Media

Long Branch, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today lauded the U.S. Coast Guard's decision to permanently remove a fence that it installed along a popular Sandy Hook beach that cut off access for fishermen, surfers, runners and others who enjoy the area known as 'The Rip.' Last Friday, the Coast Guard informed Pallone that it was still exploring several security alternatives, but that the agency would no longer explore security options that would prevent public access to the Rip.

"I'm concerned about several aspects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleanup of the former Raritan Arsenal. With ongoing public concern regarding unknown health impacts of volatile organic compounds identified in groundwater, I support efforts that would fully remove the groundwater and surface water contamination at this site. I believe it's in the public's best interest to find a solution to this problem now, so that this issue and the public health concerns do not perpetuate indefinitely.

"Mr. Speaker, last week, peace negotiations finally resumed over the 30-year Cyprus conflict. After reaching the end of the road last March, thanks to what was described at the time by officials close to the negotiations as intransigence on the part of Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriot leader finally agreed to return to the negotiating table with Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos. The framework by which the two are now negotiating is a plan written by the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Washington, D.C. --- In response to recent press reports stating that members of the Iraqi Governing Council plan to prevent tens of thousands of Iraqi Jews from returning to their homeland, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today urged Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, to work with the council to ensure Jewish refugees can reclaim their citizenship.

Dear Chief Bone:

Recently, the United States Coast Guard erected a barbed wire fence blocking access to the renowned Sandy Hook Rip, about a mile of open beach where New Jerseys fishermen have enjoyed catching striped bass, bluefish and fluke for over a century.

Washington, D.C. --- 37 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives today sent a letter to President Bush urging him to support parity in military funding to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The letter was sent in response to the president's Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget request, in which he asked for $8.75 million in military assistance for Azerbaijan, $6 million more than the $2.75 million requested for Armenia.

"Earlier today I reviewed findings of a sampling report issued by the Edison Wetlands Association, conducted by Chapin Engineering and I am very disturbed by the reports findings. The report identified numerous areas in which dangerously high levels of contaminants exist throughout Troutman's Creek, down stream from the New Jersey Natural Gas former coal gasification plant.

Washington, D.C. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and all six of his Democratic New Jersey colleagues today introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent New Jersey seniors from being subjected to a new pilot program for privatizing Medicare. U.S. Sens. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced similar legislation relating to New Jersey in the Senate.