The following are remarks made by Congressman LoBiondo on the floor of the House on March 29, 1995, in support of the Congressional Term Limits Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, since the 1st day of the 104th Congress, I have been proud to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to change the way Congress does business.

This week, we will vote on the most important reform yet–term limits. Opponents argue that we do not need term limits since we have elections.

Yet from 1976 through 1994, 9 out of every 10 incumbents were re-elected. Even in 1994, the re-election rate was still 90 percent.

Term limits will give the American people more elections in open seats. They will bring new Members to Congress who have different experiences and fresh ideas.

That is what the American people want. Recent polls consistently show that two-thirds of the American people support term limits.

And the American people will be watching to see who supports real congressional reform, and who votes for the status quo. I urge my colleagues to vote “yes” for final passage of term limits.

Tax Revenue	$2,627,400,000,000
Federal Budget	$3,728,600,000,000
Budget Deficit	$1,101,200,000,000
National Debt	$15,250,000,000,000

However, if you delete eight zeros from these figures and consider them as a household budget, it is impossible to ignore the fiscal state of emergency.

Annual Family Income	$26,274
Annual Family Expenses	$37,286
New Credit Card Debt	$11,012
Total Credit Card Debt	$152,500

If you haven’t read it already, The Press of Atlantic City yesterday published an excellent watchdog report on the NextGen project. I generally believe that so-called “public-private” partnerships are a bad idea, and this case is exactly why. When things don’t go as planned (and it is apparent that the planning and management of this project is a work of fantasy) the public is on the hook.

There are a few interesting paragraphs in the report concerning Congressman LoBiondo’s role in the project.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, has been among the staunch supporters of the project. When first asked about the project’s difficulties, including the lost stimulus bonds, he stated he was not aware of the issue because he was not involved with the project at a micro level.

 

However, after others — including Sheairs, the park’s interim executive director — stated they became involved with the project at the congressman’s request, LoBiondo later said he was aware of the issues but did not manage the project at an internal level.

 

“There’s a lot at stake with this project. My role, my goal, was to be a facilitator and not let the project fall apart. I was involved with trying to get people together who had an ability to try to keep people on balance and moving forward,” LoBiondo said.

 

“We hit some bumps in the road. I don’t know whether we want to attribute those bumps to personality conflicts, I just don’t know. There was a big federal commitment. There was a big commitment on the part of Atlantic County. Rather than step aside … and just let this thing fall apart, I attempted to help people and move the project forward.”

The Congressman has touted this project for years. When he was asked about the challenges the project faces, he said that he wasn’t aware because he isn’t very involved in the project. Then, when pressed, he admitted that he lied and that he did know about the challenges but that he wasn’t responsible for them.

Had this project been success that it was supposed to be, I wonder if Congressman LoBiondo would be taking just a little bit more responsibility.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

If you use any kind of social media, you have no doubt heard plenty about SOPA, PIPA and the flaws contained therein. It is refreshing to see so many Americans aware of an issue before Congress and to see them so committed to having their voices heard. That’s exactly the way our democracy should be.

But there has been something lost in the discussion – that piracy is a serious problem that must be addressed. It affects our economy in the same way as stealing something off of a shelf in a supermarket does. It’s clear that SOPA and PIPA are not the solution – they provide far too many opportunities for misuse by law enforcement.

There is a better solution that has received bipartisan sponsorship –  the Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, or OPEN for short. OPEN is aimed not only at stopping piracy, but also at protecting free speech online.

If for no other reason, OPEN is an excellent example of how legislation should be formed. The full text of the legislation has been posted on KeepTheWebOpen.com, where the sponsors invite the public to comment and give input on each and every line. Now that’s transparency.

In August, the House passed a deal to raise the debt ceiling and create the infamous super committee. Included in that legislation were automatic increases in the debt ceiling that are practically impossible to override. Everyone was well aware of that at the time. For any member who supported the August agreement to vote in favor of today’s disapproval resolution is disingenuous. No matter how they voted today, the rise in the debt ceiling was made possible by their vote in August. It’s not surprising that Congressman LoBiondo was among them.

Congress is more interested in cosmetics than solutions. The only way to change that is to change the people who work there.

Mike

“The supercommittee’s failure is hardly surprising, considering that Congress only created it to sugarcoat its own failure to reach such an agreement in August. Washington needs to get serious about creating a real economic stimulus by reforming the tax code. The supercommittee had a unique opportunity to do just that, but instead crashed and burned while arguing over how much they could hike taxes.”

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“When my father came to America in 1980, he gave up the opportunity to go to college for free in Egypt in favor of washing dishes and bussing tables in America. He did so because he knew that America is the land of opportunity, where hard work can yield amazing results,” Assad said.

“However, my generation is the first in America’s history not to face the prospect of a brighter future. I cannot sit back and watch as high unemployment and outrageous public debt undermine this generation’s potential to prosper,” Assad said, calling the 2012 elections “a huge opportunity to change the direction of our country and make America what it is supposed to be.”

“As Ronald Reagan said, the best social program is a good job,” Assad said. “Creating a positive climate where businesses can grow is essential to creating jobs. Those jobs will allow Americans to become independent of the entitlement programs that are bankrupting our country.”

“Congressman LoBiondo has supported legislation that would kill jobs and continuously refuses to support measures that would create jobs,” Assad said, noting LoBiondo’s opposition to free and open markets and his support of Cap and Trade and Card Check.

“Time and time again, Congressman LoBiondo has traded the best interests of our country for the support of union bosses,” Assad said. “I am running against Congressman LoBiondo in the Republican primary because South Jersey deserves principled leadership. I will support legislation that will create jobs, reduce our nation’s debt, and reform our broken tax system.”

“I will lead by example and keep the promise that Congressman LoBiondo has not,” Assad said, citing LoBiondo’s pledge to limit himself to six terms, which he broke by seeking re-election in 2006, 2008, and 2010.

Mike Assad was born on July 4, 1987, in Galloway Township. He is a lifelong resident of Absecon and attended Absecon Public Schools, Holy Spirit High School, and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. A Roman Catholic, Assad was a member of St. Peter’s Parish in Pleasantville, now part of St. Gianna Beretta Molla Parish in Northfield.

Assad serves as a member of the Absecon Board of Education, having been elected in April 2006 and re-elected in April 2009. As a member of the school board, he won acclaim from The Press of Atlantic City for his efforts to make district operations more accountable to the public. In 2009, Atlantic City Weekly Magazine named Assad one of their “Top 40 Under 40.”

New Jersey’s second district is currently comprised of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties, as well as parts of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The Republican primary election is scheduled to take place on June 5, 2012.