New Jersey Citizen Action and hundreds of south Jersey residents urge Congressman Tom MacArthur to hold town hall

The Republican has not held a town hall for 3^rd Congressional District residents for more than 500 days, despite angry pleas from constituents.

Willingboro, NJ—New Jersey Citizen Action yesterday printed a message in the Burlington County Times co-signed by 309 3^rdCongressional District residents urging Congressman Tom MacArthur (NJ-3^rd)  to hold a town hall. The Republican has not held a town hall in more than 500 days. During this time he was the only New Jersey member of Congress who voted in favor of  two GOP tax bills that would benefit the wealthy and big corporations, threaten the healthcare  of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans[1] , and, in the case of the second bill, permanently limit the deductibility of state and local taxes (SALT). MacArthur faces angry questions from constituents on these votes, his leadership role in repealing the Affordable Care Act, and his unwavering support for destructive Trump administration policies.

“MacArthur owes his constituents the courtesy of speaking to them,” said James Roe, a resident of Toms River who co-signed the message.

More than four in ten taxpayers in New Jersey’s 3^rd district have in recent years taken the SALT deduction, which allowed them to lower their federal taxes by avoiding double taxation. If passed into law the second GOP tax bill would give the wealthy and the most profitable corporations a massive tax break at the expense of permanently limiting tax savings New Jersey families could have used on housing, education and healthcare.

“It should come as no surprise that Tom MacArthur does not want to hear from his constituents on taxes and healthcare,” said New Jersey Citizen Action Program Director Ann Vardeman.  “His campaign is almost completely bankrolled by the very wealthy and the big corporations.”

“It’s time to fire Tom McArthur,” said Christine Bohm, a Southampton resident who co-signed the message. “You don’t represent us.”

[1] “Distributional Analysis of the Conference Agreement for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Tax Policy Center, October 16, 2016.