RELEASE: At Newark Airport, Gottheimer Demands Congress Return to Work to End Shutdown, Extend Health Care Premium Tax Credits, and Combat Passenger Delays

Above: Gottheimer at Newark Airport addressing the shutdown’s growing impact on air travel and passenger delays.

NEWARK, NJ — Today, October 14, 2025, at Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced action to address the government shutdown’s growing impact on air travel and passenger delays, and to help reopen the federal government in a bipartisan way. Gottheimer also highlighted the impacts the shutdown has on seniors, veterans, infrastructure, families, the economy, and on national security.

Gottheimer warned that the shutdown is worsening flight delays due to staffing shortages at one of the nation’s busiest airports. Last Thursday, flights at Newark Airport experienced ground delays of 88 minutes due to low air traffic control staffing numbers, according to the FAA. Before the shutdown, air traffic controller shortages drove about 5% of all flight delays — but now, air traffic control staffing issues account for 53% of all delays. Last week, twelve FAA facilities — including Newark — were understaffed, and nearly 40,000 flights were delayed.

New Action Announced Today:

• Calling on the Speaker to Bring the House Back into Session to Reopen the Government: Gottheimer is calling on the Speaker of the House to bring the chamber back into session every single week until Congress figures out how to extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and reopen the government.

• Sounding the Alarm on the Shutdown’s Impacts: Gottheimer is sending a letter to congressional leadership outlining the massive impacts the shutdown is having on families, seniors, veterans, airports, infrastructure, the economy, and on travelers trying to get to their destinations on time.

• Nonpartisan Accounting of the Shutdown’s True Cost to Taxpayers: Gottheimer is requesting the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office inform Congress on the shutdown’s cost to American taxpayers, the impact on American families, and the effects on the U.S. sector-by-sector.

• Ensuring Federal Aviation Workers are Paid During a Shutdown: Gottheimer is helping lead the Aviation Funding Stability Act to ensure FAA workers are paid during a government shutdown.

• Protecting Paychecks for Workers Helping Our Government Run: Following President Trump’s threats to not back-pay federal workers after the shutdown ends, Gottheimer is joining a congressional effort to call on the federal government to ensure back pay for all federal workers.  

“I’ve been working with both my Republican and Democratic colleagues, in the House and Senate, to find a way to reopen the government in a responsible, bipartisan way. But we need everyone at the table. And we should be there every single week until we work this out. It is ridiculous that the Speaker has kept the House out of session this entire time. The American people deserve better,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “We know that we need to keep the country running, and support the people who help make that happen. That means supporting the folks here at TSA screening and in the towers and at our airports, and working together to reopen the government.”

Video of the press conference can be found here.

Gottheimer’s full remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Good morning. It’s always good to be back at Newark Airport — one of the busiest in the world — with the best of the best working in our terminals, on the runways, and in the towers to keep us safe. Twenty percent of our nation’s GDP runs through this region. I want to thank all of the federal workers here for showing up, day and night, despite the ongoing shutdown — in the tower, in the TSA security lines, and on the ground. 

On a good day, they are under immense pressure to do a lot with what they’re given. And now, given the shutdown, they’re doing even more with less. That’s right. Because the far-right, who controls the majority of the Congress, decided to shut the government down, families are now facing rising health care costs, and all the federal workers here — air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and essential FAA staff — aren’t getting their paychecks. The President has even said he might not ever pay them for their workday in the shutdown. 

So now, on top of the stress they’re already dealing with in the towers or in the security lines, they’re now wondering how they’re going to pay their rent and mortgage. Yet, like so many other government workers, they’re still showing up to keep our country and economy running.  Now, that’s what all of my colleagues in Congress need to do — to show up in Washington and get the government reopened to protect families.

Like last week, and the week before, I’m headed back to Washington right now — flying out from here — because we should all be sitting at the table — Democrats and Republicans — House and Senate — working to find a deal, until we get the government reopened. I know that I’ve been on the phone, and sitting in meetings with folks from across the aisle. But, we need everyone back doing the same. We need the Speaker to bring us back into session. 

Why is this so important? Let me tell you what’s at stake, and what, as Democrats, we’ve been so focused on. If we don’t act now, beginning November 1, families will be faced with   significantly higher health insurance premiums when they choose a plan during open enrollment — I’m talking about $20,000 a year more than you pay now for a family of four. Yes, if the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits expire, as they are set to do at the end of this year, then millions of Americans will no longer have critical help with their health insurance premiums that they do now. And, as you know, it’s already way too expensive. 

If Congress doesn’t act now, 22 million Americans will see higher health insurance premiums. Nearly 200,000 people in Jersey will lose their health care because they just can’t afford it. A family of four in Bergen County with a household income of around $130,000 will see a premium increase of more than $20,000 a year. To be clear: children who rely on life-saving medications, seniors on fixed incomes, and families who are already struggling with higher childcare, food, utility bills, and tariffs, will be forced off their insurance because of these unaffordable costs.

My friends on the other side of the aisle, so far, don’t seem to care about these looming health insurance costs. It’s not a priority. Well, they should spend some time talking to real folks who are already dealing with sky-high health care costs. So, let’s get back to what happens when you shut the government down. Last Thursday, flights here at Newark Airport experienced ground delays of 88 minutes due to low air traffic control staffing numbers, according to the FAA. Before the shutdown, air traffic controller shortages drove about five percent of all flight delays. Now, air traffic control staffing issues account for fifty-three percent of all delays.

Even before the shutdown, towers had been short-staffed, with controllers working long hours on outdated equipment — creating the perfect storm for delays, hitting right here in Newark. In fact, Newark was the third most delayed airport in the country for the first half of this year. Now, across the country, due to the shutdown, staffing has been getting worse, creating more delays for travelers.

Last week, twelve FAA facilities were understaffed. That includes airports in Texas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, New York, and right here in Newark. Nearly 40,000 flights were delayed last week alone. Last year, nearly 146 million air passengers flew in and out of the New Jersey-New York metro area — a new record. Our region literally can’t afford more delays. 

Families lose precious hours in the airport — so do businessmen and women — time away from your loved ones or work. Flight delays are estimated to cost airline travelers billions of dollars every year. That not only hurts our families, but also our economy. Our region is a key economic artery for our country. We cannot let delays and cancellations keep families from traveling.

In a shutdown, the FAA ATC training school’s funding is also at risk — as of right now it’s only funded until October 29. That means our airports will have a harder time getting more certified ATCs in the towers to help reduce and prevent more delays. And, as I mentioned, our system for managing air traffic is “incredibly old” and needs to be updated. When the old equipment fails, as it has in the past, this also causes further delays. Yet, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), funding to upgrade critical infrastructure at airports across the country will be frozen as long as the government remains shut down.

Government shutdowns are no way to run a railroad — or an airport.

More than 250,000 veterans in New Jersey have lost access to critical counseling and career transition assistance, more than 50,000 seniors in New Jersey will lose access to Meals on Wheels, and mothers and infants will lose access to food at the end of the month. WIC, which helps nearly 7 million Americans across the country, and more than 160,000 across Jersey, is at risk of running out, leaving families without critical nutritional support.

Because of the shutdown, and the President’s threats, 18 billion dollars for key infrastructure projects around the tristate area — including the Gateway Train Tunnel is at risk, along with other projects around country. Roads, bridges, water, and sewer projects face costly delays. That makes no sense and hurts our country. A government shutdown also puts our national security and military readiness at risk. Many military projects have literally been put on hold. Federal law enforcement, who are critical to keeping our communities safe and protecting our national security, are also working without pay, and their operations could be frozen or slowed down.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the last government shutdown cost our economy eleven billion dollars in just five weeks. That’s thousands of years’ worth of lost productivity from the furlough of thousands of employees. Just last week, the White House said this shutdown will cost our country fifteen billion dollars in lost GDP every week. The longer this drags on, the more it will cost our country, and the more it will hurt our families.

We can’t just let that happen. And as a problem solver, I’ll continue to fight to bring everyone to the table and protect Jersey families. This is common sense. We must get this done. That’s why I’m here today to call on President Trump and Congressional leadership to end all this chaos. First, I’m headed back to Washington right now to do everything we can to get a deal done. We all should be there every week until we figure this out. The Speaker needs to call us all back into session, and we should be there until we figure out how to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits on health insurance premiums — and reopen the government. 

I’ve been working with both my Republican and Democratic colleagues, in the House and Senate, to find a way to reopen the government in a responsible, bipartisan way. But we need everyone at the table. And we should be there every single week until we work this out. It is ridiculous that the Speaker has kept the House out of session this entire time. The American people deserve better.

Second, I’m sending a letter to congressional leadership in both the House and the Senate outlining the massive impacts the shutdown is having on our families, our seniors, our veterans, our airports, our infrastructure, our economy, and on travelers trying to get to their destinations on time — to see loved ones or keep businesses running.

And, I’m asking the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to detail to Congress just how much this shutdown is costing taxpayers and its impact on American families. The White House gave us their point of view — fifteen billion dollars per week. But I think it could be even more, and the American people should understand, by sector and by American, what this shutdown is doing. And the Speaker won’t even call us back into session to solve the problem. Democrats are flying back today. The House Republicans should join us. This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about getting something done.

Finally, we know that we need to keep the country running, and support the people who help make that happen. That means supporting the folks here at TSA screening and in the towers and at our airports, and working together to reopen the government.

More than 13,000 air traffic controllers across the country are working without pay right now. We can’t leave hard-working families and their children out in the cold when their bills are due. So, I’m helping lead the Aviation Funding Stability Act to ensure pay for FAA workers during a government shutdown. 

The last thing these hard-working people here should have to deal with is the added stress of not being able to pay their bills because extremists refuse to protect them and their families.

I am also joining a congressional effort to call on the federal government to ensure back pay for all federal workers. Our more than 11,000 furloughed FAA staff members and other critical federal employees need predictable paychecks. This will also help ensure they get them. You can’t stiff people because Congress is gridlocked.

President Trump has threatened to not back-pay federal workers when this shutdown is through, and we are absolutely not going to stand for that. By the way, I’ve also told the Treasury not to pay me during the shutdown.

The bottom line is: we can’t just screw over our aviation workers, service members, first responders, veterans, seniors, children, and our country. Families are already struggling with higher costs for childcare, food, and energy bills. This shutdown is another kick in the face.

So, we need both sides to come together to get the government reopened.

Here in the greatest country in the world, I know that if we work together — Democrats and Republicans — and put country over party and common sense over extremism, our best days will always be ahead of us. Look at what we did in the Middle East yesterday. There’s no reason we can’t do this. 

God bless you, God bless our first responders and troops, and may God continue to bless and watch over the United States of America.

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