Issue Position: Public Safety & National Security

Issue Position

I think we can all agree the safety of our communities must be a top priority. We must continue making federal investments to support those who keep us safe.

Bob's Focus
Protecting New Jerseyans from foreign and domestic safety threats
Passing common-sense gun safety measures to protect our children and communities
Providing our first responders with the tools they need to keep neighborhoods safe
Strengthening security and safety measures at our ports, chemical plants and within our mass transit systems

Bob's Accomplishments
Keeping high-risk areas safe
Bob successfully championed provisions to distribute local federal funding for homeland security based on risk to be sure high-risk states like New Jersey get their fair share of funding.

Fighting for gun safety
Bob co-introduced common-sense gun safety legislation to deny firearms to foreign felons and terrorists, outlaw high capacity ammunition clips, ban dangerous assault weapons, and close the "gun show loophole" to require background checks for all gun buyers.

Protecting Southern New Jersey
Bob led the Congressional effort to include New Jersey communities close to Philadelphia as part of the region that's eligible to receive homeland security funding for the nation's most at-risk metropolitan areas.

Promoting 9/11 Commission reforms
Bob championed and co-sponsored legislation to enact the 9/11 Commission recommendations into law in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

Strengthening the effectiveness of first responders
Bob led the fight to increase federal funding to hire more police officers through the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring (COPS) Program. Bob is also a steadfast supporter of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program to meet firefighting and emergency response needs.

Combating gangs
Bob authored the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act which would help cut off the spread of gangs and reduce gang-related crime by giving young people constructive alternatives to joining gangs, providing community planning resources to help communities fight local gangs, and increasing penalties to crack down on those who commit violent crimes.

Assisting in locating missing persons
Bob authored legislation to invest in an effective program to assist in locating missing persons. The legislation would direct resources to "A Child Is Missing," a non-profit which generates 1,000 phone calls every minute to homes and individuals in the immediate area where a missing person was last seen.

Keeping potentially dangerous items off planes
Bob raised concerns and helped defeat the Transportation Security Administration's plan to relax carry-on restrictions that would have allowed retractable knives less than 2.36 inches on planes.

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