Senator George Helmy Advances New Jersey Funding Priorities with Letter to Appropriators

Items Include Combatting Gun Violence and Taking on the Youth Mental Health Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator George Helmy (D-NJ) today sent a letter to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, advocating for his funding priorities for New Jersey and the nation for Fiscal Year 2025.

Senator Helmy cited gun violence, firefighter cancer prevention, increased support for New Jersey’s first responders, protecting judges, and safe drinking water as his top funding priorities for New Jersey, and urged the committee to appropriate the funds necessary to ensure these issues are addressed with robust financial support from the federal government.

“Every New Jerseyan deserves a safe community to call home and our families deserve safe drinking water. Our heroes and public servants need to be assured they are protected while they protect all of us. I am urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide the funding necessary to tackle these issues head-on,” said Senator Helmy. “This funding would help curtail gun violence in our state, keep our first responders healthy, protect our judges amid historic political volatility, and address New Jersey’s drinking water issues.”

Among his national priorities, Senator Helmy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Finance Committees, is pushing for crucial funding streams to address the youth mental health crisis, securing humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in the Middle East and South Sudan, and increasing support for the Transportation Security Administration’s vital security mission.

“The biggest undertaking in my tenure in the Senate has been fighting the youth mental health crisis in this nation. As a father, this issue is near and dear to my heart, and it pains me to see so much suffering among our nation’s most precious asset – our next generation. I am urging the Committee to robustly support programs supporting youth struggling with mental health issues as well as fully fund the National Institute of Mental Health so that we can understand the nature and scope of this crisis better,” said Senator Helmy. “I also urge robust funding for humanitarian efforts to aid and protect innocent civilians in the war-torn Middle East and South Sudan, as well as increased funding to the TSA for new technologies that will further bolster the safety of millions of traveling Americans. While my time in this chamber will be brief, I will continue championing these issues to hopefully have a positive impact for the people of New Jersey and the nation.”

For the full text of a letter and a breakdown of funding requests, click here.