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Member, Legislative Services Commission, present
Member, Monmouth Commission for Support of Guards and Reserves, present
Member, National Conference of State Legislatures Foundation, present
Former Member, Economic Growth Committee, New Jersey State Senate
Former Member, Judiciary Committee, New Jersey State Senate
Former Member, Legislative Oversight Committee, New Jersey State Senate
Chair, New Jersey Republican State Committee, 2001-2004
1. Do you support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
2. Should abortion be legal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- Yes
3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes
4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes
5. Should parental notification be required before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
6. Should parental consent be required before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
7. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes
8. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- Abortion should not be legal in the third tri-mester
1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Increase
2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status
3. Environment
- Maintain Status
4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease
5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status
6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status
7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease
8. Other or expanded categories
- School funding formula must be changed to provide more assistance to suburban schools.
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease
4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease
6. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
8. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Tapping into New Jersey's "rainy day" fund
- No
2. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- No
3. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No
4. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- No Answer
5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No Answer
6. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes
7. Reducing public pension benefits
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- d) Should be negotiated or determined based on current circumstancese) Reform and achieve efficiencies in Medicaid budget
1. Individual
- Yes
2. Political Action Committee
- Yes
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Party
- Yes
5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No
6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
1. Other or expanded principles
- State elections should be moved to even numbered years to avoid the constant campaign culture in NJ
1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes
2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes
3. Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No
4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No
5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- No
6. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes
2. Do you support state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes
3. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes
4. Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes
5. Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- No
6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No Answer
7. Do you support comprehensive public pension reform that incorporates a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k)?
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards intiative?
- Yes
2. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- Yes
3. Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes
4. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes
5. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes
6. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from New Jersey high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes
2. Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change?
- Yes
3. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- No
4. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No
5. Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- No
6. Do you support state funding for improvements to New Jersey's energy infrastructure?
- No
7. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- [a) Do you support state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?] I support common sense clean air regulations, but I do not support the Reg. Green house Gas Initiatives that serve to make NJ uncompetitive.
[b) Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change?] I also believe that naturally occurring environmental issues have an impact and that New Jersey cannot take unilateral steps that harm its economy.
1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes
2. Do you support requiring background checks on all firearms sales at gun shows, including sales by unlicensed dealers?
- No Answer
3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- No
4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- Yes
5. Other or expanded principles
- [b) Do you support requiring background checks on all firearms sales at gun shows, including sales by unlicensed dealers?] I believe that existing gun laws are appropriate for our state and do not need any amendments.
1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No
2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes
3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes
4. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No Answer
5. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes
6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in New Jersey?
- No
7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- [e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?] I do not support a national program that violates the commerce clause of the US Constitution
[f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in New Jersey?] Though I did vote against it because I did not believe there were proper controls in place.
1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No
2. Should New Jersey continue to grant civil unions to same-sex couples?
- Yes
3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- No
4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- No
5. Do you support affirmative action?
- Yes
6. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
7. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Jerseys anti-discrimination laws?
- No
8. Other or expanded principles
- [e) Do you support affirmative action?] Not including rigid quotas
Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- 1. Jobs/economic growth - With the unemployment rate over 9%, fostering permanent, attractive, private sector jobs is the most important issue facing State policy makers. We need to improve NJ's business climate by building on our recent record of business tax reform and, streamlining regulations and economic incentives.2. Government reform/accountability - Make government more responsive and accountable. Proud to have sponsored Governor Christies 2% tax cap on local governments and the groundbreaking New Jersey pension and health benefit reforms. I support increased consolidation and shared services by local governments and restraining the growth of state government.3. Education [...]
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
By Max Pizarro Going on offense today in a flailing economy, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-13) targeted the Affordable Healthcare Act as he criticized his opponent, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). On a tour of a medical device manufacturer in New Providence, Kyrillos argued that the healthcare industry will soon face record high tax increases, including the New Jersey-based C.R. Bard, which must shoulder a 2.3 percent medical device tax. "This tax will effectively diminish the ability of medical device manufacturers, like C.R. Bard, to innovate and produce quality medical products for their consumers," Kyrillos said. "Companies will be forced to raise prices in order to remain solvent due to this tax. That increase in price will then be passed along to the consumer in the form of more expensive health insurance, or more out-of-pocket healthcare spending. This tax will also greatly diminish the amount of money the industry will be able to set aside for research and development, making us less competitive and advanced in the global marketplace. "Our healthcare spending as a country already far surpasses what it should. We need real reform that deals with the most basic problems of our healthcare industry. Senator Menendez is clearly mistaken if he thinks that higher taxes within a convoluted matrix of new laws and regulations is real reform." Menendez has repeatedly argued that the healthcare act initiated by Congress and President Barack Obama would ultimately cut costs as a consequence of requiring greater numbers of people to have health insurance. Kyrillos, however, cited a May 2012 study by the Pacific Research Institute noting that medical research and development will decrease by nearly $2 billion as a result of this tax. Another study, produced by the American Action Forum, found that this tax will force the medical device industry to decrease its workforce by up to 47,100 people, or 10% of the entire workforce.
By Unknown Sen. Robert Menendez had no legitimate grounds to block the nomination of a highly qualified woman for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals, as he has tacitly admitted himself. But his political games have proved costly. Senate Republicans now say they won't consider any more judicial nominees before the election, leaving U.S. Magistrate Patty Shwartz stranded. She may never get the job now. And in the meantime, a seat normally reserved for New Jersey on this powerful court, one step below the Supreme Court, will remain vacant. Shwartz is universally respected for her intellect and temperament. She was given the highest rating by the American Bar Association and a chorus of support from New Jersey attorneys. Menendez (D-N.J.), though, said her answers to questions were not satisfactory. So he used one of the clubby powers that U.S. senators grant to one another and single-handedly put the nomination on hold. Critics charged that he had a darker motive, that he blocked Shwartz because she is the romantic partner of James Nobile, a senior prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office who played a key role in the 2006 investigation of Menendez. Others said he was miffed at the White House for favoring nominees suggested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), including Shwartz. Whatever the real reason, it seems clear that some kind of political nonsense was at work. Under pressure, Menendez in January finally met with Shwartz a second time, after which he approved the nomination. That change came too late, though, and now Shwartz is mired in the sticky dysfunction of a broken Senate. Nice going, Senator.
By Andrew Kitchenman Fresh off Tuesday's primary victory, state Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. (R-Middletown) said he would be visiting business across the state as he plans to make job creation a focus of his challenge to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken). Kyrillos, who received 77 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, said he would use comments from business people in formulating a "jobs plan," to be released after the tour. He said he plans to visit businesses of all sizes, as well as publicly and privately held firms. "I want to really listen -- not read the press releases and absorb the rhetoric that come from my opponent and others in Washington, D.C.," Kyrillos said. Kyrillos compared his Senate campaign to the gubernatorial race between Chris Christie and incumbent Jon S. Corzine, in which Kyrillos served as Christie's campaign chairman. "Can you imagine what the economy of New Jersey would be like if we hadn't had some reform measures come into play -- substantial, landmark ones, ones that are models for the rest of the country?" Kyrillos said. He agreed with Christie that there is a "New Jersey comeback," saying job creators are among those who view the state differently, thanks to changes under Christie. He suggested that changes he would pursue in the U.S. Senate would lead to an "American comeback." He pointed to increases in the national debt, unemployment rate and gasoline prices since Menendez joined the Senate. Kyrillos said he would support expanding domestic energy sources, as well as expanding the Keystone XL pipeline. While he said details of the jobs plan would follow the tour, he listed several goals, including restoring fiscal responsibility, reforming the tax code, reducing regulations, building a competitive work force and restoring "America's place as the home of innovation." He emphasized the barriers that regulations present to launching new businesses. Kyrillos said the tour will last through at least the month of June.
