For Americans to succeed, we must first and foremost provide a secure nation and safe neighborhoods.
Our police officers, firefighters, and first responders risk their lives every day to keep our communities safe, and I have stood up for them by instituting programs that help them gain and retain employment, and assist their families in times of need.
I was an early supporter of equipping law enforcement officials with body cameras, and authored New Jersey’s first law to do so. Capturing this information protects both officers and the public they serve.
I led the successful push to reform our state’s bail laws and keep violence out of our communities by focusing on an offender’s risks, not their resources, and was recognized by the New Jersey NAACP for those efforts.
I also worked to increases penalties for illegal gun trafficking and allow police officers to impound vehicles in cases that involve illegal weapons, drugs, or prostitution, effectively removing vehicles of crime from our streets. We don’t let suspected terrorists board airplanes, and I’m determined to make sure that ‘No-Fly’ means ‘No-Buy.’
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My first and highest duty is to protect and defend the American people. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Chairman of the Tactical Air and Land subcommittee, I’ve learned a lot about the dangers facing our world, and about the outstanding men and women working hard every day to keep us safe.
Recent events around the world have reminded us that terrorism continues to be a threat in our society. I’ve called for common-sense steps to protect Americans, like ending the outrageous terrorist background check loophole that currently allows people on our nation’s Terror Watchlist to legally purchase deadly firearms and explosives. We don’t let suspected terrorists board airplanes, and I am determined to make sure they can’t buy guns either.
I have traveled to the Middle East on multiple occasions and saw firsthand how the evils of terrorism are shaping our national security policies. Murderous, extremist organizations like ISIS and Al Qaeda must be defeated, and I have no doubt that by working together, we will prevail.
I fully support Israel, our strongest ally in a region that is both strategically significant and increasingly unstable. Israel proudly shares our American values of freedom and equality and is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. I oppose the nuclear deal with Iran because, as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon when it continues to threaten and vilify the people of Israel and America.