Senators Pennacchio and Corrado Call For Special Legislative Investigative Committee in Letter to Democrat Leadership
Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) and Senator Kristin Corrado (R-40) sent a letter to Senate President Nicholas Scutari calling for a special legislative committee to be formed to investigate the findings of a recent report that claims New Jersey violated the constitutional rights of veterans at two State-run memorial homes.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio and Sen. Kristin M. Corrado sent a letter to the Senate President to call for a special legislative committee to be formed to investigate claims New Jersey violated the constitutional rights of veterans at two State-run memorial homes. (©iStock)
The United States Department of Justice concluded that veterans’ constitutional rights were violated at the Menlo Park and Paramus long-term care facilities. The report indicated that inadequate infection control practices, inadequate medical care, and a lack of management and oversight subjected veteran residents to horrific conditions during the pandemic.
Pennacchio: DOJ Report Reveals Devastating Details About Veterans Homes
Senator Joe Pennacchio lambasted Democrats and the governor’s administration’s handling of State-run veterans homes after an investigation conducted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed constitutionally deficient care for residents at memorial homes at Menlo Park and Paramus.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio lambasted Democrats and the governor’s administration’s handling of State-run veterans homes after a DOJ investigation revealed constitutionally deficient care for residents at memorial homes at Menlo Park and Paramus. (©iStock)
“This administration failed our veterans. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of our heroes have died due to inadequate medical care and a lack of effective management and oversight,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “This report is so damning that even Joe Biden’s DOJ can’t spin how badly our Veterans homes were handled. After three years of inaction from Democrats in the Legislature stonewalling calls for a comprehensive investigation, it is now time to hold this administration accountable for the harm done to veterans and nursing home residents.”
Pennacchio Calls for Immediate Special Voting Session on Parental Rights Prior to the New School Year Beginning
Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) issued the following statement renewing Republican calls for a special voting session to protect parental rights after a judge granted an injunction against three Monmouth County school districts preventing them from implementing parental notification policies.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio renewed Republican calls for a special voting session to protect parental rights. (Pixabay)
“Activist lawsuits launched by the Murphy administration are doing more to hurt at-risk children than protect them. If Governor Murphy believes that suing schools into submission and taking rights away from parents is the right thing to do, then the Legislature must step in and defend parental rights. We need to have a special voting session to rein in the Murphy administration’s destructive policies and address the real inequities facing education.
Pennacchio Says The Murphy Administration Should Practice What They Preach
Murphy’s Replacement of Equality with Equity Sounds Hypocritical After He Cut Funding for Schools.
Senator Joe Pennacchio said that Governor Murphy should practice what he preaches and focus more on fixing the broken school funding formula than upending school curriculum in response to recent changes made by the State Board of Education to New Jersey’s Administrative Code.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio said that Gov. Murphy should practice what he preaches in response to recent changes made by the State Board of Education. (Wikipedia)
“If Governor Murphy wants to talk about inequities in education, he should start by explaining why he cut funding for more than one hundred schools throughout the state this year. We have a broken school funding formula that is based more by zip code than actual educational need and it is hurting students academically. As a result, some schools receive huge funding increases while most districts are left fighting for crumbs,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “If the Murphy administration were truly concerned about equity in education, they would have supported Republican efforts to reform the school funding formula to provide full and fair funding for all New Jersey school districts this year. Instead, Governor Murphy decided that the best way to educate students was to cut funding to their schools and teach them that equitable outcomes are more important than equal opportunities.”
Pennacchio: Extremism Has No Place in Educating Our Children
Senator calls on Governor Murphy to veto the Department of Education’s meeting minutes and to keep kids out of his administration’s social engineering experiment.
Senator Joe Pennacchio blasted the Murphy administration for a recent controversial ruling made by the State Board of Education that has parents and legislators feeling concerned about the direction of education policy in New Jersey.
“New Jerseyans and even some Democrat leaders are speaking out against the Murphy administration’s attempts to push identity politics into the classroom. Parents are tired of their kids being subject to this constant social engineering experiment when real issues such as learning loss are being ignored. Substituting equity for equality is an anathema to our Constitutional principles and the fact that these changes were specifically directed at children makes it more onerous. I urge Governor Murphy to respect parental rights and veto the Department of Education’s meeting minutes to stop these misguided policies from going into effect.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio blasted the Murphy administration for a recent controversial ruling made by the State Board of Education that has parents and legislators feeling concerned about the direction of education policy in New Jersey. (Pixabay)
These issues stand in a long line of grievances that New Jersey families have with the Murphy administration. During the pandemic, Governor Murphy’s Department of Education hurt students academically when they shut down schools and made parents feel like they were losing autonomy over their children by forcing students to wear masks, even as COVID-19 subsided. Today we are seeing more of the same from the State Board of Education and the controversial curriculum they are pushing into the classroom. It is time for government bureaucrats to step aside and let parents, teachers, and local school boards work together to determine what is in the best interests of their community.”
Pennacchio Urges Action on Bill to Protect Right to Buy and Use Gas Stoves
Pennacchio Warned Public that Murphy Administration Will Try to Eliminate Natural Gas & Gas Appliances
With the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) beginning “building decarbonization” efforts, Senator Joe Pennacchio urged the Legislature to take action on a bill he sponsors with Senator Steven Oroho that protects the right of New Jerseyans to buy and use gas stoves.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio urged the Legislature to take action on a bill he sponsors with Sen. Steven Oroho that protects the right of New Jerseyans to buy and use gas stoves. (Flickr)
“Governor Murphy has said that ‘no one is coming for your gas stove’ even as his bureaucrats at the BPU were advancing plans to ‘decarbonize’ the state, which means eliminating natural gas and electrifying everything,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “Unless we have ironclad guarantees written into state law to protect energy choice and the right of New Jersey consumers to buy and use gas stoves, the governor’s words are meaningless.”
Pennacchio: Murphy’s Lawsuits Go Against Absolute Right of Parents, Will Hurt At-Risk Children
Murphy Says Suing School Districts for Parental Notification Policies Is the “Right Thing to Do”
Senator Joe Pennacchio responded to Governor Phil Murphy’s comments on Face the Nation yesterday that suing school districts is “the right thing to do” to stop parental notification of matters that involve the well-being of their children.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio challenged Gov. Phil Murphy’s assertion that suing school districts over parental notification policies is “the right thing to do.” (CBS/Face the Nation)
“The LGBTQ community has acknowledged that up to 50% of children who experience sexual dysphoria or question their sexual identity may contemplate suicide,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “Parents shouldn’t find out when their children are in the hospital, or worse yet in the morgue, that they have been struggling with these serious issues. Parents who have cared for their children since birth should not be kept in the dark when their children are at risk.”
Pennacchio Statement on the Tragic Loss of Two Newark Firefighters
Senator Joe Pennacchio issued the following statement on the passing of Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks, Jr., two Newark firefighters who lost their lives while battling a cargo ship fire at Port Newark.

Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks Jr. lost their lives Wednesday night while battling a cargo ship fire at Port Newark. (Newark Department of Public Safety)
“Each day, firefighters put their own lives in jeopardy to respond to dangerous, often life-threatening situations,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all of these men and women for their service and dedication. Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks were heroes who gave their lives to protect others and their sacrifice will never be forgotten. I extend my deepest condolences to their families and friends.”
Senator Pennacchio: Democrats’ Budget Comedies Continue
Senator Joe Pennacchio criticized Democrat leadership and Governor Murphy for rushing through a budget that is 60% higher than when the governor first took office.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio criticized Democrat leadership and Governor Murphy for rushing through a budget that is 60% higher than when the governor first took office. (YouTube)
“It is incredible to me that despite the state being flush with cash that we are doing a last-minute vote to pass a $54 billion dollar budget that is due no later than today. How can we allow for a committee vote before the duly elected officers had a chance to see what the actual budget contains?” questioned Pennacchio (R-26). “There is no transparency and the budget numbers provided in the budget committee were inaccurate. Legislators cannot do the job they were elected to do when the process is rushed and opaque. Why was this budget not completed and voted on weeks ago?”
Senate Advances Pennacchio Bill Establishing “Atomic Veterans Day” in New Jersey
Legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Pennacchio that would designate July 16 of each year as Atomic Veterans Day was approved today by the New Jersey Senate.

Legislation sponsored by Sen. Joe Pennacchio designating July 16 of each year as Atomic Veterans Day was approved today by the New Jersey Senate. (©iStock)
“Veterans who participated in the nuclear tests of atomic weapons in the mid-twentieth century patriotically served this country, meeting the needs of national defense during a critical period in history,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “This resolution will honor the important role these unique service members played in the defense of our nation.”