Red states mooch federal money. Where’s NJ’s?

When I first ran for Congress, I realized pretty quickly that many of my colleagues from ruby-red Southern states talked a big game about how “fiscally responsible” their states were. They mocked Jersey for investing far too much in our people — our schools and roads, law enforcement and fire departments, clean drinking water and other critical services. But the truth was that they had figured out a way to spend more on their families without actually paying for it out of their state and local tax dollars. Over the years, they had mastered the art of filling their state coffers with federal tax dollars taken from other states, like ours.

So I started affectionately calling these ruby-red states “Moocher States” because they take far more back from the federal government to their states than they contribute to the kitty. And they’re quite good at it. For every federal tax dollar Mississippi and West Virginia send to Washington, they get back $3.08 and $3.00, respectively. Jersey, on the other hand, has gotten back about 75 cents, and even less in the district I represent. Nearly half of Louisiana’s annual state budget comes from the federal government in grants, programs and other aid. That’s more than twice what Jersey gets every year. Between 2018 and 2022, we sent $62.6 billion more than we got back, the most compared with any other state. The result is that Jersey has had to cover the gap and pay for more things through higher state and local taxes.

That’s unacceptable. Why should the Moocher States take our federal tax dollars and get a free ride, while New Jersey is left holding the bag? Since taking office, I’ve made it a major priority to change that, gear up the “Clawback Machine” and start fighting for every federal nickel North Jersey deserves.

I immediately partnered with mayors, council members, county officials, first responders, nonprofits and hospitals to help them find and apply for grant opportunities. I created a new position on my team — director of return on investment — to claw back federal tax dollars and get Jersey a better return. Our office has scrubbed every federal website to find all relevant grant opportunities, advocated for Jersey grant seekers by contacting federal agencies and written letters of support. We’ve held grant “Clawback Summits” and other annual meetings with local leaders and grantmaking federal agencies and released annual “Return on Investment” reports.

The result: We are up 357% in grants, resources and federal dollars clawed back from Washington since I took office — that’s $86 billion dollars straight back into the pockets of North Jersey families, veterans, seniors, local businesses, towns and communities. In 2021 alone, the federal tax dollars clawed back amounted to an average savings of more than $750 for each household in the 5th Congressional District.

New Jersey needs a clawback czar

We need to take the same approach across Jersey — for all 566 municipalities and 21 counties — and, in Trenton. It’s our money, and we should claw as much of it away from the Moocher

States and back to Jersey as possible.

The more we get back from Washington, the better services for our families, and the lower our state and property taxes will be. Here’s how we can achieve that:

● First, clawing back every federal tax dollar that Jersey deserves is a full-time job. We should have a centralized, onestop-shop office in Jersey that works on this day in and day out. It should be led by a new “chief clawback czar.” Other states have them, and, clearly, it works. This new office should release a transparent quarterly report on its wins and losses, not just at the state level, but also how it is helping all of our cities, towns and counties claw federal dollars back to Jersey. I’ve also sponsored federal legislation — the Streamlining Federal Grants Act — that simplifies and centralizes grantmaking and information.

● Second, working with the chief clawback czar, we need an all-handson-deck statewide strategy to go after every single federal grant our cities, towns and counties might qualify for. Just as we did here in North Jersey, we need to educate and assist grant seekers across the state, including local elected officials, first responders, nonprofits, small businesses, hospitals, child care centers and farmers. Whether it’s for a new water treatment plant to get rid of lead and PFAS or to pay for a new firetruck or police officer, we should chase every nickel.

● Third and finally, we need to continue fighting for other policies to help lower taxes for middle-class Jersey families, including expanding the Child Tax

Credit, to help pay for child care, food and diapers, and restoring the state and local tax deduction, or SALT. I’ve helped pass legislation to do both out of the House, only to have the Senate red states block it. Jersey has the secondhighest child care costs in the nation, at $442 a month, and the sixth-highest property taxes. Restoring SALT will allow families to deduct what they pay in property and state income taxes before paying their federal taxes, saving them a boatload. The good news: In less than 19 months, the 2017 Tax Hike Bill, which gutted SALT, will expire, and the full deduction will be restored. Good riddance to the $10,000 cap. That will result in a much-needed tax cut for Jersey families.

Now, don’t get me wrong: We’ve made some important progress over the last couple of years. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which I helped negotiate, write and pass, brought more than $10.7 billion back to our state so far — providing critical investments and grants for Jersey roads and bridges, NJ Transit, climate-resilient infrastructure, EV chargers, clean drinking water, broadband and the Gateway train tunnel. The American Rescue Plan has provided critical aid for our police, fire departments and child care centers. And, the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act will help fund semiconductor manufacturing and R&D for Jersey universities and businesses.

But compared with the Moocher States, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. We need to work even harder to claw more of the federal dollars we send to Washington away from the Moochers and back to Jersey. That’s the best way we can lower taxes and make life more affordable in Jersey.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, represents New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District and is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

It’s our money, and we should claw as much of it away from the Moocher States and back to Jersey as possible.