Congressman Frelinghuysen Must Stand Up to Trump

The New Jersey Sierra Club joined constituents from the 11^th district and other groups today to urge Congressman Frelinghuysen to stand up to President Trump’s attack on the environment.  More than three weeks ago, over 30 environmental, social, and citizen advocates wrote a letter to Frelinghuysen that asked to have a meeting with him about Trump’s environmental attacks. So far, he has failed to respond in any way. More importantly, he has not stood up against Trump’s budget that slashes funding for clean water, clean air, cleaning up toxic sites, and addressing climate change. This will directly impact the people living in his district and throughout New Jersey. The groups plan to rally outside the Congressman’s district offices as well as have a cardboard cut-out of the Congressman with an opportunity for people to tell him what they think of his environmental record and failure to stand up to Trump. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club released the following statement:

“We are outside Frelinghuysen’s office because our Congressman won’t meet with us so we are bringing a cardboard cut-out of him to tell him what we think. The only difference between the cardboard version of Congressman Frelinghuysen and the real Congressman is that he won’t meet us. He has stayed silent on the letter we sent him with over 30 organizations demanding he take action against President Trump. We are joining together to send a message that he works for us, not polluters, special interests, or Donald Trump. As the House Appropriations Chair, Frelinghuysen has the power to block Trump dismantling the EPA budget by cutting 1/3 of its funding. This budget would end cut back the program to clean-up Superfund sites by 30 percent, disrupt water quality testing, while rolling back action on climate change. We are calling on Frelinghuysen to stand up for the people of his district and stop to the President’s environmentally destructive agenda.”

“Congressman Frelinghuysen has even sided with Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt instead of the people of New Jersey by attacking the EPA. He has shown a strong dislike for an agency whose job is to protect public health and the environment. What he fails to mention is that without the EPA kids would be swimming in sewage on our beaches, there will be no more scientists working to clean up Superfund and other toxic sites, while polluters will be allowed to threaten our air and water. President Trump’s budget will cut the agency by 1/3, while there will be major layoffs. Without the EPA, there will be no one to ensure polluters are not violating the law and we are protected from chemical spills and other accidents. New Jersey will be impacted by EPA cuts more than any other state because will we see more climate impacts from severe storms, flooding, and sea level rise.”

“Frelinghuysen runs around saying he supports the Superfund program, but he isn’t support Superfund Tax and won’t stand up against to Trump cutting the program by 30 percent. He is even given Trump cover by cutting back the EPA, which will end the groundbreaking work the Edison EPA lab has done on cleaning up toxic sites. Trump’s budget will mean our 118 Superfund sites will not be cleaned-up nor will hundreds of other toxic sites that could leaking contamination into our groundwater and communities. This impacts Frelinghuysen’s district, but instead he has blocked action to fund the Superfund program. Considering that New Jersey suffers the most from Superfund Sites, pollution, and climate change, the Congressman has not properly defended the people and communities of New Jersey by pushing for these cuts.”

“It’s time for Rep. Frelinghuysen to do his job and represent the best interests of his constituents It is not a surprise the Congressman has been silent in standing up to Trump because when it comes to the environment he has one of the worst voting records in all of Congress. While Trump is rolling back environmental protections by dismantling and eliminating programs, Frelinghuysen is cheering him on. He’s voted for rolling back protections for clean water, while supporting offshore drilling along our coasts, destructive and dangerous pipelines, and fracking on public lands. His opposition against reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution has put us at more risk to climate change. We will continue to demand that Congressman Frelinghuysen protect the people of his district by fighting federal environmental rollbacks and working to protect the EPA. If Congressman Frelinghuysen doesn’t represent us, then we will get someone who will.”

The rally took place today at 12:30 PM at 30 Schuyler Place, Morristown, NJ 07960

Contact Jeff Tittel, 609-558-9100