The current global economic crisis has devastated working-class communities around the United States. On Monday, June 13 during a visit to ShopRite in Emerson, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) announced his Affordability Agenda for Jersey to mitigate the effects of the crisis in his constituency. His plan aims to lower grocery, gas and energy prices for New Jersey families, specifically middle-class communities struggling because of the increased expenses caused by the lingering effects of the pandemic, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the “collusion” of the meat and poultry industries to keep prices high.
Likewise, Gottheimer’s proposed plan serves as a call to action, urging President Biden to negotiate a more feasible and sustainable deal with gas companies. The increase in gas fees caused business owners to raise their prices, resulting in higher food costs.
Gottheimer’s agenda touches upon four main points:
1. His plan seeks to enact the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act, which ensures that an appointed Department of Agriculture investigator will rigorously implement price-fixing legislation and hold companies accountable should they be caught fixing prices.
2. Gottheimer’s agenda aims to help strengthen the food supply chain and fill supermarket shelves faster. His bipartisan Strengthening the Agriculture and Food Supply Chain Act will require the United States Department of Agriculture to meticulously identify blockages in the food supply chain and notify Congress immediately to ensure that the necessary measures are taken.
3. Gottheimer’s proposed Butcher Block Act will help identify budding farmers and assist them in boosting the meat supply chain. This legislation will also help extend livestock processing to areas that need it the most.
4. The Affordability Agenda also aims to protect and sustain small farms and family-owned produce businesses.
His plan includes employing the United States Transportation Command to help transport perishable goods transatlantically and transport goods more quickly by providing Newark ports with monetary incentives. Similarly, Gottheimer’s COVID-19 Supply Chain Relief Act will institute a Supply Chain Czar to enforce transparent communication between the federal government and food supply chains. States will also be able to use leftover COVID-19 relief resources to help with local supply chain blockages. Lastly, Gotteimer’s All-of-the-Above Energy Plan will regulate and lower gasoline prices by ending America’s dependence on other countries, like Iran, Russia and Venezuela while including long-term climate objectives.
In his press release, Gottheimer included his plans to propose his agenda to Congress in the coming week, enumerating that American families struggle to make ends meet as food prices skyrocketed: “It’s clear that food prices are hitting families hard—between COVID, Ukraine, and collusion in meat and poultry industries, the cost of groceries has surged,” he said. “That’s why I’m focused day and night on concrete steps we can take to make life more affordable for families in Jersey.”
On Monday, Gottheimer was joined by Inserra Supermarkets CEO Lawrence Inserra III, Bergen County Commissioner Mary Amoroso, Bergen County Commissioner Germaine Ortiz and Bergen County Commissioner Tom Sullivan. Gottheimer said that President Biden must “act aggressively and decisively” and added that Congress would meet and vote on his proposed bill.
Gottheimer emphasized that his bill tackles bipartisan issues that affect all Americans, regardless of party affiliation and political associations.
Rina Shamilov is an intern for The Jewish Link and a Brooklyn native. She is a rising junior studying English literature at Stern College for Women.
