Community members hold accountability events in South Jersey and Central Jersey as part of national “The Price Is High” Week of Action

NEWARK, NJ: As New Jersey families continue to face high costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare, housing, childcare, and other basic necessities, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and community members held two accountability events this week focused on the records of US Representatives Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr.

The events are part of “The Price Is High” Week of Action, a national effort organized by Economic Security Project Action from September 23rd to 30th to highlight the financial pressures facing working families and examine how members of Congress have voted on issues affecting household costs.

“The price of every essential has skyrocketed since the pandemic and it's forcing families to make impossible choices. Parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat, Seniors are rationing their medication because they can’t afford a refill, families are losing their healthcare coverage, people are hesitating to cool or heat their homes even during dangerous weather, and young people are taking out loans to pay the rent,” said NJ Citizen Action Director of Organizing, Liz Glynn. “Instead of giving working Americans relief, our Republican-controlled Congress have made basic needs like healthcare, groceries, and utilities even more expensive.”

“Rising gas prices are forcing me to work hours I simply don’t have, sacrificing my self-care and long-term stability just to cover immediate costs like housing and gas. I’m already falling behind, and I don’t even have the cognitive energy to figure out how I’m going to catch up,” said Paul White, a Ringoes resident. Paul is a self-employed handyman and Medicaid recipient who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and scoliosis.

NJCA is calling on elected officials to address the impact of federal policy choices on New Jersey households as residents continue to contend with high everyday expenses. On Wednesday, NJCA and community members gathered in downtown Clinton to talk to residents about rising costs and collect stories that illustrate the impacts on families in the district. Then they caravanned over to Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s office to deliver postcards from constituents. Today, Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s Northfield office will see NJCA, and community members gather outside to discuss rising costs and deliver a message to Rep. Van Drew about the economic pressures facing families in South Jersey.

The events focus on the costs New Jersey families are experiencing and on congressional actions affecting healthcare, nutrition assistance, taxes, energy, and other areas of household affordability.

As part of the Week of Action, Economic Security Project Action and NJCA has also released a “Republican Receipt” calling out Representatives Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. for raising prices, gutting healthcare and SNAP, and cutting taxes for the rich while constituents suffer. The two receipts, which are available here, will hold Congressmen Van Drew and Kean Jr. accountable for expensive broken promises by contrasting their campaign pledges with their voting record, and lay out what life costs for families under their time in Congress.

The “receipts” show that Congressmen Van Drew and Kean Jr. both voted yes on the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut taxes for big corporations and billionaires but raised energy prices, grocery prices, and student loans costs for us. The same bill also gutted SNAP, ripping food aid away from 35,000 hungry New Jerseyans so far. By voting to slash Child Tax Credits, Rep. Van Drew locked 46,000 children from his district out of the full Child Tax Credit, and Rep. Kean Jr. locked 21,000 children from his district out of the full Child Tax Credit, costing NJ families cash. Additionally, Van Drew voted to hand billions of dollars to ICE instead of focusing on lowering costs.

“Congressmen Van Drew and Kean Jr. receipts show that they promised to give New Jersey families relief but then turned their backs on us in office,” Glynn added. “But a campaign promise becomes the criteria your voters will hold you to later. The receipts show Reps. Van Drew and Kean Jr. can’t be trusted to fix the cost of living crisis for us.”

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New Jersey Citizen Action is a statewide advocacy and empowerment organization that fights for social, racial and economic justice for all.