The Week Just Past: Plenty to be Thankful For!

ON THE HOME FRONT:

“First, we give thanks to our families for their support and the chance for many of us to gather together to celebrate this holiday at home.

“Secondly, we give thanks to the 51,000 men and women who serve in uniform in Afghanistan presently, doing the work of freedom in a dangerous environment and in other countries around the world.  They are all volunteers and their families miss them each and every day and pray for their safe return.  And, too, the civilian federal employees who work beside them.

ON THE HOME FRONT:

“Frankly, American unemployment and underemployment are still persistently and unacceptably high and we need to work in a bipartisan manner to get “government out of the way” so large and small businesses will hire again.

“Obamacare has caused a flood of calls to my office and the White House, as many of my constituents face cancelled policies, and  the prospect of higher premiums and higher deductibles.  Many are angry about a slew of new taxes on their health care plans and incomes and our government interfering with their choice of doctors.

“Yes, the list of such challenges appears daunting domestically, but we face many challenges abroad too: the Iranian government gets an apparent respite from tough sanctions for six months, yet it is permitted to protect its nuclear program’s most essential elements, including the production of plutonium!

“The President’s Syria policy: on the one hand it calls for Assad’s ouster and on the other hand it supports the status quo, which keeps him in power and contributes to an increased flow of refugees and arms, destabilizing nearby countries.

“The President’s Egypt policy: a thirty year old friendship has been badly shattered and thirty one years after Anwar Sadat expelled the Russians from Egypt, the Russians are back!

“Whatever the challenges, I shall continue to work across the aisle with my colleagues to ensure that the Unites States, and New Jersey remain the envy of the world.

“Yes, believe it or not, almost four hundred years after the early Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving, Americans have plenty to be thankful for. 

“In 2014, let us recommit ourselves to ensuring that it stays that way.”

          Rodney Frelinghuysen