All But Two NJ House Members Vote to Oppose
As Wall Street celebrates the House vote to advance Trump’s tax breaks for the rich, New Jersey families should be taking note of the two representatives who hung our state out to dry. They are Representatives Tom MacArthur (R-03) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11).
Despite New Jersey residents struggling with the highest property taxes in the nation, these two representatives voted to take away the state and local tax deduction – one of the few tools left to partially offset the property tax burden on families.
Trump’s welfare for the rich would hit New Jersey harder than just about any other state. Approximately 1 in 4 Garden State taxpayers would pay an average of $2,400 more in a year in federal taxes, while New Jersey’s wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would receive an average $74,000 tax break each year.
While there may not be much of a silver lining, we are thankful that 10 of 12 New Jersey House members voted against Trump’s tax scheme. In the final vote of 219 to 216, there were 18 Republicans who opposed the bill, three of whom are from the New Jersey delegation which voted as follows:
Vote on FY2018 Budget (H CON RES 71)
RIGHT RIGHT WRONG RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT WRONG RIGHT |
Donald Norcross (D-01) Frank LoBiondo (R-02) Tom MacArthur (R-03) Christopher Smith (R-04) Josh Gottheimer (D-05) Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-06) Leonard Lance (R-07) Albio Sires (D-08) William Pascrell, Jr. (D-09) Donald Payne, Jr. (D-10) Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) |
This fight is not over yet, and we must continue to keep the pressure on Congress as Trump’s tax breaks move to the Senate.