Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today attended a news conference with Garden State local, state, and federal leaders assailing New York’s congestion pricing scheme. Pascrell was joined by Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), and other officials and made the following statement about New York’s plan:

“The leaders of New York are telling the great people of New Jersey to drop dead. The Empire State looks across the river and what they see is not a great state of 9 million souls. They see 9 million dollar signs.

Let me be crystal clear. The Garden State is not New York’s piggy bank. We are not the MTA’s ATM. New Jersey has been our region’s pack mule for a long time. Enough is enough – we say no more of their weight on our shoulders. New Yorkers should fill New York’s budget shortfalls.

Federal Highways will hear from our lawyers for rubber stamping an environmental assessment that never got meaningful input from New Jersey. New York must provide full toll credits for our commuters and they must exempt our buses. 

Governor Murphy’s leadership is indispensable. I look forward to using every legal tool. And if they will not give us a fair deal, I support suing the pants off of New York.

I introduced the Stop NJ Congestion Act with Senator Menendez to sanction New York for ignoring us. New Jersey’s state and federal leaders are united in telling New York their scheme is more garbage than the old Staten Island landfill.”

For several years, Congressman Pascrell has led the New Jersey delegation in opposition to congestion pricing. On April 19, 2019 – less than three weeks after the plan was first enacted – Pascrell and Gottheimer held a news conference calling on New York to share any congestion pricing tax proceeds with New Jersey Transit and work with New Jersey on any congestion pricing.

In April 2021, Pascrell demanded that the federal government require New York to complete a more rigorous full environmental impact study of the plan. On October 4, 2021, Pascrell spoke at a virtual meeting in defense of New Jersey commuters at a public hearing on the Central Business District Tolling Program.

On May 18, 2023, Pascrell and Menendez introduced the Stop NJ Congestion Act to sanction New York if it follows through on its congestion pricing scheme to New Jersey’s detriment.