Congressman Scott Garrett (R), who represents Teaneck, Fair Lawn, New Milford and other Bergen County towns, visited Yavneh Academy in Paramus, New Jersey recently. He mas been a member of Congress for 11 years.

He spoke to Yavneh’s seventh grade students as part of their advisory program and had the opportunity to convey his views on a variety of issues, including the Middle East, gun control and school choice. Garrett is a senior member of the House Budget Committee and a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Prior to serving in Congress, Garrett was a New Jersey Assemblyman for 12 years.

The event began with introductory remarks by Yavneh Principal Rabbi Jonathan Knapp—who thanked Congressman Garrett for his staunch support of the State of Israel—and with brief remarks by the Congressman. Garrett stressed the importance of becoming involved in one’s community and described how he started his own newspaper while in high school.

The congressman said that when good people stay inactive, bad people triumph, giving the example of the Holocaust in Europe and the atrocities in Africa at the end of the last century. Garrett said there should be “no limits on Israel’s right to defend itself” and that just as the United States would defend its homeland, the same is true for Israel and that “no one should criticize them for doing so.” He said that “in Congress we have to stand up for Israel… and pass resolutions that we are in solidarity with Israel.”

Garrett disagreed with America’s putting pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to issue an apology to Turkey for the Gaza flotilla incident in which nine Turkish citizens died because he believes Israel had a right to defend her borders. He also said, “I am a bipartisan critic of the White House if they are on the wrong side of Israel,” pointing out that he had also disagreed with President George W. Bush when Bush criticized then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for building a security fence to protect Israelis from terrorist attacks as well as when Bush was on the “wrong side of the settlements issue.”

In appreciation of his ongoing support of the State of Israel, the students presented Congressman Garrett with a sculpted rose crafted out of Kassam rockets that were fired into Israel.

Garrett told the students that he went into the federal government to help reign in Washington and “let the states do what they should be doing and let the people do what they should be doing.”

In response to a question about ways to help curb the high cost of day schools in Bergen County, Garrett said that the best way would be to change to a school voucher system where taxpayers would get a voucher to take to their school of choice. The Congressman answered several questions about foreign aid and the tensions in the Middle East and encouraged the students to look to the Constitution for answers to see if the federal government has the authority to act on the issues.

Another student asked if Garrett thought the U.S. government should take over healthcare. Garrett said no, but that it is already happening, asserting that one-sixth of the economy had been taken over by Obamacare, which he expects to have “a devastating impact” [on the economy]. The Congressman told the students he believed the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to do this. Though he is worried about the economy, he was one of only four members of Congress to vote against extending unemployment benefits.

When a student asked about the Congressman’s position on gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Garrett asked for a show of hands so he could see who among the students supported stricter gun control laws. With the overwhelming majority of students in favor of such laws, the Congressman responded neutrally, saying that “we need to look at this and make sure people are as safe as can be and also protect Constitutional rights.” He went on to say that perhaps current laws need better enforcement. The Congressman was the only member of the New Jersey legislative delegation to Washington to vote against child safety locks on handguns.

In discussing ways for young people to get involved in politics, Garrett encouraged students to volunteer in election campaigns and also said that young people could attend their local town council meetings and school board meetings. The Congressman reflected that he even tried running for the local school board when he turned 18. (He lost.) Garrett encouraged the students, saying “there is no age restriction in becoming involved in politics…Politicians are always looking for volunteers.”

Congressman Garrett is a resident of Stanhope, New Jersey, with Bergen County offices in Glen Rock. To see his positions on the issues and his voting record in Congress, visit www.votesmart.com, a non-partisan data collection service.

He, whose fifth congressional district runs from the Hudson to the Delaware, represents the following towns in Bergen County:

Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Closter, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson, Fair Lawn, Franklin Lakes, Glen Rock, Hackensack, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Lodi, Mahwah, Maywood, Midland Park, Montvale, New Milford, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Oradell, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ridgewood, River Edge, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Rockleigh, Saddle River, Teaneck (most), Township of Washington, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Westwood, Woodcliff Lake, and Wyckoff, as well as towns in Passaic, Sussex and Warren Counties, up to the northwestern New Jersey borders with New York and Pennsylvania.