Dear Neighbor,

America’s most important infrastructure project is about to stop in its tracks because of Donald Trump. That’s because he froze over $15 billion in federal funding that Congress and the Department of Transportation already approved for the Gateway Tunnel program.

Our region depends on the existing 116-year old North River Tunnels that carry trains between New Jersey and New York. If ONE tunnel fails, 3 out of 4 trains into New York stop running. This would choke the entire Northeast Corridor from D.C. to Boston and bring one of America’s most economically important regions to a halt. Bottom line: New Jersey needs the new Gateway Tunnel that would replace the old tunnels.

The Gateway Tunnel Project will shut down if Trump doesn’t release the funding by Friday. One thousand union workers will lose their jobs, traffic and pollution will get worse, and our economy will stagnate.

New Jersey and New York have sued the Trump Administration to get this funding back, and I’ve joined my NJ and NY colleagues to demand Trump restore the funding immediately. Time is running out—Trump needs to take action TODAY before shovels are down tomorrow.

You can learn more about the Gateway Tunnel in my video below.

On a happier note, one of the members of our NJ-06 community from Metuchen who was subjected to Trump’s cruel immigration policy, Sener Kalkan, was finally released after 67 days of detention in Delaney Hall.

Mr. Kalkan took all the necessary legal steps to obtain asylum in the United States, but was detained by federal agents at a regular check-in with immigration officials. The Metuchen community has been fighting for his release ever since his unlawful and arbitrary detention.

I’m overjoyed to see Sener back home in Metuchen where he belongs. He’s our neighbor, and we can’t allow Trump’s ICE and DHS to steal our neighbors and chip away at our communities with impunity.

No more gas station heroin in our communities!

Tianeptine, also called “gas station heroin,” is a toxic, unapproved substance that mimics the effects of highly addictive opioid drugs. It has no place on our store shelves.

Its side effects make people incredibly sick and can result in a visit to the emergency room. In just eight months, New Jersey had 41 calls to poison control related to a dangerous drug called “gas station heroin.” That’s five calls a month—and five calls too many.

I’m proud to partner with Senator Durbin to reintroduce a bill to ban the marketing of “gas station heroin” products. Our bill would ensure the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the power to prevent stores and vendors from marketing and selling tianeptine products, and keep our kids and families safe from this dangerous drug.

You can read the full text of our bill here.

Anyone who has been exposed to tianeptine should call the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 for immediate medical attention.