Rep. Albio Sires met with the Hudson Reporter this week to give an update on various issues concerning the 13th Congressional district, including healthcare initiatives, immigration reform, homeland security, job creation, federal funding to help with local tax relief, infrastructure funding for bridges and roads, and of course, the fate of the Bayonne Bridge and progress towards a new tunnel between Hudson County and New York City.
Healthcare reforms taking effect
Sires said the impact of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform is being felt in New Jersey. Seniors will soon receive the $250 prescription drug rebate.
The controversial federal law is still being challenged by a number of states.
“Beginning this fall, insurance companies will not be able to place restrictions on children because of their health status,” Sires said. “If you have an existing condition, they will not be able to exclude you.”
A new high risk pool is also being established so that individuals can still obtain coverage.
“People who have been denied coverage for at least six months because of pre-existing conditions will be eligible to apply for these high risk pools,” Sires said. In New Jersey, the pool has been accepting applications since Aug. 1. This affects more than 18,500 people in his district.
“Just because you look different should not subject you to arrest or harassment.” – Rep. Albio Sires
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“It gives tax credits and other assistance to 164,000 people, and 40,300 small businesses to help them afford coverage,” he said.
Improved Medicaid will affect 72,000 seniors. This includes closing “the part D donut hole” in Medicaid coverage, a gap that was instituted under President George W. Bush that requires subscribers whose total drug costs reach $2,830 to pay the full cost of prescription drugs until their out-of-pocket cost reaches $4,550, when Medicaid coverage resumes.
The bill also extends coverage to 109,000 uninsured residents in his district, he said.
Under the new law, parents can keep their kids on existing family insurance plans until the age of 26. This, Sires said, could affect about 59,000 people in the 13th District. Previously, children were excluded from their parents’ insurance at age 18.
The changes also bring millions of federal dollars into New Jersey to fund healthcare centers in each county.
Immigration reform without harassment
One of the most hotly-contested issues in the district, with its large Hispanic population, is immigration reform. The debate has been intensified by the state of Arizona’s efforts to force the federal government to adopt strict new laws that would crack down on illegal immigration in the United States.
Sires, a Cuban American and member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the caucus has proposed reform, but said changes should not subject people to harassment.
“Just because you look different should not subject you to arrest or harassment,” he said. “That goes against the fabric of what this country is about.”
The Hispanic Caucus has proposed creating identification card for immigrants, putting anyone who is caught here illegally at the bottom of the list for becoming a legal immigrant, and expelling any illegal immigrant with a criminal record. The proposal would require immigrants to learn English.
“There is no amnesty in this,” he said. “But we do want to provide them with a path way to become citizens.”
More Homeland Security jobs and funding are coming
Sires has brought officials from the federal Department of Homeland Security to Hudson County several times. He said funding has increased as a result, and that more will be coming to the area.
What is the federal government doing to create jobs?
Sires said the federal focus has been largely on saving jobs in an economic climate many see as the worst since The Great Depression. But he credited the Obama administration with use of federal stimulus money to generate job creation, and many of the bills under this stimulus do several things at once, and that by bringing money to New Jersey, jobs are also created.
“But that is not enough,” he said. “We need to create more jobs.”
Transportation and the Bayonne Bridge
One of the problem areas will be refunding of the federal transportation program. A pending $489 billion bill will pay for maintenance and improvements of infrastructure such as bridges, roads and other areas.
“We haven’t been able to vote on it yet,” he said. “I’m hoping that we can get the vote during the lame duck session later this year.”
He said this is a key element in creating jobs in New Jersey, although some of money has come to the district through the federal stimulus bill.
“That’s why we were able to get the pump funded in Hoboken [to relieve] flooding along the west side,” he said.
The Bayonne Bridge, which must be raised higher or replaced, is a huge issue, one that will affect the future of the area’s economy since the biggest job creator in the state is the shipping industry. Sires has met with Gov. Christopher Christie and numerous federal officials.
“Christie has told the Port Authority (of New York and New Jersey) that he will veto improvements to the World Trade Center site unless the Bayonne Bridge issue is addressed.”
With Panama planning to open its canal to larger ships in 2015 – which currently can’t fit under the Bayonne Bridge – the problem must be resolved soon, Sires said.