Legislators Field Questions from Chamber Members

BURLEIGH — Members of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce had the opportunity on Aug. 21 to question their U.S. Representative and state legislators at Wildwood Golf and Country Club.
Much of the discussion focused on energy, but there was also a question about the paid family leave act, and what happens to any excess money, and the status of Route 55.
U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) likened the energy crisis to a three-legged stool. In concert with conservation, the congressman said the keys were conservation, traditional fossil fuels and alternative sources, such as biological, nuclear, wind and solar.
Much of the price problem with gasoline supplies, he said, was brought about by oil speculators, most of who had no connection with the supply other to turn a profit. Another facet, he noted, was the miles-per gallon mandates auto producer have long used to produce vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon.
Passage of such legislation to mandate higher mpg vehicles could be “done rather painlessly,” he said.
Some American car producers, he said, could produce vehicles in Japan that achieve twice that mileage, LoBiondo said.
He also advocated drilling for oil on the 70 million federal leased acres, both on and off shore, because new technology permits exploration to be done with less risk.
However, LoBiondo is “not in favor of drilling off the New Jersey coast.”
“They are still cleaning up from the Exxon Valdez spill (in Alaska),” he said.
“We can’t gamble with the environment,” he added, noting the negative impact an oil spill could have on the New Jersey beaches. He recalled an oil spill several years ago in the Delaware River around Memorial Day, the onset of the tourist season, when Philadelphia media converged on the Cape May beaches to photograph tar balls from that spill.
“And that was minor,” he said added.
LoBiondo said that Congress is scheduled to return to work after Labor Day, and a session is planned only in September.
“There are varying reports of votes,” he said, indicating the posting of bills for a vote.
“Keep your seat belts fastened. There may be some relief,” he said.
During a question session, Linda Steenrod, Cape May deputy mayor, asked LoBiondo about the city trying to use wind turbines for power generation, only to be told the DEP won’t allow turbines “south of an imaginary (Seven Mile Beach) line.”
The congressman said the Coast Guard was under a federal mandate to cut reliance on fossil fuel and use alternative sources of energy.
“The federal government has not taken a lead position,” he said, and noted it was the state Department of Environmental Protection that imposed the rule.
When Steenrod asked a similar question of Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st).
“I wasn’t aware it was much of a problem,” said Van Drew. He said he had “been supportive” of such wind energy projects, including one offshore facility backed by Cape May commercial fishermen headed by Daniel Cohen.
“This is an area where we could use help,” on the topic of Route 55, Van Drew said.
He said there is a bill in the Legislature to fund the design phase of the free highway that stops in southern Cumberland County, and shunts traffic onto two-lane Route 47, which has been the scene of 28 fatalities since 1999, as reported in the Herald Aug. 20.
“We would appreciate a resolution of support (from the chamber,” said Van Drew.
The challenge to the highway’s extension is formidable, said Van Drew.
“There is national and worldwide resistance to that road being extended, so we would appreciate your support,” he said.
Assemblyman Nelson Albano, one of the sponsors of the Paid Family Leave Act, was asked what would become of any unused funds.
As passed and signed into law, Albano said the bill provided that unexpended funds will remain and not be rolled into the state’s general treasury.
The bill is fully funded by workers’ contributions, and no money in the fund is generated from businesses.
“It is handled by the same agency, and rolls over into the next year and the next,” Albano said.