New York and New Jersey lawmakers keep saying the Gateway Tunnel Project is vital, not only to the region’s financial health, but also to the nation’s economic future.
President Donald Trump apparently doesn’t care.
In addition to radical cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps, and student loans, the president’s proposed 2020 budget doesn’t include any money for the $13.5 billion project and also cuts Amtrak funding that could be used to help it.
While supporters have long said the project is critical to the nation’s economic health far beyond New York and New Jersey’s blue-state borders, Trump’s apparent policy of punishing states that didn’t support him seems to be again at play.
Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen said in a conference call that New York and New Jersey would have to pay the cost of the project, according to a North Jersey Record report.
As The Record reports, the project would replace railway tunnels under the Hudson River that are more than a century old and transport more than 200,000 riders daily. The project was supported by the Obama administration, but Trump has been ambivalent, with some reports saying denying funding was seen by Trump as a way of punishing Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer.
Quote of the Day: “I didn’t get the impression that it was uncomfortable for her, that we were doing anything inappropriate sexually.” — Al Alvarez, describing his encounter with Murphy campaign volunteer Katie Brennan, who has accused him of rape. The encounter has roiled the Murphy administration and raised questions about its hiring practices.
What Trump Proposed in His 2020 Budget
The Trump administration released its 2020 budget request on Monday, proposing major cuts to federal government spending. While the cuts are unlikely to become reality due to a Democratic-controlled House, the budget is an important signal of the administration’s priorities and suggests a major funding fight in October.
The Washington Post Read more
Seven Things New Jersey Residents Should Worry About in Trump’s Proposed Budget
President Donald Trump’s proposed $4.7 trillion budget should worry many New Jerseyans.
NJ.com Read more
Video Sheds New Light on Prosecutors’ Decision Not to Charge Alvarez
One month before informing Katie Brennan they would not charge Al Alvarez in connection with her allegation he sexually assaulted her, officials with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office told her DNA evidence they collected did not match Alvarez and that the odds of prosecuting the case were slim.
Politico Read more
Arguments Heat Up as PESG Fights for State to Subsidize Nuke Plants
PSEG’s threat to shut down its plants unless it “gets every penny’’ of a proposed $300 million ratepayer subsidy is “effectively holding a gun to the regulators’ head,” according to a brief filed by Rate Counsel director Stefanie Brand.
NJSpotlight Read more
New Jersey Trying to Write Public Waterways Access Into Law
Governments as far back as the Roman Empire have recognized it, but New Jersey is trying to enshrine in law the public’s right to access waterways and shorelines.
Associated Press Read more
Race Is On to Take Advantage of Federal Opportunity Zone Tax Incentives
While the fate of the state’s biggest economic-development tax incentive programs remains the subject of an ongoing debate in Trenton, the federal government’s new opportunity zone tax-break initiative is up and running. Local officials in dozens of communities across New Jersey are now trying to figure out exactly how the federal program could help jumpstart redevelopment.
NJSpotlight Read more
On Route 23, or ‘Heroin Highway,’ a Growing Suburban Demand for Drugs Meets Urban Supply
The 53-mile stretch of highway dubbed “Heroin Highway” was once a route for transporting iron ore and timber from North Jersey’s western highlands to its bustling commercial districts in the east.
The Record Read more
Some NJ Voters Will Cast Their Next Ballots on New, More Secure Voting Machines
A decade after New Jersey voters were promised more secure voting machines, some districts will receive new machines through a federally funded pilot program.
The Record Read more
Editorial: First, Check State’s School Aid Math
When Gov. Phil Murphy announced last week that his proposed 2019-2020 budget would include a record amount of direct school aid—up $206 million from the current fiscal year—you would have had to excuse many Monmouth and Ocean County school superintendents for withholding their applause. Or, for that matter, responding with expletives.
Asbury Park Press Read more
NJ May Require Reporting of Fireworks Related Injuries
Since the sale of fireworks became legal in New Jersey in 2017, there’s been no way to track whether the move has resulted in an uptick in related injuries.
NJ101.5 Read more
