On November 4th, 2008, Congressman Rob Andrews received more votes than anyone elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the history of the State of New Jersey. He received a total of 206,453 votes, surpassing the previous record which was also set by Congressman Andrews. He has represented the residents of the First Congressional District of New Jersey, which includes Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties, since he was first elected to the House in 1990.
Working For Constituents
Throughout his eleven terms in Congress, Congressman Andrews has worked to create and retain good jobs in South Jersey. Thousands of jobs have either been created or retained through the Rob’s work. One example of this job creation is the Applied Communications and Information Networking (ACIN) project in the city of Camden. His work facilitated the creation of hundreds of high tech jobs at ACIN, and he coordinates with company leaders on an ongoing basis to build and expand smart, future-oriented economic growth for South Jersey. Congressman Andrews also recently secured millions of federal dollars to create an alternative energy program at Maguire Air force Base, which will apply renewable fuel biomass technology to defense applications and eventually create over 1000 jobs.
Congressman Andrews also works hard to help South Jersey businesses while making sure taxpayer dollars are spent sensibly. For instance, Rob recently secured $2.5 million to repair the sluicegate in Gloucester County, which will prevent a potentially catastrophic flood. Congressman Andrews supports government spending only when it is sensible and useful for taxpayers. Rob has continually worked to prevent wasting millions of taxpayer dollars to deepen the Delaware River through an extensive dredging plan; the GAO, the investigative arm of the U. S. Congress, reported that plan does not make economic sense and would have a negative environmental impact upon local residents. Rob also opposes a wasteful FAA Airspace redesign program, which would greatly increase noise pollution without lessening air traffic delays. Everyday, Congressman Andrews works to solve the challenges facing South Jersey through effective programs that do not waste taxpayer dollars.
Service in Washington, D.C.
Congressman Andrews is a leading national voice on workplace, education, budget, and national defense issues. Rob has served his entire Congressional career on the House Education and Labor Committee. He is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP), with responsibility for the health insurance, pension and labor laws of the nation. Rep. Andrews is committed to reducing the alarming number of uninsured workers by providing access to health insurance for every American, protecting the right of workers to collectively bargain, and to make it easier for workers to save money for retirement. Rob’s legislative priorities also include significantly investing in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, and incentivizing “green” programs and initiatives to move our country from energy dependency to energy efficiency.
Rep. Andrews also serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He is a member of the Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Rob is focused on protecting Americans from loose fissile and biological material in the U.S. and abroad. Rob is also leading an initiative requiring the Department of Defense and the U.S. Military to use 25% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2025.
On March 8th 2009, Rep. Andrews was appointed to chair a special panel to address the ongoing challenge of defense acquisition reform. The seven-member panel consists of members of the House Armed Services Committee and will evaluate the Department of Defense's procurement policies for six months, looking for signs of financial waste and ways to change the procurement system to avoid that waste.
He has also been appointed to the House Budget Committee, which is working with the Obama Administration to ensure fiscal responsibility in the federal budget, provide relief to unemployed workers and spur immediate job creation and economic growth.
Personal History
Congressman Andrews is the son and grandson of shipyard workers and was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated summa cum laude from Bucknell University, where he also was Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Cornell University, and was selected for the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review. Before being elected to Congress, he was an attorney and an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University School of Law. He also served as freeholder director of Camden County, the highest elected office in county government.
Congressman Rob Andrews is 51 years old and is married to Camille Spinello Andrews, Associate Dean of Enrollment and Projects at Rutgers School of Law in Camden and Managing Director at Context Capital Partners. The Andrews have two daughters, Jackie, 17, and Josie, 15. The Andrews family lives in Haddon Heights. Rob does not keep an apartment in Washington, D.C. but instead commutes each day by train to be closer to his family and constituents.
