To the Editor:
Jeff Van Drew just proudly said that he voted against the Build Back Better plan.
In the mid-November issue of The Center Square mag, he repeated the Republican Party script by claiming, “We cannot allow the federal government to insert their excessive government overreach into Americans’ lives, starting from the moment they are born, and infringing on the right to individual freedom.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t even a suggestion of that in the bill, unless, of course, he considers a more robust electric transmission system, three weeks paid leave for a guy to help his 82-year-old uncle convalesce after a hip operation and hearing aids for the elderly to be governmental overreach. In fact, polls show that a substantial majority of Americans favor most of the individual parts of the bill.
Let’s see what’s in the bill.
1. Extending the child care tax credit for another year from $2,000 to $3,600.
2. Free child care for New Jersey families earning less than $60,000 a year.
3. Free preschool for 3 and 4-year-olds for all families, not just for wealthy families.
4. Four weeks paid family leave for qualified workers.
5. A raise in the tax credit from $500 to $1,500 for low-income workers.
6. Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, to relieve the burden on lower-income senior citizens.
7. Allowing seniors to get hearing aids through Medicare.
8. A host of tax credits designed to promote renewable energy.
Van Drew is for keeping all the tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy people, which the bill tries to eliminate. Yes, he wants all those hedge fund managers and silver spoon kids to keep all the income they now get.
Van Drew is to be congratulated for his stand against the stubborn resistance of his newly embraced Republican Party by voting for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, but what he has proposed doing with funds from it is even more interesting.
He rarely mentions repairing the transportation infrastructure of New Jersey, which is rated among the worst in the U.S. and which the average person must use daily. However, investing in more barrier island protection is high on his list of projects. Guess what the income level of a sizable group of people with homes on the islands is?
Now, let’s be honest. Do I think for one second that Van Drew is against getting decent, affordable child care for low-income working families? No, I don’t. No right-thinking person would be. So, why is he against the bill? Probably because his party tells him to.
He certainly seems like he is for the Republican Party, and the rich, but for the average voter of his district? Not so much.
– BRUCE ALLEN
Del Haven
