WASHINGTON — Rep. Josh Gottheimer or one of his aides spends some of every day on a conference call with New Jersey hospitals. They want to know if the hospitals have extra beds or too many patients, whether they have enough staff or extra employees they can lend out.
“I see myself as hopefully being someone who can get in there as a fixer,” Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., told NJ Advance Media. "By talking to all of the parties, connecting them and getting what they need, I just like to get it done.”
New Jersey’s members of Congress regularly answer questions from constituents about federal issues or benefits. Now they’ve become a primary information source for New Jerseyans concerned about the coronavirus.
“Our staff is working with local and state officials to gather the most up-to-date information on everything from school closures to covid-19 testing,” said Tom Pietrykoski, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
"We are encouraging New Jerseyans to call our office with any concerns regarding this crisis so they can be connected with one of our caseworkers or to visit our website for additional resources.“
The first thing visitors to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s home page see is an invitation to click to a separate page to learn all about COVID-19. Menendez, D-N.J., set up the page on Friday. It contains information in English and Spanish.
“The most important thing you can do right now is not to panic, but prepare and educate yourself,” the page begins.
It contains the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fact sheets from the New Jersey Department of Health, and health care information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Other lawmakers have used their congressional websites to disseminate coronavirus information as well, including Reps. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., posted the 24-hour New Jersey coronavirus hotline, 800-962-1253.
Reps. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., and Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., held tele-town halls on the coronavirus.
And Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., held a Facebook Live event on Friday to discuss what Congress is doing to respond to the coronavirus and gave out the phone numbers of his New Jersey congressional offices.
“As of now, we’re open,” he said, though some staff members have started working remotely. “We’re here to help.”
For Gottheimer, next on his agenda is trying to make sure those hospital workers, whose services are in more demand than ever, have child care so they can keep going to work and treating patients even as their schools temporarily shut down.
Gottheimer said he has been in touch with Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco to see what kind of space is available for the workers’ children.
“If their kids are home from school and there’s no one to watch their kids, they won’t be able to go to work,” Gottheimer said. “Are there facilities we can open up for frontline health care providers? Is there something we can do to help on that front?”
If you would like updates on New Jersey-specific coronavirus news, subscribe to our Coronavirus in N.J. newsletter.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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From problem solvers to information sources, N.J. Congress members try to help in coronavirus crisis - NJ.com
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