Originally printed in the Washington Post In a year of congressional lowlights, the hearings we held with Silicon Valley leaders last fall may have been the lowest. One of my colleagues in the House asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai about the workings of an iPhone — a rival Apple product. Another colleague asked Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, “If you’re not listening… Read more »

Within hours of the announcement by General Motors that it would shutter five of its North American plants and eliminate more than 14,000 jobs, Donald Trump took to Twitter to excoriate the carmaker for its investments in China and Mexico and made promises of government retribution for the layoffs. GM’s surprise move and Trump’s caustic response to it both highlight the perils inherent… Read more »

For generations, America has been a beacon of light for those fleeing the worst regions of darkness. In less than two years, Lady Liberty’s torch has grown dimmer as Donald Trump’s administration shuts our doors to those seeking to become a contributing part of the American experience. What began with a travel ban has morphed into a bureaucratic war of attrition. At… Read more »

Text of the article appears below: Pardons are all the talk these days. America hasn’t seen this frequency of pardon discussion since the year President Richard Nixon resigned. President Donald Trump has issued multiple surprise pardons and commutations since taking office. Those who have received clemency have very little in common other than their proximity to celebrity,… Read more »

Text of the article appears below: Watching the daily deluge of reports of malfeasance oozing from this administration, I become more and more unsettled that Donald Trump wields the power of the pardon. His abusive use of pardons so far, and his allusions of implementing it to protect his allies constitute an unprecedented threat to our democracy. While the Founding Fathers… Read more »

The Republican tax bill passed into law last year is one of the most reckless pieces of legislation I’ve seen come across my desk in over 20 years in office. It further enriched the wealthy and large corporations even as income inequality continues to threaten the social fabric. It provided minimal tax relief for the middle class. It will explode our nation’s debt for years to… Read more »

(Column in the LA Times) When President Obama was deciding in 2009 whether to approve a merger between the world's largest concert promoter, Live Nation, and the biggest ticket provider, Ticketmaster, a group of bipartisan lawmakers pleaded with his administration to block the deal. This coalition, which included me, understood that the joint company would strangle competition in live… Read more »

Originally published in the Star Ledger. -- The opioid epidemic has cast a pall over our entire nation. Each day, 115 Americans lose their lives from an opioid overdose. The scale of this catastrophe makes it so there are few of us who haven't been touched in some way by addiction and its effects. Since 2002, more Americans have perished each year from overdoses than the year before.… Read more »

Link to article: https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/contributors/2018/04/30/opinion-use-tariffs-potential-tool-not-weapon/565805002/ Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Guest Columnist I support taking strong action to halt China’s flouting the rules of the international economy. For too long, our workers and businesses have suffered because of a flood of subsidized, cheap imports from… Read more »

The brilliant New Jersey entrepreneur Charles Lazarus died March 22 at age 94. His passing came one week after the company he founded, Toys R Us, announced its liquidation after 70 years in business.  Obituaries for both have implied that Toys R Us was a retail relic. Yet the closing of one of the world’s most recognizable brands did not come solely from… Read more »