NW Bergen News

Josh Gottheimer, a U.S. Congressman representing New Jersey’s 5th district since 2017, recently took to social media to announce new legislative measures aimed at preventing staffing cuts within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Gottheimer, who succeeded Scott Garrett in Congress, has a background in law with degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.

On February 21, 2025, Gottheimer posted on social media about his intention to introduce legislation designed to halt significant staffing reductions at the FAA by the Trump Administration. He emphasized the importance of maintaining safety standards: "First, I'm announcing new legislation to stop the Trump Administration from making major staffing cuts at the FAA. When it comes to supporting those who work hard every day to protect us, we can't cut corners on our safety."

In another post on the same day, Gottheimer criticized potential layoffs within the FAA as detrimental to public safety. He expressed his commitment to safeguarding air travel for families in New Jersey: "Firing FAA workers is just plain stupid and puts Jersey families and passengers at risk. To anyone who tries to play political games with our air safety — we're not going to let that fly in Jersey." He also shared a link detailing his plan for protecting aviation safety.

Further addressing aviation security concerns, Gottheimer highlighted an amendment he proposed as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act. This amendment mandates secondary cockpit barriers on commercial aircraft as a preventive measure against hijackings: "The FAA Reauthorization Act also has my amendment, which requires a secondary cockpit barrier on all commercial aircraft to help prevent airplane hijacking. This is a commonsense safety requirement that could prevent the next 9/11 from ever happening."