Since the Department of Defense released $3 million in funding for the New Jersey Tech Solutions Center – which Rep. Frank Pallone and I secured in this year’s budget – the Center has already completed one contract for the Defense Department and is bidding on several others with multiple government agencies. Through these contracts, the Center, a public-private partnership, will provide employment opportunities for thousands of local residents and help grow local businesses.

Central New Jersey workers have skills and experience our country needs - skills to help us defeat a growing IED threat, skills to help us make the most of the communications technology revolution that is underway, and skills in using sensors in business applications. The Center is one way to ensure that we harness their talents and high-tech knowledge to help protect communities in New Jersey and across the country.

As I said at the event in Brookdale earlier this week, the money we succeeded in obtaining is an important down payment for the Center. This initial infusion of funding will help the Tech Center do a number of things: hire key staff, expand the scope of its federal solicitation activities, and broaden its outreach to technology companies across New Jersey. This will help the Center expand its operations to grow the area workforce and ensure that residents are engaged in defending our homeland.

I join with women and their families across the country in recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, making it the most common form of cancer diagnosed in women. As the American Cancer Society and others have noted, getting a regular mammogram and breast exam is vital because these tests can find breast cancer early, when it is more treatable.

As the co-chair of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, I will continue to fight for breast cancer research and improved treatments. Already, we have changed the law to ensure that women get preventive care, including mammograms, by eliminating co-pays and deductibles for these important services in the new insurance marketplace and Medicare. I also am working to pass legislation, such as the Cancer Patient Protection Act, to end insurance company denial of breast cancer treatment.

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Absentee Balloting Information

Following up on information I provided about early voting, I want to provide additional information about absentee balloting in New Jersey. As I wrote before, the last day to apply by mail for a civilian absentee ballot is October 26. You can apply in person to the county clerk until 3 p.m. on November 1, the day before the election.

Military and other overseas voters have until October 29 to apply to receive absentee ballots by fax or electronically. All completed civilian, military, or overseas absentee ballots must be received at the Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 2. For more information, please contact the New Jersey Division of Elections and review the New Jersey Voter's Bill of Rights. If you have additional questions, feel free to call me at 1-87-RUSH-HOLT.