NJ 3rd

Tom MacArthur voted for legislation (passed in the House) that would have doubled the number of his constituents without health insurance while also increasing costs and reducing protections. The amendment he wrote would have allowed insurance companies with state approval to:

• Charge more for people with pre-existing conditions, making it unaffordable for many
• Discriminate based on age, charging older people 5 times more than younger
• Eliminate essential benefits including preventative care, emergency services, even hospitalization

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After exploding the deficit through tax cuts that primarily benefited corporations and the wealthy, the government appears focused on reducing spending by cutting programs that primarily benefit senior citizens, the disabled, and low income families.

In a recent CNBC interview, Larry Kudlow (Director of President Trump’s National Economic Council) stated that the White House is focused on reducing federal spending, and “part of the Republican plan to curb spending is tackling entitlements.”

Earlier this summer both House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) made similar comments.

Our Congressman has already voted multiple times to cut government spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. Click on here and here and here for more details.

Tom MacArthur has voted multiple times to cut Medicare funding.  For example, he voted for and led the effort to pass HR1628 (AHCA) in the House. That bill:

• Repealed two taxes, paid only by high income individuals, that fund Medicare Part A, and
• Eliminated fees paid by the pharmaceutical industry that help fund Medicare Part B.

The changes in this bill would have depleted the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund two years faster than anticipated, bankrupt the Medicare Trust Fund in less than a decade, and hurt all seniors by driving up premiums. The bill passed in the House but not in the Senate.

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Tom MacArthur voted for H.J. Res. 2, the Balanced Budget Amendment, which would necessitate large cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs to balance the budget. The amendment requires that benefit payments (outlays) not exceed revenue (tax receipts) collected in any given year.

• For example, if Social Security payments were more than the revenue collected in a given year, the budget would be cut even if the Social Security Trust Fund has enough money to fully pay for all benefits without cuts.
• The current balance of the Social Security Trust Fund, comprised of accumulated payroll taxes, is $2,900,000,000,000 (trillion) as of June 2018.
• Experts believe that the GOP-led Congress plans to divert the Trust Fund balance to pay for other, unrelated budget items.

This bill failed to pass in the House despite the support of Congressman MacArthur and most other Republicans.

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Medicaid is the primary source of health insurance for millions of Americans of all ages.

Tom MacArthur voted to cut more than 25% of Medicaid’s funding over the next ten years, nearly $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion). This sharp budget cut would jeopardize care for:

• Senior citizens in nursing homes
  • Almost 7 in 10 nursing home residents (65%) are covered primarily by Medicaid
• Severely disabled people
• Intellectually disabled individuals, including mentally retarded and autistic children
• Low income families, children and pregnant women

New Jersey would be among the states hardest hit by the law that our Congressman voted for and championed. This bill (H.R. 1628) passed in the House but not in the Senate. He tried again to cut Medicaid by voting for H.J. Res. 2, which failed to pass in the House.

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The new tax law increases New Jersey’s taxes and is widely seen as damaging to New Jersey residents and businesses. Analysts predict New Jersey property values will decline an average 8.2% in Burlington County and 7.5% overall because of the law. The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce opposed the tax law as bad for business and making the state less competitive. Tom MacArthur was the only New Jersey legislator, from either party, to vote in favor of the law.

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Tom MacArthur votes the NRA position 93% of the time, with most of his votes directed at weakening gun laws. In the 2017-18 legislative term he:

• Co-sponsored and voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act which would override the laws of New Jersey and allow out of state residents to carry their concealed and loaded weapons in our state
• Twice voted to allow people with documented mental impairments to purchase guns, reversing rules restricting their access through the FBI’s national instant background check system

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New Jersey has among the strictest gun laws in America. It has the 4th lowest rate of gun ownership and the 6th lowest rate of gun violence in the country. Tom MacArthur’s votes to loosen gun laws seem to undermine this.

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“Rep. Tom MacArthur, who has supported efforts to overturn New Jersey’s Medicaid expansion and its laws on concealed gun permits, now wants to limit the state’s ability to prosecute cases of securities fraud.”

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