On November 2, voters will go to the polls to choose their representatives in the House of Representatives and State Senate.
State Senate
The State Senate candidates for the fifth district of Camden are Donald Norcross and Harry Trout.
Norcross, a Democrat, co-sponsored a bill enabling the state Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs to start a fund for donations and grants to pay for the purchase and maintenance of an accessible community vehicle that would provide outreach services to disabled veterans.
“With this law, the department will be able to go out into the community and raise private funds so they can get the vehicle they need to reach every veteran without sacrificing funding from other worthy programs,” said Norcross.
Trout has no apparent record on disabilities.
Republican Senator Thomas Goodwin is running to keep his seat in the 14th district against Assembly Member Linda Greenstein.
In October, Goodwin sponsored a bill designating October 21, “Dystonia Awareness Day," drawing attention to the neurological movement disorder that affects 1 in 600 people.
“People suffering from Dystonia face constant challenges, including a lack of public understanding about the disorder and the difficulties of living with it,” Goodwin said. “It is my hope that by promoting awareness of this disorder we will raise interest among the public, academic institutions, and healthcare companies and increase research funding to seek out a cure for Dystonia.” In June, he did the same for lysosomal storage disorders, which lead to movement disorders, seizures and dementia.
Greenstein, a Democratic assembly member in the 14th district, serves on the Health and Senior Services Committee. She is a specialist in disability law with a degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Her professional history includes supervising the Disability Law Clinic at Seton Hall Law School.
Congress
In district 1, Democratic Congressman Rob Andrews is running against Republican Dale Glading.
In 2009, Andrews sponsored the Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act, amending a 25-year-old retirement law to require group health plans to offer prosthetic and orthotic coverage like other medical and surgical benefits. The bill also requires the plans to cover repairs and replacements, and prohibits limitations on coverage. Glading has no record on disability.
In the 2nd district, Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo is running against Democrat Gary Stein and Constitution party candidate Peter Boyce.
Last year, LoBiondo sponsored a bill calling for enhanced public awareness of traumatic brain injury. He has also worked to expand veterans’ access to community health care. In November 2009, he sponsored a bill to draw attention to the important role that service dogs play in veterans’ lives. His opponents have no apparent record on disability.
Democratic Congressman John Adler of the 3rd district is running against Republican Jon Runyan to keep his seat.
Runyan is a board member for the Alzheimer’s Association of South Jersey who says two of his priorities are medical research funding and transportation.
“We need to provide more accessible, affordable and safe public transportation options to seniors living in the suburban communities throughout Burlington and Ocean counties, and Cherry Hill, so those who are no longer able, or willing, to drive can still lead active, independent lives,” Runyan said.
Adler is an advocate for seniors and veterans. The first bill he passed in Congress gave $250 to seniors and veterans with disabilities. He has pushed for an investigation into the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs hospital over alleged mistreatment of veterans with cancer.
Republican Congressman Chris Smith is running in the 4th district against Democrat Howard Kleinhendler.
Smith has held the position since 1980, serving as chair of the Congressional working groups on autism, Alzheimer’s and Spina Bifida. He sponsored the $265 million Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, as well as twelve laws regarding veterans’ benefits and recognition.
Kleinhendler has pledged to fight for lower prescription drug costs for seniors and against cuts to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. He also lists access to transportation and veterans’ benefits as issues of significance.
In the 5th district, Republican E. Scott Garrett is running against Green Party and Independent party candidate Tod Theise.
Garrett voted to expand Medicare to cover additional preventive services, and to eliminate higher copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services by 2014.
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. is running against Republican Anna Miller to keep his seat in the 6th district.
Pallone, a Democrat, spoke out against President George Bush’s regulations regarding Medicaid for people with disabilities at a 2008 hearing, saying the regulations would restrict states’ abilities to provide rehabilitative and other services that contribute to independence for people with disabilities.
Pallone also spoke in favor of the CLASS Act, saying, “The CLASS Act is an important step in the evolution of public policy because it is a framework based on the principles of independence, choice, and empowerment.”
Pallone requested $150,000 to provide assistive technologies, digital books and employment resources to veterans with disabilities. Miller has no record on disabilities.
Congressman Leonard Lance of the 7th district is running against Ed Potosnak, who does not mention disability issues in his campaign platforms.
Lance is a former state senator and assembly member who supported a resolution honoring Paralympic athletes for their participation in last year’s winter games in Vancouver. He also voted against providing $250 checks to seniors and people with disabilities to close the Medicare “Donut Hole.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. is running for re-election in the 8th district against Republican Roland Straten.
Pascrell has worked to protect Medicare and Social Security. He contributed to the bill to provide seniors and people with disabilities who were in the prescription drug “Donut Hole” with checks.
In 2004, Pascrell worked to obtain veterans’ health coverage through a new clinic in Paterson that offers primary care and health education. He served as co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force.
Straten has signed a pledge to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care legislation, if elected.
In the 9th district, Congressman Steve Rothman is running against Republican Mike Agosta.
Rothman, a Democrat, was pivotal in obtaining nearly $1 billion for autism research and awareness. He has sponsored bills including the Combating Autism Act and the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act. Last year, Rothman co-sponsored the Scleroderma Research and Awareness Act. He also sponsored a bill to improve veterans’ health services.
Agosta’s campaign issues include veterans and health care initiatives such as increasing resources for treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“We need to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs and turn some of the empty promises it has made into real services and programs that meet the needs of our wounded warriors,” said Agosta, who is a veteran. “Veterans who were injured in war should not have to wait months and years to have their disability claims reviewed and to apply for benefits.”
In the 10th district, Democratic Congressman Donald Payne is running against Republican Michael Alonso.
Payne sponsored a bill amending an Internal Revenue Law from 1986 to provide a tax credit for non-clinical research expenses about infectious diseases and conditions that affect marginalized populations. He supported a bill expressing support for international work to alleviate disease, poverty and premature death in developing nations, and a bill to increase funding for tuberculosis by $50 million. Payne is also an advocate for education and workplace safety.
Alonso wants to shrink government assistance programs like Medicaid and welfare, and opposes recent healthcare changes.
In the 11th district, Republican Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen is running against Democrat Douglas Herbert.
Frelinghuysen has worked to secure Federal funding for transportation improvements. As a veteran and member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he has worked to obtain health care and other benefits for veterans. He contributed to the opening of a Veterans Affairs (VA) ambulatory care center in 2005 to provide medical and psychiatric care, housing and job placement assistance for homeless veterans.
Herbert, who served as an Infantryman for four years, has dedicated himself to veterans’ issues, education and health care.
“In Congress, Doug will work tirelessly to ensure that the men and women who serve our nation will receive the care they so rightly deserve. He will ensure that the military hospitals and the VA are properly funded, because in too many cases, our nation has failed veterans returning from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq,” he says on his campaign website.
In the 12th district, Democratic Rep. Rush Holt is running against Republican Scott Sipprelle.
Holt supports the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a better education to students with disabilities along with their non-disabled peers. In 2009, he helped pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to secure more than $12 billion for that initiative, including about $300 million for New Jersey schools.
Holt supports universal health insurance and the protection of Medicare and Medicaid. He was co-sponsor of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that calls for people with mental illnesses to receive full access to treatment without co-pays or limits.
Sipprelle opposes mandating health insurance companies to accept patients with medical conditions, saying, “Such efforts merely reallocate the outsized costs of such patients to the existing pool, thereby dramatically escalating the costs of otherwise healthy insurance plans.”
In the 13th district, Democratic Congressman Albio Sires is running against Republican Henrietta Dwyer.
Sires supported efforts to increase access to a college education by cutting interest rates on student loans. He supports Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide health care to underserved populations regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Last year he voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand biomedical research. He also supports Complete Streets design for safe street use.
“Our streets should be accessible to everyone – young and old, motorcyclists and bicyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users, bus riders and business owners,” Sires said. “Simple adjustments such as sidewalks, bike lanes, special bus lanes, accessible transit stops, and improved cross walks will make our streets safer, our environment cleaner, and communities healthier and more accessible.”
Sires has also supported measures to increase veterans’ health benefits and provide funding for the research and treatment of mental health issues, PTSD and traumatic brain injury. His opponent has no record on disability.
This article was published in the November 2010 issue of Able News.
I think this is true. In fact veterans should be given proper care and attention. Their needs must be well addressed.
Posted by: CS Step 2 | 08/04/2011 at 11:30 PM