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Newark, NJ 07102
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Hart Senate Office Building
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Fax: (202) 228-4054

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Senator Lautenberg's Record

Senator Lautenberg's Record

Nothing speaks louder than experience, and Frank Lautenberg has enough to go around! During his 20 years in office, Frank has fought many battles for New Jersey. Click on any of the catagories to discover what he has done for us.



On Guns and Crime

Gun Safety

Authored the Domestic Violence Gun Ban, which protects women and children by preventing wife beaters and child abusers from owning guns.

Strong supporter of 1) the Brady Law, which established background checks for handgun purchases; and 2) legislation to ban assault weapons nationwide. Introduced legislation to close a loophole that allows so called "gun collectors" to sell weapons at gun shows without having to comply with the Brady Law background checks.
Senator Lautenberg and Gun Safety

Introduced legislation to raise the fee for gun licenses, to crack down on fly-by-night and other illegal gun dealers.

Introduced legislation to terminate a Defense Department program that provided excess guns to children; program later was transferred to a non-governmental entity.

Introduced legislation to hold gun dealers accountable when they provide a gun to a convicted felon or domestic abuser who uses the gun to commit a crime.

Cosponsored legislation to make children safer by getting guns out of schools.

Road Safety
Wrote the law to prevent hundreds of drunk driving deaths per year by requiring states to lower their BAC levels to .08.

Wrote the law encouraging states to toughen their penalties against drunk driving, including requiring the immediate loss of a driver's license.

Received first annual "Excellence in Public Service" award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Senator Lautenberg and MADD
Sponsored the 1984 law that tied states' federal highway funds to enactment of 21 year old drinking age laws, which has helped save thousands of lives and prevented many more from grievous injury.

JUMP -- Developed a juvenile mentoring program to link "at risk" youth in high crime areas with police officers and other adult mentors.

Crime

Public Housing Drug Elimination Act
-- Created the only federal government program designed to combat drug-related crime in public housing -- starting off with $8.2 million in 1989, funding increased to $310 million by the time Senator Lautenberg left the Senate. In the first year of his absence, all funding was eliminated.

Comprehensive Crime Control Act -- Cosponsored the law that abolished parole, provided for longer, determinate sentences, established crime victim's fund, reformed bail providing for pre-trial detention, narrowed insanity defense and imposed mandatory sentences for career criminals.

Carjacking and auto theft -- 1) Sponsored legislation, which became law, to make carjacking a Federal crime; 2) Authored the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act, which helps police officers identify and stop vehicles likely to have been stolen, and 3) Secured funding to help the U.S. Customs Service prevent stolen cars from being exported from Jersey's ports.

Racial profiling -- Introduced first major bill to address the problem of racial profiling by police officers.




On Protecting the Environment

Community Right to Know -- Authored the law giving citizens the right to know the amount and type of toxic emissions companies spew into the air, water and ground; after its enactment, toxic emissions were reduced dramatically. Led the fight to turn back Republican attempts to gut the law under the guise of "Regulatory Reform."

Pollution Prevention Act -- Wrote the law encouraging industry to reduce toxic pollution by requiring the EPA to establish a pollution prevention program and by requiring companies reporting under the right to know law to also include data on the amount of toxic pollutants generated.

Boosting Environmental Industry -- Cosponsored Environmental Technologies Act, legislation to promote the environmental control industry.

Clean Water and Beach

Wrote the law requiring states to regularly test recreational beach water quality to make sure a day at the beach doesn't result in a trip to the doctor.

Wrote the law banning ocean dumping of sewage sludge.

Wrote a provision of the Clean Water Act ending dumping of raw sewage in New York Harbor.

Led efforts to ban oil and gas drilling off the Jersey Shore.
Senator Lautenberg at the Beach

Wrote the law that bans the dumping of plastics from ships into the ocean and restricts the dumping of other material.

Amended the Water Resources Development Act to require the Corp of Engineers to use ships to clean up floating debris in New York Harbor.

Secured funding to clean up New Jersey lakes, including: Cranberry Lake (Sussex County), Lake Sylvan and Strawbridge Lake (Burlington County), and Alcyon Lake (Gloucester County), Weequahic Lake (Essex County), and Lake Hopatcong (Morris County).

Coauthored the Oil Spill Pollution Act to prevent and respond to oil spills.

Secured funding to establish federal oil spill response team in New Jersey, and for establishing modern vessel traffic monitoring to prevent accidents in New Jersey waters.

Authored the BEACH law, establishing water quality standards and improving the public's right to know about the safety of beaches.

Brownfields -- author of the law funding cleanups and reuse of abandoned sites, turning old industrial facilities and dumpsites into new businesses, parks and open space. His bill also reduced unnecessary litigation over these sites, making urban revitalization more attractive to business investors and environmental groups alike.

Superfund -- As chair of the Superfund Subcommittee, fought to make sure that polluters paid to clean up their own sites, rather than shifting the costs to the innocent taxpayers. Brought well over $1 billion in federal cleanup aid to New Jersey and worked closely with communities. Also uncovered mismanagement and worked to correct these deficiencies by reforming the Superfund program and ensuring that the EPA spends its funds on cleanup, not on lawyer's fees and administrative costs.

Safe Drinking Water -- Secured provisions to combat the radon problem in New Jersey and provide all Americans with a "right to know" about possible contaminants in their drinking water. Authorized hundreds of millions of dollars of federal money for New Jersey to address safe drinking water needs.

Clean Air -- Helped develop the Clean Air Act and prevented the first Bush Administration from weakening the legislation; responsible for developing provisions regulating toxic emissions and interstate sources of smog.

Chemical Accidents -- Led the effort to create an independent board to investigate chemical accidents in factories and fought industry-led efforts to cut the funding for this board.

Cleanups of radioactive wastes -- Turned back a special interest attempt to let W. R. Grace off the hook for cleanup of the Superfund site in Wayne, which would have slowed the clean up by several years.

Recycling -- Lead sponsor of legislation establishing recycling of mercury-cadmium batteries. This law helps protect New Jersey and our nation's groundwater from these cancer-causing substances.

Parks, Refuges and Open Spaces -- Created or expanded federal wildlife refuges and parks, adding thousands of acres of open space in New Jersey, including at the Cape May, Forsythe, Wallkill, and Great Swamp national wildlife refuges, and the Pinelands National Reserve. Secured $17.5 million for acquisition of Sterling Forest, marking the largest private land acquisition in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area and protecting the source of drinking water for one quarter of New Jersey residents. Secured funding to complete the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail, and to protect wildlife habitat in Monmouth County.

Cancer Clusters -- The leading fighter for funding to detect cancer and other health effects around New Jersey's Superfund sites, including around the Lipari Landfill in Pitman and in Dover Township in Ocean County.

Animal Welfare -- 1) Strong supporter of the Endangered Species Act; 2) sponsor of legislation to ensure better protection of pets traveling on airplanes.

Protecting environmental laws against attack -- Fought repeatedly against efforts to protect polluting industries both by gutting environmental laws and cutting funding for enforcement of those laws. In particular, won fights against efforts to weaken the laws requiring the cleanup of Superfund sites, the Community Right to Know Law, the Endangered Species Act, and even the Clean Water Act.




On National Security, Terrorism and Human Rights

Protecting Americans from Terrorism and Punishing Terrorist Nations

Authored Justice for Victims of Terrorism law to allow victims of terrorism to collect damages from foreign countries that sponsor terrorist acts.

After the terrorist attack on Pan Am 103, led efforts to establish a commission on aviation security and antiterrorism, served on commission and authored Aviation Security Act incorporating key recommendations.

Wrote laws banning foreign aid to countries that sponsor terrorism; requiring US executive directors of international financial institutions to vote against and work to defeat loans to terrorist countries; and denying foreign tax credits to US companies operating in countries that actively support terrorism.

Led efforts to increase US opposition to Hamas and other violent fundamentalist organizations in the Middle East.

War Crimes Legislation
-- Successfully enacted legislation to help track down and prosecute war criminals in the Bosnian region.

Leader for Human Rights and Democracy

As a member of the Helsinki Commission, actively advocated human rights, independence and self-determination of Eastern European peoples through speeches, legislation, and personal contact with foreign leaders.

Sponsored human rights amendment to INF Treaty ratification resolution pressuring former Soviet
Union to respect human rights obligations.

Coauthored law tying aid to Russia to its withdrawal of its troops from the Baltic Republics.
Secured aid for, and promoted business partnerships with former Warsaw Pact countries and has tied aid to reforms and democracy.

Cosponsored South African sanctions law and divestment legislation to pressure for reform.
Supported visa for Gerry Adams; urged appointment of special representative to N. Ireland; urged British government to address continuing human rights violations and strongly supported talks among the parties to the conflict in the region.

Wrote the law revoking favored trade status for Serbia in response to atrocities and brutality in Bosnia.
Cosponsored Cuban Democracy Act strengthening economic sanctions directed at Cuban Government; continually supported Radio and TV Marti.

Secured $18 million in humanitarian aid to Armenia for seed stock and heating oil for winter of 1994; coauthored provisions in Freedom Support Act banning aid to Azerbaijan until it stops its blockade of Nagomo Karabagh and Armenia; regularly supported annual commemoration of Armenian Genocide.
Consistent advocate for 7:10 ratio of military aid to Greece and advocate of peaceful and just resolution of the conflict in Cyprus.

Among the Congress' strongest supporters of U.S.-Israeli alliance, seeking a just and lasting peace behind sound and secure borders and maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge.




On Education

School Modernization
-- Sponsored legislation to provide schools with $25 billion in zero-interest bonding authority to pay for school renovation and replacement.

Computers in Schools -- Wrote the Computer Education Assistance Act, which provides funds for computer based instruction in public schools and for
the purchase of computer equipment.

Senator Lautenberg and Education

Science Education
-- Secured federal funding for the design and approval of Newark's Science Park project, the centerpiece of which will be a new science high school devoted to better preparing students for careers in science and mathematics.

Vocational Education

Helped secure funding for four new Federal Job Corps Centers to provide unemployed and undereducated youth, aged 16-24, with vocational skills to prepare them for high wage jobs in fields like carpentry, construction, service and health care.

Secured funding for a co-op program in the New Jersey Transit Department to train high school students with the skills necessary to move into high paying "skilled positions" in the transit field.
Drug Free Schools and Communities Act -- Strongly supported bill to educate children about the dangers associated with drug use.

Community Education and Employment Centers -- Wrote law establishing centers to provide high school students in poor urban and rural areas with career guidance and assistance in obtaining and maintaining part-time employment.

Star Schools -- One of the Senate's strongest supporters of the Star Schools program to improve math, science and foreign language instruction at hundreds of disadvantaged schools throughout America.

Educational Television -- Cosponsor of Children's Television Act of 1990, which required television stations to air programming to educate and inform children.

Affording College -- Consistently supported Pell Grants to help offset rising college tuition costs, and helped write legislation establishing Hope Scholarship program.

National Service -- Strongly supported President Clinton's national service initiative.




On Health and Quality of Life

Smoking

Wrote the law banning smoking on airplanes, protecting individuals from deadly secondhand smoke and triggering a broader smoke-free revolution.

Wrote the Pro-Kids law banning smoking in all federally funded places that serve children. This was included in the Education Goals 2000 law.

Author of the Pro-Feds legislation to ban smoking at federal facilities, which has already spurred many federal agencies to adopt smoke-free policies.

Author of Smoke Free Environment Act legislation to ban smoking in most public places. Introduced bipartisan legislation to require tobacco companies to disclose the ingredients and carcinogens in their products and to affix larger warning labels with more direct messages to kids.

Led the fight in Congress to pressure the tobacco industry to release critical health information being hidden under false claims of attorney-client privilege.

Named Vice-Chair of the Democratic Tobacco Task Force in the Senate in recognition of his leadership on the public health side of the tobacco debate.

Family and Medical Leave: helped write the Family and Medical Leave Act, which lets people take time off work to care for sick children or parents.

Radon Testing in Schools and Child Care Facilities

Amended the 1986 Superfund legislation to require the EPA to conduct a national assessment of radon in homes and educational institutions.

Added a provision to the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act requiring the EPA to promote measurement and mitigation for nonresidential buildings housing child care facilities.

Asbestos Testing and Cleanup

Authored the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act, reauthorizing the asbestos program and providing millions of dollars to New Jersey schools to address asbestos threats.
Coauthored the 1986 Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, which required all school districts to have their school building inspected for asbestos and to develop asbestos management plans.

Preventive Health Care -- Secured $4.5 million to create a Women's and Children's Health Service Network between St. Michael's Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, and St. James Hospital in Newark. Funding also for use in operating a mobile mammography unit to reach those who normally do not receive preventive health care.

Cancer -- Helped secure $10.5 million in federal Department of Energy funds to help establish the Garden State Cancer Center in Essex County. He also helped secure funding to establish the Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, and supported the designation of CINJ as a National Cancer Institute Clinical Research Center.

AIDS -- Coauthored the Ryan White AIDS CARE Act and helped secure funding for the program; helped include Jersey City as one of special targeted recipients of aid, along with the Newark metro area.

Family and Medical Leave -- Original cosponsor of the Family and Medical Leave Act, providing up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a serious medical problem, birth or other family emergency.

Eliminating racial disparities -- Convened a statewide symposium on racial disparities in health care, which led to the establishment of the Institute for the Elimination of Racial Disparities in Health Care in Newark.

Women's Health

Consistently supported and led efforts to uphold a woman's right to choose, original cosponsor of bills guaranteeing right to choose, assuring safe access to clinics and repealing "gag rule" on federally funded family planning organizations.

Cosponsored Women's Health Equity Act, which enhances research on women's health.




On Transportation
Amtrak

Led the fight in the Senate to preserve federal funding for Amtrak, a vital transportation link for New Jersey; drafted legislation to help Amtrak obtain financing by selling bonds.

Wrote a provision included in the 1987 Supplemental Appropriations bill barring the Department of Transportation from spending funds to dismantle Amtrak.
Senator Lautenberg with Amtrak

Secured funding for Northeast Corridor projects to upgrade and modernize rail corridor between Washington and Boston, upgrading signals in New Jersey and improving fire safety in the New Jersey-to-New York tunnel.

Helped lead successful effort to secure $2.3 billion for capital improvements for Amtrak.
Commuter Fare Protection -- Led the fight to preserve mass transit operating subsidies for NJ Transit and stabilize fares.

Atlantic City Rail and Atlantic City Airport -- Successfully fought for a $30 million project to revive passenger rail service between Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore. Wrote legislation clearing the way for the sale of the Atlantic City Airport to the South Jersey Transportation Authority and earmarked funds for SJTA's master plan.

Highway and Mass Transit Reauthorization -- Original cosponsor of a major rewrite of federal highway and transit law that substantially increased funding for New Jersey. Authorized the "Urban Core", an integrated mass transit project that will provide rail service to the Hudson waterfront (Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Project), rail service linking Newark and Elizabeth with Newark airport, and rail improvements that will better link commuter rail lines within Northern New Jersey (the Secaucus Transfer).

Smart Cars and Smart Highways -- Author of Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems Act, incorporated into ISTEA, which promotes computer and communications technology to highways, to route traffic and reduce congestion, delays and pollution. Secured funding for New Jersey to speed traffic at toll plazas (EZ-Pass), to computerize traffic lights, to monitor traffic and warn motorists before they're caught in jams.

Rail Safety -- Wrote legislation, which was enacted, to improve rail safety, in part by reducing freight traffic on the Northeast Corridor and implementing automatic train controls to prevent crashes.

Highway Safety

Wrote the law banning triple-trailer "killer trucks" from New Jersey's and most other states' roads.
Directed adoption of regulation banning radar detectors on commercial trucks. Established .08 blood alcohol standard, 21 year drinking age, and other measures to reduce drunk driving (see above section on drunk driving).

New Jersey Mobility -- Secured special federal assistance for key transportation improvements up and down the State.

Pipeline Safety -- In response to the explosion in Edison, wrote the law directing USDOT to study and require the use of automatic flow valves on pipelines, which immediately shut off pipeline flow in the event of an eruption.




On Economic Growth and Budget

Incentives for Investment and Research

Cosponsored continuation of the research and development tax credit.

Backed limited capital gains tax credit for creation of jobs and sale of family businesses.

Supported enterprise zones to encourage investment in distressed areas.

Protecting and Promoting Invention

Coauthored law to protect "process patents" that are essential to the biotechnology and other high tech industries.

Sponsored law to allow American inventors to block importation of products that infringe their patents, copyrights and trademarks.

Cosponsored legislation that authorized special retaliatory actions against nations that steal American inventions.

Wrote the law tying special trade preferences to developing countries to whether they adequately protect intellectual property rights.

Chairman of Senate Biotechnology Caucus

Making New Jersey A Technology Center


Secured funding for creating or expanding research centers in New Jersey that create direct and spin-off jobs. The centers include: the FAA Technical Center at Pomona; the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; the Integrated Pollution Prevention Initiative at NJIT; the Biosciences Center of Rutgers University, Cook College; and the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Center at Sandy Hook.
Secured funding for satellite research and development programs at East Windsor. Helped get funding for the establishment of Science Park in Newark.

Defense Conversion -- Backed and secured funding for Technology Reinvestment Program to help put military technologies to work in non-military markets. $10 million in grants already awarded to New Jersey business and academic institutions.

Burden Sharing -- Senate leader in attempts to shift defense burdens to allies to free up resources here at home.

Controlling Government Spending -- Fought to eliminate wasteful spending for the space station, supercollider, subsidies to western ranchers, corporate farmers and miners, and unnecessary military programs.

Beach Restoration -- Helped secure federal funding to restore 33 miles of beaches along New Jersey's shore that are critical to the Shore tourism industry.

Small Business

Cosponsored Small Business Guaranteed Credit Enhancement Act reforming SBA loan programs and reducing costs.

Cosponsored law to extend Small Business Innovation Research program.

Secured funding for EXCEL small business program providing entrepreneurial training for women business owners, micro loans, small New Jersey businesses in New Jersey in Newark, Trenton and Jersey City; and to continue the New Brunswick Minority Business Development Center.

Assisting Local Economic Development

Has secured funding for local economic development projects in cities up and down the State, from Pennsgrove to Paterson.

Has secured funding for local transportation links critical to area economies, from Cape May to Paramus.

Sponsored innovative cleanup program for lightly contaminated properties to free them up for development and job creation.

Authored the Urban History Initiative, which brought over $8 million for the revitalization of Paterson, Trenton and Perth Amboy.

Housing and Community Development

Authored the Community Housing Partnership Act supporting development of housing by community-based, nonprofit groups.

Cosponsored law to extend federal housing and community development programs.

Helped secure millions for HOPE VI housing construction in New Jersey, which has helped rebuild neighborhoods in many cities.

Ellis Island
-- Led the fight for funding to restore the South Side of Ellis Island.

Budget

Helped author the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 that put our nation's finances in order, led to large surpluses, and ended raids on the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.

Democratic floor manager of budget legislation that included:

$500 tax credit for families with children.

Tax cuts to make college more affordable.

Health care coverage for up to 5 million uninsured children.

Largest investment in education and training since the Johnson Administration.

Assistance to move individuals from welfare to work.

Reform of Medicare extending solvency by ten years.

Reinstated fee on polluters to help fund Superfund.

Restored benefits for disabled legal immigrants.




On Keeping Government Trust

Campaign Finance Reform -- Cosponsor of legislation to reform campaign finance laws and reduce the power of special interests.

Gift Ban -- Author of Congressional Ethics Reform Act, limiting the ability of lobbyists to provide members of Congress and their staffs with gifts, meals, and recreational trips. The Senate later adopted a modified version of the proposal.

Curtailing Perks -- Authored legislation to prohibit outgoing members of Congress and Executive Branch officials from going on foreign trips after an election in which they are not returned to office.

Honoraria Ban -- Refused to accept honoraria throughout his career and cosponsored legislation to ban honoraria.

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