LONG BRANCH — Despite being a representative of the minority party in both the Senate and House of Representatives as of January, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) has lofty goals going into his 14th term.
Pallone, who withstood a challenge from Republican Anthony Wilkinson and Libertarian Dorit Goikhman to continue to represent the Sixth District, said he is seeking bipartisan support to help improve the country’s infrastructure.
“One area that I think can be very bipartisan is an investment in the country’s infrastructure,” he said. “We have a lot of bridges and roads that need to be repaired, and if we make those investments in the nation’s infrastructure, it means jobs.”
Pallone said he is concerned that Republicans, who will be in the majority, will attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, for which he was a major proponent.
“I obviously regret the fact that the Republicans are now in the majority of the Senate,” he said. “I just hope that they don’t use that to try to thwart President Obama’s agenda.
“The biggest concern I have is it will lead to an appeal of the Affordable Care Act.”
Along with protecting the Affordable Care Act, Pallone said he would like to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Initiative Program as well as federal funding for health centers like the Monmouth Family Health Center in Long Branch.
Pallone secured nearly 60 percent of the vote, while Wilkinson received 39 percent and Goikhman received 1 percent.
In total, Pallone received 70,741 votes, while Wilkinson received 45,823 votes and Goikhman received 1,322 votes.
According to Pallone’s campaign staff, Pallone defeated Wilkinson by 1,500 votes in the longtime congressman’s hometown.
Pallone also won by more than 1,000 votes in Sayreville and by 3,300 votes in Edison.
Wilkinson did, however, outdraw Pallone by nearly 1,000 votes in Republican-leaning Middletown.
In the new term, Pallone said he wants to continue to monitor New Jersey’s recovery from superstorm Sandy.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with the coastal infrastructure, with rebuilding the boardwalks and beach replenishment,” he said. “But there are a lot of individual homeowners and business owners that have not gotten their money to repair or rebuild.”
Pallone said he’d also like to address future storms like superstorm Sandy by having Congress deal with growing climate change concerns and other environmental issues.
“A big priority is climate control,” he said. “We are going to have more Sandys if we don’t get a handle on climate control and reducing greenhouse gases — trying to not only create energy independence, but less dependence on fossil fuels and more on renewable.”
Pallone is the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Health, which has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee.
The Subcommittee on Health oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction and all health care/homeland security-related concerns.
Pallone, a former Long Branch councilman and state senator, first ran for Congress in 1988. He said one of his goals include becoming the ranking member on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The district includes Long Branch, Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, Middletown, Hazlet, Keyport, Matawan, Union Beach, Marlboro in Monmouth County; and Carteret, Old Bridge, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy and South Plainfield in Middlesex County.