LoBiondo Facts

U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo has painted himself as a moderate. Our mission is to educate the public about his arch conservative voting record and to unseat him in 2006. Our website can be found at www.cpr4nj.org.

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Location: New Jersey, United States

Citizens for Progressive Representation (CPR) is a nonprofit grassroots organization, founded in New Jersey, with a mission to bring truth to politics, to remove targeted incumbents from office, and to elect progressive and socially responsible candidates. Our website is located at www.cpr4nj.org.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Detainees Must Have Right of Habeas Corpus

I urge the Senate to support the Bingaman Amendment 2517, habeas corpus for detainees. It is not only against our Constitution to hold suspects indefinitely, but it is also against international law. Therefore, I ask you to do the right thing and restore habeas corpus.
NICK REINA
Milmay
Letter published in the Daily Journal, November 28, 2005

Saturday, November 26, 2005

MY VIEW: Our Congressman's Votes Hurt Poor, Children, Environment

I want to wish Rep. Frank LoBiondo a Happy Thanksgiving. There has been nothing in the paper about his recent votes, so I thought he should get credit where credit is due. Last week, the House of Representatives quietly voted itself a $3,100 salary raise, increasing their income to about $165,200. At the same time, Mr. LoBiondo voted for the Labor/Human Services/Education Appropriations Act, which among other things would have made $900 million in health care cuts to programs such as the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and rural health care. It would have eliminated $8 billion to prepare for a potential future pandemic. 22 truly moderate Republicans joined in with the Democrats to defeat this shameful spending bill, Mr. LoBiondo’s name not among them. Sadly, the House did pass the Deficit Reduction Act, which slashes funding over the next five years to anti-poverty programs, Medicaid, higher education, and child support collection programs. This bill passed with a margin of 217 to 215. Mr. LoBiondo’s “Yes” amounted to the pivotal vote. This Act approved $6.2 billion of increased costs to employers’ pension insurance premiums at a time when companies need little incentive to outsource jobs overseas, and at a time when employees are losing their pensions after corporations discharge their obligations through bankruptcies. Recently, Chip Gerrity, president of the NJ IBEW, praised Mr. LoBiondo for protecting workers in the Gulf Coast region. But what will be the impact on middle class workers when their pensions and jobs are in jeopardy, when their parents cannot qualify for nursing home care under the new $10 billion in Medicaid cuts, when single parents have fewer resources to collect child support payments and lose their food stamps, when their children find they cannot afford to go to college because of cuts to lending programs? In another sleeper provision of the Deficit Reduction Act, private companies and individuals will be able to buy large tracts of federal land, a boon to real estate developers who may use the claims to assemble large land parcels, to plunder open spaces in Wyoming and Montana for drilling for oil and gas, and to reduce public access to traditional hunting and fishing areas. Where was our “environmental” Representative when he voted for this bill? After Mr. LoBiondo’s relaxing Thanksgiving holiday, he will return in December when Congress takes up proposals to extend tax breaks for the wealthy but which offer no protection to the middle class. Will the Congressman give our affluent citizens a Christmas present at the expense of the poor and ever shrinking middle class? Themes of Christmas past and Scrooge come to mind. We will be watching.
JANET L. FAYTER
Egg Harbor Township
Op-Ed piece published in the Daily Journal, November 26, 2005

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Who's "Dishonest, Reprehensible?"

Despite the fact that Dick Cheney has a 22 percent credibility rating with the general public, the administration is dumb enough to send him out to insult us with more of the same lying polemics that he used to sell his ghastly, criminal war. Now his line is that the foolishly trusting members of Congress he suckered with his carefully slanted “intelligence” in 2002 are being “dishonest and reprehensible” by admitting to America, finally, that they'd been lied to by President Bush and his gang of prevaricators.There's an old adage that “truth crushed to earth shall rise again,” and this truism is confirming this gang of murderers as far and away the most “dishonest and reprehensible” in American history. Forget your “legacy,” boys. You'll be damn lucky if you don't go to jail.
DONALD CONNOLLY
Linwood
Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, November 23, 2005

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Bush Blind to the Truth

On Veterans Day, a day reserved to honor our war dead, President Bush chose instead to deliver a political speech filled with the usual charges that critics of the Iraq war help the terrorists and hurt the morale of our troops. He also introduced a new charge that those same critics are now rewriting the reason for his going to war. If nothing else, you must credit this president with incredible hubris.According to people formerly in the administration, Bush and the hawks in his administration were given questionable information that they turned into “proof” of weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent danger to the United States. They seem to have ignored all the caveats from the CIA and our allies and forged ahead with a pre-emptive strike against a country that did not really present an imminent threat to our security. Another blunder committed by Bush was disbanding the Iraqi army, which we are now trying to rebuild in order to enable the Iraqis to defend themselves. The Iraqi army with new leadership could have allowed us to extricate ourselves more quickly.So, here we are unable to leave and watching our death toll increase daily while any nation friendly to us or Israel suffers the wrath of suicide bombers. It is hard to believe Bush when he says that the world is a safer place because Saddam Hussein is in custody and our military is in Iraq.
KAREN PADMORE
Cape May Court House
Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, November 19, 2005

BPU Wrong on Electric Heat

Regarding the Nov. 5 article, “BPU plan would ban electric heating in new homes”:Are you kidding? Any regulatory move that would give an unfair advantage to a specific market sector is bad for business by limiting choice, which will ultimately hurt the consumer. Also, electric heating gives a high degree of control by creating a zone in every room so that “smart homes” can regulate the temperature of any room, thereby actually minimizing the consumption of energy. This cannot by accomplished as cost effectively by using conventional central heating. Furthermore, the long-term future of fossil fuel-based heating is certainly doubtful, as we have already seen a large spike in the cost of oil and natural gas. Admittedly, the costs have peaked relative to the Gulf disaster, but the long-term scenario for global consumption is at best ominous, with India and China revving up their mega-economies. The only defense against an unwinnable price war with competitive developing economies in need of fossil fuels is to develop renewable energy resources here at home using wind and solar power.At worst, the BPU is in the pocket of Big Oil, and the prospect of efficient electric heat represents competition.At best, the BPU is unwilling to embrace the potential that renewable energy represents, because to harness the wind requires investment and maybe a few towers far out to sea. In either case, the baby will be thrown out with the bath water if this action is allowed to happen, and from the position of a globally aware environmentalist, it just plain stinks.
KIRK RYAN
Northfield
Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, November 19, 2005

Friday, November 18, 2005

LoBiondo Votes on the Budget are Disgraceful

Rep. LoBiondo once again voted with the Bush White House and Republican majority when he cast what amounts to the deciding vote in the so-called Deficit Reduction Act in the early morning hours of November 18. The bill sqeezes programs for the poor, for college students and for farmers. It specifically targets anti-poverty programs. It passed with a 2 vote margin, 217 to 215, making LoBiondo's vote truly crucial. LoBiondo also voted November 17 for spending cuts in education and healthcare, but that spending bill was defeated when moderate Republicans joined ranks with every single Democrat in a 224-209 vote.

Wrong Day to Rationalize War

I am appalled at President Bush's use of his Veterans Day speech to politically attack those who disagree with his invasion of Iraq. Can this president never let our fighting men and women be the center of attention, be the ones honored and have a day totally dedicated to them? Bush's posturing about how much he cares for them rings false when he uses their day to attempt to rationalize his past actions. He has misused and abused our brave fighting men and women, and his war has led to the deaths of more than 2,050 and the injuring of thousands more.He said it is irresponsible to rewrite the history of how the war began although we are now finding that we were misled by the White House with the help of the media. Bush repeats that “everyone” believed Saddam Hussein had WMDs. However, everyone except Bush was willing to wait for the inspectors to do their job.Bush denies that his administration misrepresented intelligence to gain the support of Congress, even though conflicting information questioned the wisdom of that invasion, and only someone of great arrogance with a preconceived intent would have gone forward.Evidently, Bush feels it is more important that he shore up his ever falling numbers in the polls than it is for him to come clean with the American people and spend just one day focused on the truth.
BETTIE J. REINA
Milmay
Letter published in the Press of Atlantic City, November 18, 2005

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Rep. LoBiondo Isn't Protecting U.S. Workers

In his letter "Congressman helped restore workers' rights" (DJ-11/15), Chip Gerrity, president of the NJ IBEW, wrote that Congressman Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd District, worked to have President Bush rescind his decision to suspend the Davis-Bacon Act for rebuilding in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. The act mandates that contractors pay the prevailing wages in a given area, and I join the writer in complimenting the representative for his efforts. It needs to be pointed out, however, that Mr. LoBiondo was not acting alone -- he was joined by many in the Congress, media and millions of Americans who voiced strong opposition to this Bush proposal. Could it be that the representative sees the handwriting on the wall and is beginning to realize that the American people will no longer support members of Congress or a president who do not look out for our interests? One could reasonably ask whether Mr. LoBiondo was leading the charge or merely following. Mr. LoBiondo's record shows that he has done little or nothing to challenge the president's past initiatives that have negatively impacted American workers, such as those that deprive millions of workers of overtime pay, allow companies to reorganize and do away with employee pension and health benefits, and an unwillingness to increase the minimum wage. Progressive Punch rates Mr. LoBiondo 0 percent in general union rights, outsourcing of jobs and aid to workers hurt by international trade agreements. He also gets low marks on supporting the rights of all individuals in the workplace, including public employees. The strict requirements that labor unions report any political activity and contributions without imposing those same rules on big business are more of Mr. Bush's changes. I don't remember reading anything in the media about Mr. LoBiondo opposing them and, I'll bet, the writer doesn't either. I hope that in the future the IBEW's president would be just as concerned with the needs of the members of his union who live in the Second Congressional District and are affected by all of Mr. LoBiondo's actions or inactions.
BETTIE J. REINA
Milmay
Letter published in The Daily Journal, November 17, 2008

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Message Counted, Not the Money

Let us give credit where credit is due. Since last night's elections, I have been listening to pundits in the media talking in terms of "how much money" has been thrown at the campaign, as if the only reason the Democrats won local races, State Assembly seats, and the Governor's Office is because fundraising and political advertising hit all time highs. Yes, money helps get the message out, but do not underestimate the electorate. President Bush's candidate for Virginia Governor was soundly defeated, despite the President's last minute visit to that Commonwealth, or perhaps because of it. Arnold Schwartzeneger's ballot measures were trounced, and his reelection hopes for next year look very much in doubt. This is a trend. We no longer focus our eyesight in a post 911 haze. People are concerned about the issues. We are bogged down in a war in Iraq, sold to us on faulty and false intelligence, while the insurgency grows, with no exit strategy in sight. We reject the Republican efforts to tie Saddam Hussein to Osama Bin Laden and 911. Government officials we trusted to protect us left us helpless in the wake of real homeland disasters like Hurricane Katrina, while we pour our resources into the Iraqi money pit. The White House is ethically challenged, with the Vice President's top aide under indictment and Karl Rove under continuing criminal investigation in the CIA leak case. Our country was embarrassed by the President's summit failure in Latin America. Our public schools and children continue to suffer in the underfunded No Child Left Behind law while teachers must abandon innovative techniques in place of "teaching to the test." This Administration has chased away moderates from its own party. Supreme Court nominees must pass a litmus test of the right-wing contingent before the President makes his choice. While our national deficit grows, Republicans pursue tax breaks for the very wealthy but cut Medicaid for the working poor. A disgracefully large segment of our populace has no healthcare coverage at all. On local and State levels, property taxes are at a critical level and too many folks are unemployed or underemployed. I could go on an on, but the point is clear. There are real issues here, and our citizens gave them due weight when casting their votes. That is why candidates like Whelan, Tyner, Van Drew, and Albano made such good showings at the polls, not because they had money to burn. Let us give credit where credit is due. Since last night's elections, I have been listening to pundits in the media talking in terms of "how much money" has been thrown at the campaign, as if the only reason the Democrats won local races, State Assembly seats, and the Governor's Office is because fundraising and political advertising hit all time highs. Yes, money helps get the message out, but do not underestimate the electorate. President Bush's candidate for Virginia Governor was soundly defeated, despite the President's last minute visit to that Commonwealth, or perhaps because of it. Arnold Schwartzeneger's ballot measures were trounced, and his reelection hopes for next year look very much in doubt. This is a trend. We no longer focus our eyesight in a post 911 haze. People are concerned about the issues. We are bogged down in a war in Iraq, sold to us on faulty and false intelligence, while the insurgency grows, with no exit strategy in sight. We reject the Republican efforts to tie Saddam Hussein to Osama Bin Laden and 911. Government officials we trusted to protect us left us helpless in the wake of real homeland disasters like Hurricane Katrina, while we pour our resources into the Iraqi money pit. The White House is ethically challenged, with the Vice President's top aide under indictment and Karl Rove under continuing criminal investigation in the CIA leak case. Our country was embarrassed by the President's summit failure in Latin America. Our public schools and children continue to suffer in the underfunded No Child Left Behind law while teachers must abandon innovative techniques in place of "teaching to the test." This Administration has chased away moderates from its own party. Supreme Court nominees must pass a litmus test of the right-wing contingent before the President makes his choice. While our national deficit grows, Republicans pursue tax breaks for the very wealthy but cut Medicaid for the working poor. A disgracefully large segment of our populace has no healthcare coverage at all. On local and State levels, property taxes are at a critical level and too many folks are unemployed or underemployed. I could go on an on, but the point is clear. There are real issues here, and our citizens gave them due weight when casting their votes. That is why candidates like Whelan, Tyner, Van Drew, and Albano made such good showings at the polls, not because they had money to burn.
JANET L. FAYTER
Egg Harbor Township
Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, November 10, 2005

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter”

Libby was charged with obstructing an investigation into the White House cover-up of the lies that led our nation to war in Iraq. Karl Rove and Libby were part of the White House Iraq group. This secretive team operated out of Cheney's office and was formed to sell the case for war. President Bush must clean house of all the liars in the White House, from Cheney to Rove on down.
JOSEPH GABISH
Egg Harbor Township
Letter published in AC Press, November 6, 2005

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Incumbents Ignore High Taxes

I've lived in Atlantic County for more than 45 years but am new to Egg Harbor Township, where I have just moved in with my daughter. She pays more in taxes for her condominium than my husband and I paid for our first lot on lakefront property when we were just starting out. I do not know how young people today can afford to own their own homes. Every year I hear politicians talk about property taxes. How much worse does it have to get before they actually do something?We cannot keep electing the same do-nothing people and expect things to change. I am especially disgusted when I hear our current assemblymen, Kirk Conover and Frank Blee, say that we should return them to office to convene a special session of the Legislature. They have had more than a decade to do this and haven't. Why should we believe them now? I'm glad I moved to this district in time to vote for Democrats Jim Whelan and Damon Tyner for state Assembly. They support a citizens convention on property taxes, and so do I.
DAHLIA G. FAYTER
Egg Harbor Township
Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, November 2, 2005