The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Washington DC, Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) is now the first New Jersey lawmaker cosponsoring the Secure Elections Act – legislation to continue protecting and securing election infrastructure and voting from foreign interference.
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Clinton Township NJ, Lance for Congress today received the endorsement of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association.
“I stand with our police,” said Lance, a member of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus. “I vote with the men and women of law enforcement and I am proud to receive their endorsement in this race. Results matter and this Congress pro-police lawmakers have stood up and delivered at a time when too many are turning away from public safety priorities. Residents want capable and equipped police departments in their neighborhoods. I am proud to work with the Policemen’s Benevolent Association to help make that happened.”
December 1,2017
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WASHINGTON DC, Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ- 07), New Jersey’s only member of the House Ethics Committee, introduced legislation today to end taxpayer-funded settlements of sexual harassment claims and other workplace disputes against members of Congress and congressional staff. Lance’s bill would also reveal publicly the names of those perpetrators who have engaged in such conduct in the workplace.
“Taxpayers in congressional districts across the Nation are outraged over allegations and the lack of transparency and accountability concerning taxpayer-financed harassment settlements in Congress. Since 1997, Congress has paid millions of dollars out of a secret U.S. Treasury Department fund to settle hundreds of workplace claims against members of Congress and congressional aides. Such secrecy is a gross betrayal of public trust and must end immediately. My legislation, if enacted, would increase government transparency for the American taxpayer, create a safer work environment and hold members of Congress and congressional staff — past and present — accountable for their actions,” Lance said.
Lance’s Ensure Transparency and Honesty in Congressional Settlements (ETHICS) Act comes following news reports of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded settlements to resolve workplace disputes on Capitol Hill. The Seventh District lawmaker introduced this legislation on the same day the U.S. House unanimously passed legislation to mandate sexual harassment training and victim support services in Congress.
Over the past several weeks, numerous individuals from all walks of life have voiced their stories of sexual harassment. A number of these allegations are tied to members of Congress, both past and present. According to the congressional Office of Compliance, the federal government has paid more than $17 million in taxpayer money in workplace settlements since 1997, but has not said how much of that money has been spent settling sexual harassment claims.
Lance’s ETHICS Act would:
Prohibit any future taxpayer-financed sexual harassment settlements;
Require the Office of Compliance to release more detailed information on sexual harassment settlements paid at taxpayer expense, including the names of the perpetrator, the employing office of the perpetrator and the amount paid to the victim.
Lance also spoke on the floor of the U.S. House during the debate on the resolution requiring workplace harassment training for members and staff where the Seventh District lawmaker urged his colleagues to address the problem on Capitol Hill immediately.
“Congress should be leading on this issue, helping to foster a workplace environment free of sexual harassment, discrimination and other terrible behavior. Congress must create an atmosphere where those who serve their country feel protected, supported and believed – no matter the power of the offender,” the Seventh District lawmaker said.
Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) Calls FCC Release of Depression-Era Net Neutrality Regulations regulatory overreach and job-killing
Mar 12, 2015
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WESTFIELD, N.J. — Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), New Jersey’s only Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, commented on the Federal Communications Commission’s release of its Depression-era rules to regulate the Internet.
In January Lance stated ,the obvious to everyone except the Obama administration, “The Internet is a medium that continues to experience tremendous technological growth and today’s action by the D.C. Circuit Court striking down the FCC’s efforts to regulate the Internet protects consumers, increases competition and encourages new investment and innovation in broadband. As a member of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that the FCC does not overstep its authority on the issue of network neutrality.”
Lance continued his attack on Net Neutrality in February , “The Federal Communications Commission has voted in favor of a net neutrality plan that is the most dramatic government intervention in the Internet in two decades. The FCC’s proposal to regulate the Internet will hurt consumers and discourage new investment and innovation in broadband. It is Congress, not an unelected federal commission, that is tasked with modernizing our Nation’s telecommunications laws and today’s action is a blatant overstep of authority that threatens to stifle one of the Nation’s most important economic engines.”
The FCC’s Release of the Net Neutrality regs on Thursday, Rep. Leonard Lance (NJ-07), seized on the opportunity to condemn what he views as “Depression-era” rules.“The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has finally released its sweeping proposal following weeks of secrecy and stonewalling. The American People now have an opportunity to read the FCC’s 300-plus page plan to regulate the Internet as a utility — a plan I believe will hurt consumers, discourage new investment and innovation in broadband, and lead to billions of dollars in new fees and taxes. That’s why I have joined many of my colleagues on the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee and introduced H.R. 1212, the Internet Freedom Act, that will put the brakes on this FCC overreach and protect our innovators from these job-killing regulations.”
