‘It’s a Time of Great Concern,’ Van Drew Says

RIO GRANDE – “We have never lived in a time as challenging as the time that we’re living in right now,” said U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd), during an Aug. 11 meeting with Herald staff and Cape Issues members.
He said people often ask him if they should be worried, and the answer he gives them is ‘yes.’
“We are changing the very substance and form and structure of the United States of America in so many ways, and I think it’s really problematic,” he continued.
He cited various issues, includingthe Paris Climate Agreement, in which he said China and India are “basically exempt” and a“wide open” U.S.-Mexico border,where women and children who are coming into the U.S.“are being used as drug mules that are being hurt, being sexually abused, being physically abused. The drug lords are coming, using them for whatever purpose they can.”
He added that not all of those crossing the border are being Covid tested, while many worry whether they will have to wear a mask forever.
“Anybody that knows anything about viruses knows that they constantly mutate,” he added.
He expressed concern that “we’re losing our freedom of speech to some degree because of what is happening with big tech. I think you have to be so very careful before you ever prevent anybody from having the right to speak on a public forum.”
He also said he’s in favor of people having an ID when they vote.
“I don’t think that’s such a bad thing,” he said. “Just who you are… that’s not racist. I think it’s racist to say Black people aren’t capable of having an ID. They are.”
He mentioned the coronavirus relief bill, “where 90% of it didn’t go for Covid.”
“We do legislation at so many levels that literally is changed as it moves along in ways that are unbelievable, including your own,” he said, noting that he’s had to vote against his amendments and legislation “because it’s been changed so radically by the administration and by the speaker and her team.”
“For me, it’s a time of great concern,” he said, adding,“We are on the precipice. It’s a great challenge for America,and I think it’s the greatest challenge since the Civil War… and I think we will have to come together and try to do the best that we can, and in future years, we’re going to find out what kind of America we’re going to have. Are we basically going to be a socialist country, or are we going to be capitalists?”
Infrastructure
When asked how he would vote on the over $1 trillion infrastructure bill that’s headed to the U.S. House of Representatives, following the U.S. Senate’s approval, Van Drew said he would likely vote against itdue to the inclusion of a pilot program for avehicle mileage tax.
Van Drew, who joined the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year, explained that “not only will you pay a gas tax, but you will also pay for the amount of miles you put on.”
He notedthe reasons for the tax are to push people into electric cars and to get more revenue.
“I don’tthinkit’s people’s business how much mileage you’re doing,” he said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to just have yet another tax, regardless of whatever it’s going to be used for or not, and, quite frankly, I’m tired of taxing people, and I don’t, so it’s got to be something really rare before I’m voting yes for another tax, because it’s never the answer.”
In Cape May County, he said he was able to get $55 million to replace the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May’s barracks and modernize its classrooms in a project that’s “99.99% there.”
“Their barracks are in bad shape,” he said. “They’re decades old. They need replacement.”
He noted that continued investment at the training center keeps itin Cape May, adding, “It’s really important to our economy.”
There are also several community projects for which he hopes toacquire funding, including $15 million for Townsend’s Inlet dredging and beach replenishment, as well as funds for the Woodbine bike path andresurfacing of Dennisville-Petersburg Road.
Herald Publisher and Cape Issues member Art Hallsaid that more people are staying in the county through the winter, since they can work remotely, and “we have got to continue to raise our roads and make sure our highways enable the people who want to be in their beach home 12 months out of the year, off and on.”
“We don’t want to get washed away,” he said, referring to sea level rise. 
“If the sea continues to rise, and let’s just assume it is, we’ve got to be able to make sure that our infrastructure, in general, functions,” he added.
“I get it,” Van Drew said. “I’ll work on it, and that’s why I want to see real infrastructure bills, with real, hard infrastructure… it’s not about social programs.”
“We need to do something about (Routes) 47 and 55,” he added. “We need to do something with alot of our roads and bridges.”
He lauded County Commissioner Will Morey, along with the other Board of County Commissioners members, for their comprehensive bridge plan (https://bit.ly/2ZSgcsV).
“If that bridge goes down, we’re in trouble,” he said, referring to the Middle Thorofare Bridge, “so that’s where we’re trying to get money… for it, and we got a chance.”
In response to a question about working with environmental groups on Route 55, Van Drew said it’s not that easy.
Environmentalism is a good thing, he said, “but it’s a business, as well.”
“There’s money involved and salaries and all kinds of things, and many of those folks, who have a huge influence, do not want to see it, period,” he said.
He noted that “the other amazing thing we’ve done in our country is made it almost impossible to build or do anything,”saying there needs to be a balance.
“We can’t seem to have those honest, intellectual conversations. Everything’s politics,” he concluded.
Offshore Wind
Andrew Shawl, of Cape Issues, expressed concern with grid reliability, as it relates to the wind farms planned off New Jersey’s coast.
He cited California and Texas as examples of states that “had problems with grid reliability.” 
Van Drew said he’s not against renewables and hopes the wind turbines work, but wishes a pilot project was implemented first.
“Let’s be a little careful here,” he said. “Let’s not just try to be politically correct. Let’s make sure we’re also doing the right thing. 
“I’m not saying don’t do it, but go a little slower,” he continued, “but it was really important to this governor and this president.They’re going to prove, again, they’re changing the face of America, changing the face of New Jersey, and I don’t think it’s good for us down here.”
He added that he’s spoken tocommercial fisherman, who he said are upset and scared.
Commercial fishing is the second largest industry in Cape May County, according to the county’s website (https://bit.ly/3AJiM4n).
Regarding reports that Europe is still fishingdespite its wind farms, Van Drew said he spoke to Europeans, who told him that’s not true and they’re having a tough time.  
“… nobody’s really saying too much, or doing too much. Nobody wants to be anti-environmental,” said Van Drew.
He added that a lot of people who were in government are now working for Orsted.
“It is what it is. Watch the money fly,” he concluded.
Economic Development
“It is perennially one of the hardest issues, obviously, that always faces Cape May County,” said Van Drew, in response to an economic development question by Cape Issues member Peter Jespersen. 
The county will continue to rely on tourism and fishing, as a big part of its economy, Van Drew said.
“It’s always going to be the question of environment, tourism and fishing, as related to other industries and businesses, and what do we really want,” he said.
He mentioned Vineland wants to get more “hardcore manufacturing,”something he said people would be upset about having in Cape May County.
The problem with tourism is making it go year-round, he added.
Young people can’t afford to live in the county, Jespersen said. 
“Is there anything that you think could be included in the infrastructure act on the issue of affordable housing?” he asked.
Van Drew said there alreadyis, but a lot of it is going to the inner city.
“If you want to bring in, not only for the people who are here, you also have to bring in a lot of people who are economically disadvantaged, and when you do that, you have to have a place… for them to work,” he said. “One of the problems in Cape May County, it’s like a cycle, is we don’t have that, we don’t have tons of mass transportation, and some people don’t want that.”
He said he would continue to work on the issue, adding, “I don’t want to substantively change Cape May County completely. It is an area that’s quieter and special, and there’s nothing wrong with that, either. You have to be careful what you wish for sometimes, as well.”
Beach Replenishment
Van Drew spoke in support of beach replenishment, saying, “Whatever dollars I can get, I’m always working for it.”
He expressed disappointment with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision, again,to reverse its position on the use of Hereford Inlet sand for federal beach replenishment projects, noting, “It is people who don’t understand the topography and geography of that area making decisions because they can.”
He said that with the new administration came a new secretary, “who changed everything around.”
“There is no flexibility,” he continued. 
However, he promised to continue to work on the issue, adding, “… sometimes, you’ve got to work within the administration, even if you fundamentally disagree with what they say and do in certain ways, because you can sometimes find allies.”