by the tiniest of margins, but we cannot sit back passively and hope for that margin to hold. Please pick up the pen and pick up the phone and contact your legislators, Republican or Democrat, House or Senate, local or federal. Everyone needs to know that we stand united against these punitive GOP plans, and that we will not forget their vote. Leonard Lance Westfield Office: 908-518-7733 Leonard Lance Flemington Office: 908-788-6900 Leonard Lance Washington DC Office: 202-225-5361 US Congress main switchboard: 202-224-3121

Astroturfers Push Lance Further to the Right

Outside groups like the Tea Party "Club for Growth" are pushing conservative Leonard Lance even further to the right by astroturfing* in our district. Until we overturn Citizens United and get outside money out of politics, the only way to fight astroturfing is with local, grassroots organizing. Join us and help us take back our congressional district. * Astroturfing: Outside, non-local organizations trying to influence local politics to suit their agenda, irrespective of the needs or desires of the local community.

Immigration Crackdown Reaches Deep into New Jersey Communities - NJ Spotlight

"New data reveals that more than 90 percent of the state’s municipalities have cases pending in immigration court, the fifth-largest caseload in the country" “ICE has long arrested people who have no criminal history, as well as people with very low-level, nonviolent offenses, and people who have lived here since they were children, and who now have U.S. citizen children of their own. But the prior administration created a set of priorities to try to focus ICE resources on cases deemed more serious. The current administration has abandoned the idea of enforcement priorities....o ensure that these children could find a safe place to live while here in the United States, the government used to ensure that parents or other family members who came forward to care for them could do so safely, regardless of their immigration status,...Now, ICE is specifically targeting parents and family members of arriving children for deportation, and the administration has announced it will be investigating parents or guardians for possible criminal prosecutions, based upon their efforts to bring their children to safety. This policy affects not only those family members, but also the children, who are likely to find themselves in foster care, group homes, or unsafe situations when parents and family cannot come forward to care for them.” - Farrin Anello, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Read more on NJ Spotlight.

House Republicans’ spending bill includes FEMA cuts to fund Trump’s border wall

"President Donald Trump is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Harvey-caused epic flooding, but his Republican allies in the House are looking at cutting almost $1 billion from disaster accounts to help finance the president’s border wall. The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief account is part of a massive spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when lawmakers return from their August recess. The $876 million cut, which is included in the 1,305-page measure’s homeland security section, pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on the U.S.-Mexico border wall that the president repeatedly promised Mexico would finance." - Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor, The Boston Globe click here to read more

For GOP, Tough Words, Little Action After Trump Doubles Down on Charlottesville

During a tense press conference on Tuesday, President Donald Trumpwalked back his comments condemning the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend, saying that counter-protesters demonstrating against neo-Nazis and white supremacists were also to blame. A number of Republicans have denounced the sentiment behind President Trump’s latest comments, but few as strongly as Representative Leonard Lance of New Jersey. Is he ready to actively stand against the president? Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear our full interview with Congressman Lance. Aug 16, 2017 Click here to listen to the interview. Let us know what you think. http://www.wnyc.org/story/some-gop-enough-enough-after-trump-doubles-down-charlottesville/

Insider NJ Power Rankings: The 75 Most Relevant New Jersey Elected Officials RIGHT NOW

41. Leonard Lance In the ultimate drunken sailor on the deck of the Morro Castle theater piece, after years of running rightward following the public excoriation he endured for voting aye on cap and trade, the 7th District Congressman now scrambles leftward, starting with his nay vote on Obamacare repeal. The pro knows he has to dance to survive in a district that for years presented him with the thankless task of having to face the GOP Primary efforts of a self-described 2nd Amendment fierce gentleman farmer who proudly packed heat. Now it’s a bullhorn-wielding Joey Novick at the head of a barbarian army on the left that has the congressman on the move. He’s working it. Every move bears a pointillist painter’s significance in the grander political scheme. No one’s watching him more closely than his own party, and if the polling looks grim come 2018, there’s a judge’s robe with his name on it ready to be unpacked. Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-21) may be weary of mouldering in the minority. Then there’s retiring Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-16), who’s already showed an impatience with waiting in line. Lance has never worked harder than now. By Insider NJ | August 29, 2017, 3:21 pm | in Edward Edwards Read the full list here: https://www.insidernj.com/power-rankings-75-relevant-new-jersey-elected-officials-right-now/