Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement after reports revealed that approximately 75,000 non-citizens are summoned for jury duty in New Jersey each year through government databases used to assemble jury pools.

“Thousands of non-citizens were improperly registered to vote, and hundreds cast ballots before the problem was caught,” said Congressman Van Drew. “Now we are learning that roughly 75,000 non-citizens are summoned for jury duty every year. Even if they are ultimately screened out, this should not be happening in the first place. This is what happens when New Jersey embraces sanctuary policies, issues driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, and then feeds those records into government systems that were built around citizenship. Information gets mixed, and we are told to trust the safeguards to clean it up afterward. When the same problem keeps appearing across different government systems, it raises serious concerns about how New Jersey maintains and verifies its records.”

Today, Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement in support of banning Members of Congress from trading stocks.

“Members of Congress should not be buying and selling stocks while we are making decisions that can directly impact the market,” said Congressman Van Drew. “There is simply too much potential for abuse. I fully support banning stock trading by Members of Congress. Our focus should be on making decisions in the best interests of the people we represent, and a clear ban would help assure the public that personal investments have absolutely no role in the work we do. The Stop Insider Trading Act, which recently passed the House, would prohibit Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing individual stocks and require public notice before they sell any stocks they already own. That is a good step forward, but there is more work to be done. We should continue moving toward a strong and straightforward ban that closes any remaining loophole and gives the American people confidence that their representatives are working for them.”

Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement after Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that approximately 6,600 non-citizens were identified on New Jersey’s voter rolls, with nearly 400 having cast ballots.

“This is exactly why so many New Jerseyans have lost confidence in our election system,” said Congressman Van Drew. “For years, we have warned that our voter rolls needed to be cleaned up, only to be dismissed and called conspiracy theorists. Now, the state’s own findings confirm that thousands of non-citizens were registered to vote and hundreds cast ballots.

Legislation authorizing New Jersey’s Department of Health (NJDOH) to establish partnerships in international public health was signed into law on Wednesday. Bill A4075 was sponsored by Assembly members Sterley Stanley, Carol Murphy, and Margie Donlon.

The legislation authorizes the NJDOH to take steps to seek participation in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the WHO’s international collaboration of public health agencies, laboratories, academic institutions, and response organizations that work together to detect, verify, and respond to disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. Participation in the network will strengthen the State’s ability to monitor outbreaks, share information, improve workforce training, and coordinate preparedness efforts with public health partners around the world.