The Shober for Congress Campaign has unveiled the Frank Facts website, saying it “will expose the truth about Congressman Frank LoBiondo's voting record."

His Democratic opponent, Cassandra Shober, is running as good a campaign as she can on the usual financial shoestring that LoBiondo's opponents find themselves in.

Frustrated in part by Congressman LoBiondo's refusal to debate, the campaign sent out a link to the frankfacts.org website.  Below are some of the highlights, or maybe low lights, of our congressman's voting record, per the Frankfacts website.

Hopefully this column, and the website, will generate some debate on these important issues. As I've said before, the citizens of the 2nd Congressional District deserve open, healthy debates on our congressman's record.

LoBiondo voted against a ban on government contracts with companies that ship American jobs overseas (HR38). He voted for the Ryan Budget, which slashes funding for needed infrastructure improvements to transportation sectors including airports, roads, bridges and transit systems. The Ryan Budget would have begun the process of ending Medicare as we know it by forcing seniors to pay more than $6,000 more per year for healthcare. It would have also raised the eligibility age to 67 by 2033, eliminated provisions that close the prescription benefit "donut hole," and drastically slashed Medicaid, which provides healthcare for low-income and disabled Americans, many of whom are seniors who live in nursing homes (HRC34).

LoBiondo's vote on HR1 would have led to a cut of $700 million for public schools for mostly low-income students and would have slashed school improvement grants by $337 million.  HR1 also would have drastically decreased Pell Grants, which 9.4 million students rely on to help finance college expenses.

According to Frankfacts, "Frank LoBiondo voted to cut several programs that families rely on to afford a college education, such as ending the ‘year-round Pell,’ which allows college students to receive up to two Pell Grants per year; cutting Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, eliminating Byrd Scholarships and LEAP grants" (HR1473).

The website pointed out that, "Frank LoBiondo voted against funding for seniors to save their homes from foreclosure by refinancing them through the FHA's Refinancing Program (HR830).

In addition, LoBiondo voted against protections to shield seniors from acts of fraud that would threaten their financial security. These protections would have prevented Social Security fraud, Medicare benefits fraud, and deceptive practices related to foreclosures, reverse mortgages, pensions and retirement savings (HR1315).

Surprisingly, according to the website, LoBiondo had a number of anti-veteran, anti-soldier votes.

He voted against an increase in combat pay for those men and women serving in the military (HR 1540). He voted against increasing funding for returning veterans' medical services related to post traumatic stress disorder and suicide prevention (HR 2017). He voted against requiring the HUD secretary to provide funding for veterans and active duty soldiers to refinance their homes under the FHA's Refinancing Program (HR 836), and he voted to cut $75 million from programs offering assistance to homeless veterans (HR1).

LoBiondo had some bad votes on issues that concern women. He opposed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which requires employers to provide women with equal pay to that of men for equal work (S181).

He voted for HR3, a bill that would only allow tax preferences to insurance plans that deny coverage for abortion except in the case of rape. This measure would grant the Internal Revenue Service access to the private medical records of rape and incest victims. 

Our congressman voted to bar funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, even though it meant denying women funding for preventative services that are vital to their health, including routine checkups and birth control for medical reasons (HR1).

The website does not mention LoBiondo's support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a key issue for the Coalition for Peace and Justice.

Call our congressman at (800) 471-4450 or (609) 625-5008 or fax him at (609) 625-5071. Tell him we want him to debate Cassandra Shober as many times at possible so voters can make a decision based on the facts.

Norm Cohen is executive director of the Coalition for Peace and Justice and a coordinator for the UNPLUG Salem Campaign. Learn more at www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org and www.unplugsalem.org. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (609) 335-8176. Comment at www.shorenewstoday.com.