Pallone Renews Call for Congress to Address Public Health Epidemic of Gun Violence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2016



NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ– Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ 06), the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, met with emergency physicians and public health advocates at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital—a Level I Trauma Center—and discussed the impact of gun violence on public health throughout New Jersey and the country. Every day, 306 people in America are shot in homicides, assaults, suicides & suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention. These shootings have an enormous impact on trauma centers throughout the country.

Federal research on the impact of gun violence and public health has long been blocked by Congressional Republicans with support from the National Rifle Association (NRA). During a markup of the fiscal year 2017 health spending bill, Republicans blocked Democratic amendments that would have allowed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study gun-related deaths. President Obama lifted ban on CDC gun violence research two years ago but Republicans have still refused to fund research. Congressman Pallone has worked to fund gun violence studies as the Ranking Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee which oversees health.

Representatives from the Brady Campaign, Million Moms March, the New Jersey State Nurses Association and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics all voiced strong support for Congressional action on gun violence.

“With thousands shot every day throughout our country we must confront the growing public health crisis that gun violence has become,” said Pallone. “I stand with medical professionals at Robert Wood Johnson in calling on Congress to take concrete steps to bring about change on this issue. That is why it is so disturbing that Republicans are standing with the NRA instead of our public health professionals and won’t even allow research to understand the extent of the challenges we face.”

After the largest shooting in American history taking place in Orlando earlier this year, a broad coalition of physician organizations issued a statement calling upon Congress to take action to stem the tide of gun violence. They stated, “These unspeakable acts highlight gun violence as a grim and increasing public health epidemic that kills approximately 91 Americans every day. THIS MUST STOP.”

Congressman Pallone has been a strong critic of House Republicans who have refused to allow for the consideration of common sense measures to address gun violence. He has called for Republican leadership call up The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act – bipartisan legislation to expand and strengthen our background checks system and the bipartisan ‘No Fly, No Buy’ bill to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists.

President Obama's Weekly Address 2/27/16: Degrading and Destroying ISIL

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, President Obama discussed the global campaign to degrade and destroy ISIL. The President stated that our coalition of 66 partners continues to grow stronger and is making vital progress in the fight against ISIL in Iraq and Syria. President Obama also noted that at home we will continue to stay vigilant. At the same time, we’ll keep working to build partnerships of trust and respect with communities to help them stay strong and resilient. The President reiterated that although the fight against ISIL will remain difficult, we will prevail – and ultimately destroy ISIL.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/12/15: Standing Strong in the Face of Terrorism

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, the President praised our country’s resilience in the face of terrorism, and discussed how we will keep America safe. Our military has been stepping up its campaign to destroy ISIL, and our airstrikes are hitting ISIL harder than ever before. The President emphasized that we will continue to move forward on all fronts, which is why this week he will go to the Pentagon to review our military campaign, and to the National Counterterrorism center to review our efforts to prevent attacks. And he reminded us that we all have a part to play in the fight against terrorism – potential terrorist attacks have been prevented over the years because someone saw something and said something. Americans should not turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam, which is what ISIL wants and only serves to undermine our national security. The President praised Americans across the country who have come together to reaffirm our core values and stand up, forcefully, for freedom of religion.

Learn more at wh.gov/isil to learn more about the U.S. strategy to defeat ISIL and combat terrorism.

Pallone Demands a Vote on Legislation to Close Terrorist Gun Loophole

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2015


Signs House Democrats’ Petition to Force Vote on Bill to Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Suspected Terrorists

WASHINGTON, DC – In the face of House Republican efforts to allow suspected terrorists to continue to have the ability to buy lethal firearms, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) took action to force a vote on legislation to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. Pallone signed the discharge petition to bring the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act to the House floor for a vote. Last week, House Republicans voted three times to block the legislation from coming up for a vote. Under House rules, if a majority of Members of the House sign a discharge petition a vote on the legislation is forced. Despite overwhelming opposition to this commonsense legislation from House Republicans, it was introduced by Republican Congressman Peter King (NY-02). The bill would close the loophole that allows suspected terrorists on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Terrorist Watchlist to legally buy deadly weapons.

“The fact that Republicans in the House are preventing us from stopping suspected terrorists from buying guns is disgraceful and beyond comprehension,” said Congressman Pallone. “We cannot put the protection of the American people in jeopardy at the cost of blindly supporting gun ownership for all – even suspected terrorists. It is our first and foremost responsibility to protect and defend the American people, and I will continue to demand a vote on this legislation to close the terrorist gun loophole.”

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, since 2004, more than 2,000 suspects on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist have successfully purchased weapons in the United States.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/5/15: We Will Not Be Terrorized

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, the President offered his condolences to the families and community of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting. He recognized the possibility that the two attackers may have been radicalized, a reminder to all of us that we need to work together to prevent people from falling victim to attempts by extremist organizations to encourage violence. The President called on Congress to close the loophole that allows people on the No-Fly list to purchase guns, a simple and logical step that would make it harder for potential terrorists to acquire weapons. And he reminded us that we cannot accept mass shootings like this one as routine in our country, and emphasized that above all else, his priority is the safety and security of the American people.




"... right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane. If you’re too dangerous to board a plane, you’re too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun..." - President Obama

Yes, He's A Terrorist, But...

Yesterday's front page of the NY Daily News while heavy on the editorialization , gets it correct. It's time to call all these people what they are; Terrorists!

President Obama's Weekly Address 9/20/14: The World Is United in the Fight Against ISIL

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President thanked Congress for its strong bipartisan support for efforts to train and equip Syrian opposition forces to fight ISIL. This plan is part of the President’s comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy to degrade and destroy the terrorist group, and does not commit our troops to fighting another ground war. America, working with a broad coalition of nations, will continue to train, equip, advise, and assist our partners in the region in the battle against ISIL. In the coming week, the President will speak at the United Nations General Assembly and continue to lead the world against terror, a fight in which all countries have a stake.

Hoekstra leaks unauthorized intelligence information via Twitter

I understand the need to keep your constituents informed, but I think that things are getting a little out of hand. 

Whether it is a lunch at the White House with the President or over seas on a SECRET mission to Iraq, do our Representatives need to constantly inform us of their every activity? Are they trying to impress us  so much that they have become oblivious to there surrounds?  

Twitter is a social networking site where friends, family, and co–workers can communicate and stay connected with each other.  Members of Congress should not be abusing their privileges by divulging their activities as they happen. Not only is it rude to their host,but  how can they concentrate on what is being told to them?

The following  post from Think Progress is an excellent example of my point. While on a secret mission to Iraq, Congressman Pete Hoeksra let the followers of his Twitter account know exactly what he was doing, when no one was supposed to know that there was on entourage of congressmen in Iraq.

 

Rep. Pete Hoeksra (R-MI), the ranking member of the House intelligence committee, revealed classified intelligence information on Twitter when he reported on his “congressional trip to Iraq this weekend that was supposed to be a secret.” “Just landed in Baghdad,” messaged Hoekstra, who was part of a delegation led by John Boehner (R-OH). CQ reports, “Before the delegation left Washington, they were advised to keep the trip to themselves for security reasons. A few media outlets, including Congressional Quarterly, learned about it, but agreed not to disclose anything until the delegation had left Iraq.” Hoekstra not only revealed the existence of the trip, but included details about their itinerary. In a May 2006 op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Hoekstra wrote:

But every time classified national security information is leaked, our ability to gather information on those who would do us harm is eroded. … I regret that I see little sign of intolerance for unauthorized disclosures of intelligence to the media from some of my Democratic colleagues today. … We are a nation at war. Unauthorized disclosures of classified information only help terrorists and our enemies – and put American lives at risk.

Santa takes out Bin Laden

Somewhere in Waziristan, our most unfavorite Terrorist has put a Jihad out on Santa, unfortunately for him Santa finds him first.

Which leads me to ask, if Santa could find Osama Bin Laden so easily how come George Bush couldn't?