Sen. Robert Menendez addressess county Chamber of Commerce on June 9. Photo by Joe Hart

COURT HOUSE –– U.S. Senator Robert Menendez Monday addressed the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce to talk about the country’s struggling economy and ways to improve it.

The senator knew his audience and opened his remarks with a mention of the Best Beaches awards county beaches recently won to which he was showered with applause from the local business leaders gathered at the Stone Harbor Golf Club.

Menendez then tackled the economy.

In his comments, Menendez listed some troubling accounts of what soaring gas prices and the sub-prime mortgage market has done to local residents.

“There’s a charter boat captain in Sea Isle City who says he’s being priced out of business because a day’s gas now costs $500,” he said.

He also mentioned a Lower Township man who might lose his home to foreclosure from credit card debts.

Menendez said that nearly 10,000 jobs were lost statewide since the start of the year.

The problems seen in New Jersey have been seen throughout the country, the senator said, and deserve a national effort to fix. He listed some steps the government should take.

“First we need to bring relief to struggling homeowners,” said Menendez, who sits on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

He described legislation recently passed by the Senate, the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which would allow more families to qualify for affordable federal mortgages and offer property tax credit to up to 450,000 New Jerseyans.

“Second, we need to shift resources toward developing clean sources of energy,” said Menendez, who also sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

This will not only help to end the country’s dependence foreign fossil fuels, but also create new high tech jobs possibly for those in this county.

He said the government should invest in mass transit infrastructure and offer companies incentives for research and development of alternative energy forms.

“We have to commercialize technologies that allow us to move beyond oil,” Menendez said. In that vein, two car companies will be introducing the next generation of electric cars in two years.

“That’s private-sector-led development, and government should be incentivizing it, helping it move in the right direction,” he added.

While the senator supports new energy, he expressed opposition at off shore drilling and wind turbines.

He said both could harm the state’s two most important, lucrative industries: tourism and fishing.

“The New Jersey Shore is a priceless treasure we’ll protect at any cost, and it generates tens of billions of dollars in revenues each year and supports almost half a million jobs,” he said.

Regarding shore protection, Menendez noted that he also fights for federal beach replenishment funds for county beaches, an earmark program that many in Congress oppose.

Following his remarks, the senator entertained questions from the audience.

Chamber President Vicky Clark asked why diesel fuel, which used to be cheaper than regular gasoline, has gone so high. She said this has inflated the price of consumer goods that are transported by diesel-fueled trucks.

While Menendez couldn’t answer why the price of diesel specifically has jumped higher than regular gas, he did say the problem with the oil market in general was speculation and the lack of government oversight.

“We are working on fixing that in the Energy Committee,” he said.
Johnnie Walker, of Blue Diamond Disposal in Woodbine, stuck with the oil theme and asked about the recent windfall earnings made by the big oil companies.

The senator said that the oil industry receives tax credits and benefits from the government and he has voted to repeal those credits to put money back in regular taxpayers’ pockets during these times of record oil profits.

County Communications Director Lenora Boninfante asked the senator with the many challenges with aging county roads and bridges if he saw any additional federal funds becoming available for transportation projects.

Menendez replied that it depends on the priority placed on transportation infrastructure by the new administration. For his part, the senator said he would work for a robust federal highway bill in the next Congress.

Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com