Topic Category: Tax and Budget

Cruel and Costly House Budget Bill Cuts Health Care for Thousands in New Jersey

Posted on by Nicole Rodriguez

On Thursday, May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping budget bill that includes dramatic cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), eliminates the Child Tax Credit for millions of children, and slashes investments in renewable energy. The bill would have far-reaching and harmful consequences, especially for New Jersey, by shifting more than $3.6 billion in costs from the federal government to the state.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement.

Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:

“The numbers in the budget bill approved by the House are hard to fathom: 14 million people will lose health insurance. Three million will be cut off from the food assistance they need to survive.

“But behind each of these numbers is a human life — a child going to bed hungry, a parent skipping cancer treatment, a grandparent unable to afford both medication and food. All so Congress can gift a trillion-dollar tax break to the wealthiest 1 percent. In New Jersey alone, hundreds of thousands of everyday people stand to lose coverage and support.

“Let me be clear, this is not fiscal responsibility — this is fiscal sabotage. Our state will be forced to absorb more than $3.6 billion in new costs just to preserve an already threadbare, vital safety net. This bill shifts the greatest burdens onto those with the least, all while padding the bank accounts of the ultra-wealthy.

“Budgets are moral documents — they show who matters and who is left behind. This one sends a chilling message: the House majority values billionaires over hungry children, health care for seniors, and support for people with disabilities.

“This is a cruel and reckless betrayal of the values we share. These are not New Jersey’s values, and they must not be the values of our country.

“Congress must reject this bill. Too many lives are on the line — and so is our future.”

Read more about the effects of federal funding cuts on New Jersey. 

Read more about the state agencies that receive federal funding. 

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House Tax Plan Would Strip Child Tax Credit from 180,000 New Jersey Children, NJPP Warns

Posted on by Peter Chen

On Wednesday May 13, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee voted to approve tax proposals in the congressional reconciliation bill. One proposed change would deny the Child Tax Credit to children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents if either parent claiming them on their tax return lacks a Social Security Number — even if the child is fully eligible under current law.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“The House plan to cut off the Child Tax Credit based on a parent’s immigration status is a direct attack on New Jersey families and children. More than 180,000 New Jersey children — 1 in 11 — would lose this critical support, even if they are U.S.-born citizens and their parents are lawful residents.

“This plan doesn’t just punish kids, it undermines one of the country’s most effective tools to reduce child poverty and make life more affordable for families. Denying help to children to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy is cruel, unjust, and economically short-sighted. Congress must reject this proposal.”

For more information on how Congress could improve the current reconciliation bill and help more working-class families, see the Tax Policy Center’s analysis here.

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Progressive Tax Gains Help, But New Jersey Budget Shortfall Remains

Posted on by Peter Chen

On May 14, the New Jersey State Treasurer reported higher-than-expected revenues, revising the budget projections for the upcoming fiscal year and increasing the state’s projected cash reserves. While the higher than expected tax returns and upward revisions in revenues are a welcome development, the increase is not enough to eliminate the state’s underlying structural deficit, which remains close to $1 billion even after the governor’s proposed revenue increases and spending reductions.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement.

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“New Jersey’s higher-than-expected income tax receipts reinforce what NJPP research has long shown: A robust, progressive income tax code can generate the sustainable revenue needed to fund public goods and services that residents depend on — from strong public schools to reliable transit.

“Although this revised forecast is encouraging, it does not close the gap between what the state collects and what it proposes to spend. A structural budget shortfall of approximately $1 billion remains, and without bolder progressive revenue solutions, New Jersey will draw down its limited surplus and weaken its ability to respond to looming federal cuts to Medicaid, food assistance, and infrastructure, harming hundreds of thousands of people. As the Treasurer and the Office of Legislative Services testified, the state stands to lose billions in federal funding and faces substantial exposure to an economic recession.

“The path forward is clear: Lawmakers must build on the governor’s budget by strengthening progressive revenue measures that ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. Without doing so, the state will be left with dangerously thin reserves if revenue reductions come to pass. Robust, equitable revenue is the only way to protect essential services and build a more resilient future for all New Jerseyans.”

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Legislature Must Raise Revenue, Support Working Families in FY 2026 Budget

Posted on by Peter Chen

Good Morning, Chair Pintor Marin and members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

The governor’s proposed budget takes important steps toward fiscal stability in the long term, particularly by raising additional revenue. Although NJPP would prefer more revenue measures targeting high-wealth individuals and large corporations that profit from our state, it’s clear that additional revenue is needed, especially as community grant programs and affordability initiatives such as the Child Tax Credit remain flat-funded or face cuts. To ensure New Jersey remains an affordable place for all residents to raise a family and thrive, the state budget must include more revenue.

The need for revenue and responsible budgeting becomes even more urgent in light of potential federal cuts. The legislature and governor have made clear that even minor federal reductions could have devastating effects on New Jersey’s state budget and on New Jerseyans who depend on federal funds for health insurance, food assistance, and affordable housing. The proposed surplus would only sustain the state for 39 days in the event of an economic downturn or federal cuts. 

Now, at a time when working families are struggling with affordability, the budget offers little additional aid to help them make ends meet, including:

  • No increase in Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit benefits;
  • No increase in Work First New Jersey cash assistance for low-income households;
  • No increase in rental assistance, child care assistance, or food assistance.

 

Instead, the budget includes cuts to key programs such as community colleges, legal services, and lead paint remediation, while diverting funds from long-term investments like the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Clean Energy Fund.

New Jersey must not follow the federal trend of cutting benefits and programs for working- and middle-class households while maintaining tax breaks for wealthy households and big corporations. Rather, the state should pursue progressive revenues policies that ensure those with the most to contribute their fair share, as outlined in NJPP’s 2024 report Fair and Square: Changing New Jersey’s Tax Code to Promote Equity and Fiscal Responsibility.

These measures include:

  • Adopting the governor’s proposal to increase the assessment on property sales over $1 million
  • Adding income tax brackets for very high earners above $2 million, $5 million, and $10 million
  • Requiring multinational corporations to disclose their profits from foreign tax havens
  • Increasing tax enforcement to improve compliance with existing tax laws

 

By ensuring that the wealthy contribute more equitably, the state can expand its ability to help working New Jerseyans afford the cost of living in the state and build the investments in school construction, public transit infrastructure, and climate resiliency that the state needs for a brighter future.

One final note on future fiscal planning: The Fiscal Year 2027 budget will face significant constraints due to the expansion of the Stay NJ program, which is slated for funding this year despite falling short of the surplus targets outlined in the legislation. While the state has less money to spend and potential federal cuts looming, the program is set to distribute more than $500 million in Fiscal Year 2026, disproportionately benefiting high-income, wealthy homeowners. These payments partially rely on prior years’ contributions, but Fiscal Year 2027 will have no such cushion — doubling the cost to more than $1 billion and further deepening the deficit.

The state budget can and should reflect a commitment for shared prosperity, where revenue generated by working New Jerseyans supports schools, transportation, and communities that make the state strong. That requires raising additional revenues from the state’s wealthy and reducing cuts to programs that promote affordable and opportunity for all.

From Health Care to Highways: How Federal Funding Shapes New Jersey

Posted on by Alex Ambrose

Federal funds play a crucial role in supporting state government services that protect and provide for New Jerseyans. Because of this funding, New Jersey can ensure clean water flows from the tap, children receive healthy meals at schools, state departments can repair roads and rail lines, and residents can access routine medical checkups. In fact, nearly one-third of New Jersey’s budget expenditures depend on federal funds, meaning that federal budget cuts would inevitably lead to reductions in state agency funding and essential services that families rely on.

New Jersey’s State Departments Depend on Federal Funding

New Jersey’s state departments administer essential programs, acting as the clearinghouse for billions in federal funding.

The three state departments most reliant on federal dollars (by percentage of their budget) are:

  • Department of Agriculture,
  • Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and
  • Department of Environmental Protection.

 

Specifically, these departments administer critical programs, including:

 

Feeding families and children, helping people get jobs, and keeping the air clean are essential services that federal cuts could put at risk. If Congress slashes federal funding, these departments may be forced to lay off workers and scale back operations, directly harming New Jersey residents.

Top Federal Programs in New Jersey

New Jersey’s state budget also relies on several multi-billion dollar federal grants earmarked for specific programs that fund key services supporting state residents.

  • Department of Human Services: Administers Medicaid/CHIP and TANF, helping families with low to no income access health care and cash assistance.
  • Department of Transportation: Receives nearly $2 billion in federal funding to build and maintain state and local roads, improving accessibility and safety for people with disabilities, pedestrians, and cyclists.

 

These programs receive some of the largest federal grants, playing a crucial role in improving the quality of life for New Jerseyans.

With the state budget already facing a structural deficit, New Jersey must push back against federal funding cuts that could weaken its ability to deliver essential services to residents.

How the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Measures Up

Posted on by Peter Chen

Before the Governor’s budget address for Fiscal Year 2026, New Jersey Policy Perspective produced a preview to evaluate whether the budget sufficiently advances economic, social, and racial justice.

With the release of the Governor’s budget in brief, the Governor’s budget met some important key benchmarks but fell short in other areas. (All citations refer to the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget in Brief unless otherwise noted.)

Below is a short summary of how the governor’s budget measured up.

NJPP FY26 Budget Priority

Was it included in the Governor’s Budget?

Protect the surplus and close the deficit  Yes. The projected annual budget shortfall has been reduced from $2.1 billion in the FY 2025 budget bill to $1.2 billion through some tax increases and budget cuts (BIB p. 8). The surplus remains essentially flat at $6.3 billion, although this amount is potentially too small to withstand looming federal cuts to critical programs such as Medicaid or other state-federal partnerships (BIB p. 8).
Fully fund pensions
and schools		  Yes. The governor continued his commitment to fully funding pensions and the K-12 school funding formula (BIB pp. 10, 15-16).
Raise revenues to balance
the budget		  Partially Included. The governor’s budget raises roughly $1 billion in new revenues, including more than $300 million from a new real estate assessment levied on property sales over $1 million (BIB pp. 53, 58). However, the budget still draws on the surplus to balance the books.
Maintain StayNJ’s guardrails, specifically the original spending rules that require a healthy budget surplus  No. StayNJ, an expensive subsidy program disproportionately benefiting wealthy senior homeowners, requires a 12 percent surplus target before payments can go out. Nonetheless, this budget continues to fund StayNJ and assumes payments will go out in 2026, even though the surplus is only 10.9 percent (BIB pp. 13, 8).
Maintain funding for services for immigrants  Yes. Thankfully, the proposal preserves funding levels for programs such as Cover All Kids, which provides health insurance for children regardless of immigration status, and legal services for immigrant adults and children (BIB pp. 27, 31). The proposal also doubles funding for the Office of New Americans, which connects immigrants to services for which they or their families may be eligible (BIB p. 31).
Expand and improve
tax credits for working
families		  No. Unfortunately, the governor’s budget included no expansion of the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit to assist working families in affording the increasing cost of living in the state.
Increase benefits in WorkFirst NJ to reduce poverty  No. Similarly, there was no expansion of the benefit amount for WorkFirst NJ, which provides cash assistance to low-income households.
Expand affordable health insurance options  Partially Included. As noted above, the budget continued to fund Cover All Kids, dedicating $165 million to the program to keep pace with enrollment. However, there were no other proposals to expand access or eligibility to state-funded health insurance programs.
Keep the Corporate Transit
Fee funding transit		  Yes. Corporate Transit Fee funds were directed only to New Jersey Transit and not to the general fund or footing the bill for other programs (BIB p. 6).
Use the Clean Energy Fund
only for clean energy projects		  No. The raid on the Clean Energy Fund remained similar to prior years, with $70 million going from the Clean Energy Fund to pay for basic New Jersey Transit maintenance (BIB p. 88).
End predatory prison communication fees  No. The budget did not include any funding to reduce or eliminate the cost of prison communication fees, leaving families to foot the $15 million bill for communicating with their loved ones who are incarcerated.

With budget negotiations ahead, lawmakers must prioritize solutions that center the experiences of working- and middle-class New Jerseyans by strengthening economic security, protecting public services, and ensuring long-term fiscal stability. NJPP has released a full report outlining additional progressive revenue solutions that would reduce the need for budget cuts that will hurt working-class families, reduce the need to raid other funds to balance the books, and better insulate New Jersey from looming federal budget cuts.

To learn more about policy solutions that NJPP recommends to build a more equitable state, read Blueprint for a Strong and Resilient New Jersey.

House Lawmakers Put New Jersey Families At Risk

Posted on by Peter Chen

Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget plan that would take away health coverage and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans. The House budget plan also extends over $1 trillion in tax cuts on households with incomes in the top 1 percent. New Jersey representatives Jeff Van Drew, Chris Smith, and Tom Kean, Jr. voted in favor of the House budget plan. In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement:

Peter Chen, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“No New Jersey family should have to go without health care or food in one of the wealthiest states in the nation. Yet, the House budget resolution passed last night sets the stage for making the state less affordable for the working-class folks who need help the most. Every ‘Yes’ vote was a vote to cut Medicaid, food assistance, and the basic safety net that keeps all New Jerseyans economically secure.

“The numbers are stark: 700,000 people at risk of losing health insurance; 800,000 people at risk of losing food assistance. But beyond the numbers, each of those statistics is a person’s life, someone who is just trying to get by as costs increase. New Jersey’s elected officials must stand up for those people, instead of cutting these services to fund tax cuts to billionaires and giant corporations.”

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Governor’s Budget Advances Fiscal Responsibility But Structural Problems Remain

Posted on by Nicole Rodriguez

Earlier today, Governor Murphy unveiled his final budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026. The proposal includes critical revenue-raising measures, such as an expanded fee on property sales over $1 million, but also cuts grant funding for programs that provide essential services to working families across the state. While Governor Murphy followed through on his commitment to fully funding public schools and pension obligations, the structural deficit remains over $1 billion with a surplus that would cover barely a month of government operations in the event of an economic downturn. In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issues the following statement:

Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:

“New Jersey’s state budget desperately needs new revenue to make health care, housing, and transit more affordable for working- and middle-class families while addressing the widening structural budget deficit. With federal funding cuts looming on the horizon, the Governor’s budget proposal takes an important step towards fiscal responsibility by increasing revenues through targeted measures like the expanded realty transfer fee while maintaining full funding for key commitments for public schools and pensions.

“However, even with these efforts, the budget still leaves the state vulnerable — failing to close the structural deficit or build a surplus ample enough to withstand federal cuts to critical programs like Medicaid. While families are struggling with basic costs, the proposed budget does not expand the Child Tax Credit or income assistance for working-class households, and it cuts back on grant funding for nonprofits and community programs. Yet, the budget finds room to fund StayNJ, an expensive homeowner subsidy program that would help wealthy households, even though it fails to meet the required fiscal responsibility guardrails set out in the original law.

“Rather than diverting funds from affordable housing and other essential services to fill budget holes, New Jersey needs more progressive, sustainable revenue solutions to build an equitable state for all residents — not one that forces cutbacks for the programs they rely on.”

Read NJPP’s latest budget analysis, What to Look for in the New Jersey Budget for Fiscal Year 2026.

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For the Many NJ on Governor Murphy’s Budget: Some Steps Forward, But Not Nearly Enough

Posted on by NJPP Staff

“Governor Murphy’s final budget proposal acknowledges the need for new revenue, but it still falls short of the bold action required to fix New Jersey’s long-term fiscal challenges. While some new taxes and fees will help chip away at the deficit, they don’t go far enough—and some critical priorities remain underfunded.

“The Governor’s budget may have avoided the worst-case scenario, but let’s be clear: patchwork solutions won’t solve a structural deficit,” said Eric Benson, Campaign Director for For the Many NJ. “We can’t afford to just cross our fingers and hope for the best. Without real, sustainable revenue, we risk deeper cuts and greater instability in the years ahead.”

With billions of dollars in potential federal funding cuts looming, New Jersey needs a budget that truly invests in its future. The Legislature must take this opportunity to go further—because a budget that simply isn’t as bad as we feared is still not good enough.

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For The Many NJ is a statewide coalition of more than 40 organizations working to expand funding for essential services and improve budget practices to meet current and future needs, especially for communities that have been historically left behind.

Federal Funding Cuts Threaten New Jersey’s Residents

Posted on by Nicole Rodriguez

Federal funding is the backbone of many essential public services in New Jersey, supporting health care, food assistance, child care, and education. However, recent federal proposals from D.C. include deep cuts to these programs — primarily to finance tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

These cuts would have devastating consequences for the state’s most vulnerable residents — including immigrant communities, people with disabilities, low-income families with young children, and older adults on fixed incomes. 

New Jersey’s schools, hospitals, and bridges depend on federal funding

New Jersey receives nearly $30.8 billion in federal funds, many of which support critical programs for families and the state’s economy, according to recent data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Many of these funds are passed through the state budget to individuals and programs, so even small disruptions in federal funding may lead to child care providers and soup kitchens closing their doors permanently or families being cut off from food or heating assistance.

Millions of New Jersey households count on federally funded programs

Whether programs and services are administered by federal, state, or local governments, federal grants flow to millions of households and families across New Jersey. This aid translates into health insurance and health care, preschool and child care, school meals and special education funding, and affordable housing — foundational supports to help every family succeed.

At a time when families are struggling to afford necessities like housing, food, and healthcare, any cut to these and other federal programs will directly harm hundreds of thousands of people. With the state budget facing its own structural deficit of more than $2.1 billion, federal cuts now would further hamper the state government’s ability to assist New Jerseyans. To safeguard the stability of New Jersey and support affordability for families who need it most, policymakers must prioritize protecting and expanding federal investments in public services and maintain an ample surplus to ensure the state can protect its families from harm.

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