The Week Just Passed:

Save American Workers Act Passes House

Eliminating the Sequester is a National Security Necessity

Obamacare Report Card – At Best, Incomplete and Unsubstantiated

“Afghan Women See Hope in the Ballot Box”

New Jersey’s Ukrainian Americans: “Heroes Do Not Die”

A “Must Read” – Taking A Spoon to a Gunfight

Submarine Under the Ice

Time is Running Out to Enter the House STEM Challenge

Salute: Picatinny Arsenal Chemist Dr. Anthony Shaw Earns the 2014 Dr. Bernard E. Douda Young Scientist Award!

Save American Workers Act Passes House

There are currently 7.2 million Americans working part-time for economic reasons.  This number is likely to grow because of the 30-hour rule in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  This rule changes the long-standing definition of a full-time employee from 40 hours a week to 30 hours for the purpose of the ACA’s employer mandate.

Under that mandate, employers with more than 100 workers who put it at least 30 hours a week will have to provide health insurance starting January 1, 2015.  As a result, many businesses that cannot afford to provide Obamacare-mandated policies are already cutting the hours of part-time workers below 30 hours a week. Once the employer mandate goes into effect, many more part-time workers are likely to suffer loss of income as their hours are cut.

Yesterday, though, the House took an important step for undoing thedamage of the 30-hour rule by passing H.R. 2575, the Save American Workers Act, which would repeal the 30-hour rule in Obamacare.  I am an original cosponsor of the bill. 

I urge the Senate to pass this bill as soon as possible, so we can save the jobs of American workers from the devastating impact of the 30-hour rule.

Eliminating the Sequester is a National Security Necessity

Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, offers an incisive analysis of the threat to our national security if the President won’t work with Congress to ensure that the automatic spending cuts to our national defense mandated by the sequester aren’t eliminated.

Obamacare Report Card – At Best, Incomplete and Unsubstantiated

This article in The Hill suggests that the President’s “victory lap” for Obamacare on April Fools’ Day might have been premature.  Of particular interest is how little the President’s healthcare reform has done to reduce the ranks of the uninsured.

“Afghan Women See Hope in the Ballot Box”

As Afghanistan goes to the polls tomorrow to vote in that country’s national elections, Afghani women are playing an important role.  As the New York Times reported on Wednesday, “There is finally the sense here, after years of international aid and effort geared toward improving Afghan’s women’s lives, that women have become a significant part of Afghan political life, if not a powerful one.”

The enormous strides made by women in Afghanistan over the past decade are among the most tangible benefits of our engagement in that country.  We all owe a great debt of gratitude to every American who has served, both in uniform as members of our Armed Forces and as civilians in our diplomatic corps and in other international aid agencies of the United States.

New Jersey’s Ukrainian Americans: “Heroes Do Not Die”

I have met several times in recent weeks with numerous leaders of the Ukrainian American community in New Jersey to stand in solidarity with them in support of freedom and national sovereignty for Ukraine.  This article in the Daily Beast captures the passion that moves these freedom-loving people to stand up to Russian aggression.

A “Must Read” – Taking a Spoon to a Gunfight

David Maxwell writes a withering piece on the shortcomings of American foreign policy towards Russia over the past several years. 

And Maxwell knows what he’s writing about.  He is the Associate Director of the Center for Security Studies and the Security Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. He also is a retired US Army Special Forces Colonel with 30 years of service and graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, the School of Advanced Military Studies and the National War College.

Submarine Under the Ice

Several years ago I had the rare honor of briefly accompanying the crew of the U.S. Navy fast attack submarine, U.S.S. Annapolis, as it surfaced from under the ice near the North Pole.  This fascinatingarticle by Thomas Friedman in last Sunday’s New York Times shows with vivid clarity the commitment to excellence of our Navy’s submariners.  It is well worth a read.

Time is Running Out to Enter the House STEM Challenge

The deadline for the first annual U.S. House of Representatives STEM App Challenge is fast approaching. Open to all high schoolers in the 11^th Congressional District, the STEM Challenge gives students the opportunity to design their own app for any mobile, tablet or computer device.  Students will then be responsible for submitting a video of themselves demonstrating their new program. The winning app will be displayed on the House of Representatives website, House.gov.  The competition is open through April 30, 2014.

Click here for more information about this exciting competition.

Salute: Picatinny Arsenal chemist Dr. Anthony Shaw Earns the 2014 Dr. Bernard E. Douda Young Scientist Award!

Congratulations to Dr. Anthony Shaw, a brilliant young scientist at Picatinny Arsenal, whose work has earned him the prestigious Dr. Bernard E. Douda Young Scientist Award!  The award recognizes Dr. Shaw’s work developing non-toxic smoke grenades that can screen American troops from an enemy without harming our own forces.  Scientists like Dr. Shaw are the reason Picatinny is among the top-tier defense research facilities in the world!