RELEASE: Gottheimer Meets with North Jersey AAPI Community Leaders

Discuss ways to work together, make life more affordable, support small businesses, and advocate for veterans.

Above: Gottheimer with leaders from North Jersey’s AAPI community.

FORT LEE, NJ — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), joined leaders from the Asian American Pacific Islander community to discuss his work to make life more affordable, lower taxes, support small businesses, keep communities safe, and fight the Congestion Tax Gottheimer is an Associate Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

“A critical part of North Jersey’s strength is our proud AAPI community. That’s why I’m proud to always meet with New Jersey’s AAPI community leaders. I’ll never stop working in Washington, here at home in Jersey, and in the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to make life more affordable and better for North Jersey’s great AAPI business owners, veterans, civil leaders and families,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), an Associate Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

Gottheimer’s work with the AAPI Community includes:

• Supporting Korean American veterans by helping pass and sign into law the Korean American Vietnam Allies Long Overdue for Relief Act, or Korean American VALOR Act.
  • This legislation ensures that thousands of South Korean immigrants who served in the armed forces of the Republic of Korea alongside Americans during the Vietnam War and have since become naturalized U.S. citizens are eligible for health care services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
• Honoring the countless contributions the AAPI community has made to our nation including by:
  • Co-sponsoring a resolution to recognize the cultural and historical significance of Lunar New Year in 2024.
  • Participating in Korean American Day and fighting to pass a bipartisan resolution he introduced in 2023 to declare Korean American Day a holiday. 
  • Speaking at the Korean American Grassroots Conference (KAGC) in 2023, which celebrates the Korean American community and U.S.-Korea relationship.
  • Leading a resolution to recognize Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week to commemorate the achievements of AANAPISIs and their work to provide quality educational opportunities to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students.
• Working to make life more affordable by fighting the MTA’s Congestion Tax through a mix of legislation and litigation.
  • Gottheimer also passed four bills out of the House to restore SALT, which would cut property taxes for small business owners and families.
• Making our communities safer from record levels of hate against AAPI community members.
  • Gottheimer is working to pass his bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Invest to Protect Act to make critical, targeted investments in local police departments and ensure that police officers in North Jersey and across the country have the resources and training they need to keep themselves and communities like the AAPI community safe.
  • Gottheimer also helped pass a resolution in the House, led by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), that denounced anti-Asian hate happening across the nation at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • Gottheimer also led efforts to pass the bipartisan No HATE Act, which would strengthen federal law to combat hate speech, threats, and attacks.

Gottheimer was joined by the Korean American Association of Fort Lee’s (KAAFL) Board Member Eunju Hong, KAAFL President Jongho Hwang, KAAFL Incoming President Chris Chung, KAAFL Vice President Monica Chung, Korean American Vietnam War Veterans Kijung Kim and Yongsam Chung, Fort Lee Korean Parents Advisory Council (KPAC) President Hyunjung Kim, KPAC Former President Jennifer Park, Youth Council of Fort Lee (YCFL) Parents Board Member Jae-eun Ahn, and Fort Lee Chinese American Community Advisory President Pingan Hou.

Below: Gottheimer with leaders from North Jersey’s AAPI community.

###