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Assembly GOP leader says he was trying to express that benefit system needs to be fixed

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) Wednesday publicly apologized for "not more effectively expressing the remarks" he made Tuesday that New Jersey's jobless benefits are too generous and should be reduced.

DeCroce told a meeting of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association that unemployed residents who collect $550 in benefits might not be motivated to look for work. The Assemblyman said cutting the amount of benefits is a way to bolster the state's financially-struggling unemployment fund, which is now $1.7 billion in the red to the federal government.

"I'm one of the few people here ... who feel that benefits are too good for these people," DeCroce told the business people. "Why go to work? If you can go for 26 weeks collecting $550 a week, and you get an extension for another 26, that's close to $27,000 a year or $30,000 a year, and a lot of people figure, 'Why go to work?'"

The state's unemployment rate stands at 9.2 percent and 321,664 New Jerseyans have been unemployed for a lengthy period of time and are counting on Congress to extend federal emergency benefits. The U.S. Senate approved the benefits' extension Wednesday.

DeCroce's remarks unleashed a verbal avalanche of criticism by state Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester), Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex), Assemblymen Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester) and Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the state Democratic chairman.

"My comments were made to a gathering of business leaders and I wanted to convey the need to fix a system that is on the verge of collapse," DeCroce said Wednesday. "I wanted to emphasize that there are individuals who are gaming the system contributing to its current state.

"The problems with the unemployment fund were supposed to have been addressed last spring in the Legislature, but Speaker Oliver and Sen. President Sweeney refused to take any meaningful action other than creating another government task force to study the issue," DeCroce continued. "I meant no offense to those who have suffered from the national economic downturn and despite their best efforts have been unable to find work."

Sweeney, a labor leader, invited DeCroce to join him at his ironworkers union hall to meet face-to-face with jobless New Jerseyans.

"Alex may not come across too many of ‘these people' in his wealthy suburban district, so maybe he needs a little trip to meet with the unemployed he holds in such low regard," Sweeney said. "I'm at my union hall at 5:30 every morning, and I see plenty of folks who would give anything find a job and get off unemployment. I would welcome Alex to join me any day of the week to meet with 'these people' himself. I'm sure it would be quite an education."

Sweeney said that as a legislator, DeCroce earns $49,000 a year. He said DeCroce's wife, Betty Lou, a deputy commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs earns $130,168 annually.

"Things may be comfy in Alex's dual-government-income household with its government-provided health benefits, but the men I talk to every day have no health insurance, no savings to dip into to pay their property taxes and are losing hope of finding good work," Sweeney said. Sweeney will step down next month as a Gloucester County freeholder. He does not take public health benefits and donates part of his public salary to charity.

Oliver said, "Just as it did everywhere, the global recession hit New Jersey hard, impacting people from all walks of life and communities. Few were left unscathed. So that leaves me wondering who exactly Assembly Republican Leader DeCroce meant when he referred to ‘these people' when discussing his desire to cut unemployment help for out-of-work New Jerseyans.

"Republican Leader DeCroce owes an explanation to the people of New Jersey as to whom exactly he was talking about when he referenced ‘these people," Oliver said. "I would even invite the Republican leader to bring ‘these people' to a legislative hearing so we can meet them in person."

DeCroce responded, "Shame on the Speaker for introducing the race card into a legitimate public policy issue. I recognize that politics is a full-contact sport, but her implication crosses far beyond the line of decency and is without merit.

"If Speaker Oliver and Sen. President Sweeney were so concerned about New Jersey's employment situation, their first step would be to give up one of the two public jobs they each hold," DeCroce said. "There are many qualified New Jerseyans looking for work and who would do a better job for the taxpayers."

Tom Hester Jr., Oliver‘s spokesman, responded to DeCroce‘s charge that the speaker is "playing the race card."

"Speaker Oliver never brought race into this discussion and takes strong offense to Mr. DeCroce's despicable attempt to steer attention from his awful comments," Hester said. "The Speaker simply asked Mr. DeCroce to point out which New Jerseyans enjoy being out of work and living on their unemployment. It's sad if Mr. DeCroce sees race as an issue in that question and in his very own words."