In the Spotlight: Frelinghuysen Honored with Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award
Providing Greater Educational Opportunity
Department of Energy Makes a Critical Investment at Rutgers
Salute: Hudson Maxim Elementary School in Hopatcong
 

In the Spotlight: Frelinghuysen Honored with Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award

On Wednesday, I was extremely grateful to receive the United States Navy’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Award.  Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, presented me the award in a ceremony in my Washington office.

I am truly honored to receive the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award. Supporting our sailors and Marines — past and present — has been, and will always remain, a priority for me.

The citation from Secretary Spencer states: “For exceptional service to the Department of the Navy as a member of Congress and the House Appropriations Committee. Representative Frelinghuysen’s dedicated service to our Sailors and Marines ensured they were provided the resources necessary to support and defend the Nation’s interests around the globe. His strong leadership as chairman of the Defense Subcommittee and later chairman of the full Appropriations Committee ensured the Navy — Marine Corps team remains the most capable force in history. Through his tireless efforts, he guaranteed the highest levels of sustainability for our combat forces and enhanced the quality of life for the men and women of the Department of the Navy. With grateful appreciation for his 24 years of public service to the Nation and for his outstanding contributions to the Navy and Marine Corps, the Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen is awarded the Department of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award.”

The Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, established in 1951, is an award presented by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy to civilians for “specific courageous or heroic acts or exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long-term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or Department of the Navy as a whole.”

 

Providing Greater Educational Opportunity

Over the years, I have been a proud leader in the fight for school “choice” — giving families greater freedom to escape poorly performing schools.  I am committed to working to provide parents with a choice in their child’s education in New Jersey and across the U.S. 

Almost twenty years ago, I helped create a successful private school scholarship program in the District of Columbia. Through the creation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), doors have been opened for parents to rescue their children from failing schools and gave them an opportunity to place their children in an environment where every child is encouraged to achieve success.

This critical program, which has received consistent funding, year after year, through the House Committee on Appropriations, provides low-income students an opportunity to receive a scholarship to attend a DC private school of their parent’s choice. Since the enactment of the legislation, the number of DC students in Charter Schools has expanded to 42,000 students or 47% of the total student population of Washington, D.C.! 

Today, the OSP is working for these students. An evaluation of the program, published by the Department of Education, found that participating students graduated at a rate 21 percentage points higher than their peers.

While this program affects families in our nation's capital, it should be an option for families in every state. I believe that with these scholarships, DC showed that there was an effective way to provide educational opportunity for disadvantaged children in poverty and empower their parents with choices.

 

Department of Energy Makes a Critical Investment at Rutgers

Earlier this week, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, was awarded $2.9 million by the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E).

ARPA-E recently provided dozens of financial assistance awards to worthy recipients totaling $98 million. These awards will support research and development into advanced energy technologies to transform the nation’s energy system. Specifically, the Rutgers award will support “Microbial Curing of Cement for Energy Applications”

This funding will help our state continue its long history of scientific leadership and support efforts to promote energy security and economic growth throughout the nation.

These awards were funded by the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which I authored and was signed into law in March. The legislation provided $353 million for ARPA-E. The President’s Budget had proposed eliminating this funding. The FY19 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which the House passed and the President signed into law on September 21, continues this funding level for ARPA-E, which the President had again proposed eliminating. 

 

Salute: Hudson Maxim Elementary School in Hopatcong

This week we salute the first graders, and their teacher Doreen Sciabica, at Hudson Maxim Elementary School who helped create a quilt that will be gifted to a veteran in need through the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

It is never too early to teach our children about the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make to keep us free. I praise these students for their efforts to bring comfort and healing to a veteran! 

You can read more in Jennifer Jean Miller’s article that ran in the New Jersey Herald.

You can learn more about the Quilts for Veterans Foundation here.