The race for U.S. Senate between incumbent Democratic Sen. Robert Menedez and Republican challenger Sen. Joseph Kyrillos is heating up with accusations about each candidate flying. Menendez told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider that his focus is on New Jersey residents. He also said he disagrees with President Barack Obama’s plan to cap the Bush tax cuts for those making less than $250,000.
Menendez said his campaign is focused on what the state’s residents are focused on. “Our focus is talking about how do we create jobs, how do we create economic opportunity, how do we provide health care security for families, how do we stop our addiction to foreign oil and create new energy sources here in America,” he explained.
Kyrillos has said Menedez should recuse himself from any involvement with MF Global, but Menendez called that “ridiculous.” “He suggests there’s some criminal investigation,” Menendez said of Kyrillos. “The fact is the Senate doesn’t conduct criminal investigations so I don’t spend any time dealing with every accusation that he wants to hurl because that’s not going to help New Jerseyans go to work.”
One accusation against Menedez’s camp is that political allies leaked information to the press that Solomon Dwek, a convicted con man who served as an informant, claimed Kyrillos gave him political favors. Menendez said his campaign was not involved in that and said members of the press probably studied some of the court papers filed and began asking questions from it.
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A bill that was recently passed essentially gets rid of subsidies for home and business flood insurance. Menendez said it was a compromise because the flood insurance program needed to be reauthorized and Republicans insisted the program be self sufficient.
“Some of us believe that there should be a certain level of subsidization of the program but that’s not what was going to happen so we would have allowed our Republican colleagues to have it lapse or the art of the possible’s negotiation and compromise to try to get to a point where you still had a program that can help people when they get flooded,” Menendez said.
President Obama proposed today to extend the Bush tax cuts for another year for households making less than $250,000 annually. Menendez said he disagrees with the amount, thinking it should be higher.
“I mean in New Jersey, if you’re a police sergeant and a schoolteacher husband and wife, $250,000 is not quite the level. So I’d like to raise the level as I’ve advocated for in the past,” he said. “But I think that after we raise the level, keeping it for that middle class universe is what’s important.”
Menendez favors a millionaires tax, however, because of the country’s financial situation.
“The reality is, on the Republican side of the House they want to pass all the tax cuts including for people above a million dollars. I don’t think the country can afford that because we have huge debt questions,” Menendez said. “So you’ve got to give middle class families the opportunity to continue to get that tax break but I think that those above a million dollars need to be able to meet their fair share on behalf of the nation.”