Analilia Mejia

What public transit options are available to you from your New Jersey residence, and do you regularly use any of these services?

As a resident of Glen Ridge for the past 13 years, I am familiar with the local bus line along Bloomfield Avenue as well as the Glen Ridge train station. I am a frequent user of the Montclair-Boonton train line as it stops in major cities like Newark, Hoboken, and NY Penn Station.

What is your impression of how well public transit serves NJ-11?

From first-hand experience, I can see how many riders use NJ transit not just for commuting to their jobs in NYC, but to get to everyday places using the train and bus. However, it is clear that in recent years, NJ Transit has been facing more and more canceled and delayed trains than ever before. This is unacceptable for riders, especially for working families who rely on NJ Transit as their primary mode of transportation.

What role do you believe the federal government could and should play to fund transit needs in NJ-11?

Ever since the pandemic, and the end of the Millionaire’s Tax, NJ has been facing severe budgetary cuts that have continued to decrease after each year. Additionally, NJ is one of the highest contributing tax states to the federal government, and has one of the most robust state-wide public transportation systems. As the state struggles to finance the agency, despite consistent ridership, we need federal funds so that the financial burden does not fall on individual taxpayers to pay the increased ticket prices year after year. I’ll fight for more federal dollars for NJ Transit so we can all spend less time commuting and more time with our families.

How would you partner with other organizations, elected officials, and stakeholders to drive regional improvements and inter-agency cooperation?

When I’m elected to Congress, I’ll work with state and local elected officials to fix our crumbling infrastructure and avoid the delayed and overcrowded trains. This can look like federal investments for our state highways to helping secure funds for potholes on the main street. I’ll also work with NJ Transit and other advocacy organizations to stop NJ Transit to cap how much the agency can charge riders each year.

Train riders in NJ-11 rely on Amtrak-owned infrastructure. What Amtrak funding would you prioritize to improve the experience for New Jersey train riders?

Many riders in NJ-11 use not only the train lines that run through stops like Newark Penn Station and the Newark Airport, but rely on the NJ Transit/Amtrak tracks that run through NY Penn Station. Oftentimes, trains out of NYC are delayed and canceled for various reasons such as track work, signal problems, or track incidents. I would fight for Amtrak funding to renovate the tracks and update the signal system so as to help prevent these kinds of delays for NJ riders.

New York City’s congestion pricing program has achieved an 11% reduction in auto traffic into New York City, but is still under attack by the Trump administration. a) Do you oppose the Administration’s attempts to punish NYC for imposing the congestion pricing fee? b) Do you support requiring NYC to share some of the funds raised by the program with NJ to help improve bus and train service between NY and NJ, so that more NJ commuters can avoid the congestion pricing fees?

NYC’s congestion pricing program has reduced traffic into NYC by encouraging NJ commuters to rely on public transportation. I oppose Trump’s attempts to punish NYC for imposing the fee and acting against the best interests for NJ and NYC commuters, as well as the environment. When riders instead rely on NJ Transit, PATH, and the MTA, these agencies see increased ridership without an increased operating budget. I support requiring NYC to share the funds from the congestion pricing program so that we can improve both NJ Transit and the MTA for NJ commuters.

President Trump has vowed to cancel federal funding for the Gateway Rail Tunnel project, which is needed to preserve commuter rail traffic between NJ and NYC. What is your view of the project? What approaches should be considered to ensure the continuation of the project?

When I get to Washington, I’ll fight to restore funding for the Gateway Tunnel that Trump illegally froze. To restore the federal funding, I’ll engage with other state and federal electeds, both in NJ and NYC, as well as advocacy organizations to apply pressure on the Trump administration. I’ll also work with Governor Mikie Sherrill to ensure that NJ taxpayer dollars are not redirected to finish the project.

New Jersey is seeking federal funding to extend the Bergen/Hudson Light Rail system to Englewood and the south Jersey River Line Light Rail System to Glassboro. What factors should be considered for funding projects like this? How would you approach advancing transit expansions like this and others within NJ-11?

Factors that should be considered for funding projects like expanding the light rail system, and other transit expansions, include ridership, fare prices, and the operating budget to build and maintain. Our light rail systems are already exacerbated with riders, but are often delayed and canceled due to low budget allocations. The Corporate Transit Tax is simply not enough. As an advocate for public transportation, I will fight in Congress for federal dollars to supplement/match its operating budget for NJ Transit.

New Jersey Transit’s bus electrification goals require substantial federal funding to upgrade the electrical infrastructure in the agency’s bus garages needed to charge new electric transit buses. How do you view federal funding investments in such projects?

Given NJ’s Energy Master Plan goal for transportation electrification, our state has already made great strides to electrify our bus fleet. To fully electrify the fleet, NJ needs federal investments to complete the project. My goal is to help secure federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers tax credits for transit agencies under the Commercial Clean Vehicle Tax Credit.

The Trump Administration is seeking to end California’s ability under the Federal Clean Air Act to set stricter automobile pollution standards than the federal standards. New Jersey along with many other states has traditionally adopted California’s stricter standards, helping keep our air cleaner and encouraging the sales of electric passenger and commercial vehicles under such programs as Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Trucks, which were implemented under the Murphy administration. What is your view on maintaining California and other states' ability to set stricter air quality standards?

Like California, New Jersey faces the issue of air pollution from our major cities and from our neighboring cities of New York City and Philadelphia. As NJ-11 is defined as the Greater Metropolitan Area of NYC, it is my constituents who are facing the direct repercussions of low air quality standards.

I support NJ’s decision to take the approach of implementing stricter air quality standards than what is expected federally. I will fight for Congress to adopt a similar approach for all Americans suffering from the impacts of air pollution.

Last year, the Republican budget ended federal EV tax incentives. In response, US automakers scaled back their investments in new EV and electric battery production. This puts our domestic auto industry at a competitive disadvantage to the Chinese, whose EV models are increasingly gaining a larger share of the world wide auto marketplace. What policy approaches should Congress consider to maintain US global competitiveness in the auto industry?

To maintain global competitiveness for any industry, the US needs to restore the tariff rates to its original percentages so that other countries can more easily purchase our exports.

The auto industry was a thriving manufacturing industry in cities like Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, including towns in NJ. With the increase of outsourcing of labor, these cities have been in economic decline for decades. Congress should consider financial incentives for auto manufacturers based in the US to not only restore working-class American cities, but to maintain global competitiveness in the auto industry.

Similarly, the EPA has delayed funding for the fourth and fifth year of the Clean School Bus Program grants and rebates, which were authorized by Congress in the previous administration ($1 billion/year). What is your perspective on the federal government's role in funding electric school buses?

The Trump administration has been illegally withholding Congress authorized funding for many federal agencies. I will fight against Trump when I’m in Congress to restore the funding for electric school buses, as previously authorized by Congress. With approximately 500,000 school buses in the US running primarily on diesel fuel, electric school buses are better not only to reduce air pollution, but for the health impact on students as well.