MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM), recognized as a leader in the education of employees for advanced manufacturing, has been awarded a $4 million grant from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to expand apprenticeship programs for the industry.

The USDOL’s Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies grant program focuses on advancing the development of apprenticeship programs in three areas: advanced manufacturing, information technology and health care. The program supports partnerships among educational institutions and the private and public sectors. These partnerships will create apprenticeship models to close the skills gap by providing key training and job placement opportunities and strengthening pathways into the workforce.

As a grant recipient, CCM will lead a consortium of New Jersey community colleges to build a network of apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing as part of a project called Career Advance USA. CCM was one of only 23 academic institutions nationwide to receive the USDOL grant.

“With more than 7,000 manufacturers in New Jersey, the apprenticeship program will help bridge the gap to create a skilled workforce in entering a critically important industry in New Jersey,” said CCM President Anthony J. Iacono. “The USDOL grant further supports and strengthens our mission to be one of New Jersey’s major economic engines.”

“This grant award to support manufacturing apprenticeships is a great step forward for New Jersey’s knowledge economy,” said New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis. “The apprenticeship model offers a unique opportunity to blend classroom learning with direct workplace experience in a mutually reinforcing fashion, and we are excited about the possibilities of the consortium of community colleges led by County College of Morris in partnership with the leading manufacturing firms convened by the German American Chamber of Commerce.”

The German American Chamber of Commerce is a central partner in the CCM grant and will bring extensive experience and expertise with the German model of apprenticeship training to the consortium’s efforts.

Last year, Iacono, along with 11 other education and workforce officials from across the country, toured Germany to examine its apprenticeship programs. Funded by the Transatlantic Outreach Program, the tour focused on how the United States might make use of the German model to expand experiential leaning opportunities for students with the support of industry.

The CCM consortium includes Bergen Community College, Camden County College, Hudson County College, Mercer County Community College, Middlesex County College, Raritan Valley Community College and Rowan College at Gloucester. Together, they will work with national industry partners including Arconic, Glenbrook Technologies, Norwalt Design, Rosenberger, Siemens, UPS and other leading firms in New Jersey.

Enrollment for the apprenticeship program will target both traditional and underrepresented populations, including the unemployed, veterans, transitioning military, women and people of color. At least 1,600 individuals are to be trained through the program.

The USDOL grant is perfectly timed with CCM’s construction of a 31,500-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center slated to open in 2020 to meet the needs of those key industries.

Additionally, CCM will be receiving approximately $500,000 as a consortium partner in the same USDOL grant program to develop apprenticeship programs in health care. That project is being led by Bergen Community College.

“Not only are these grants an historic occasion for CCM but also for New Jersey and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, which also is partnering in the apprenticeship programs,” said Iacono.

TRENTON — Tech startups in the state will see increased support thanks to a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Christopher P. DePhillips and signed into law by Governor Murphy. The bipartisan legislation, A5604, increases the angel-investor tax credit from 10 percent to 20 percent.

“Emerging technology businesses and angel investors are creating jobs and opportunities. It’s important we work to keep these innovative companies in our state,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen). “New Jersey is in a tough battle with Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. We have to fight to keep innovation jobs right here in New Jersey.”

The tax credit program is intended to encourage investment in advanced computing, biotechnology, life sciences, electronic and medical device technology, and information, mobile communications and renewable energy technology businesses.

“This legislation will give us a chance to be true leaders in innovation,” said DePhillips, who served on the state’s Biotechnology Task Force and currently sits on the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. “The entrepreneurs I’ve spoken to have said they need private investment. This will help meet that need.”

A 2017 economic report by McKinsey & Co., an international management consulting firm, showed the lack of fast-growing young firms and higher proportion of older corporations is contributing to the state’s sluggish economy. Young companies can quickly double in size and add jobs for many years while mature businesses generate few new jobs.

To qualify for the tax credit, the emerging technology business must employ fewer than 225 employees and at least 75 percent must work in the state. If the start-up is located in an opportunity zone, low-income community, or is a minority or women-owned business, the tax credit is increased to 25 percent. The maximum allowed credit is $500,000 for each qualified investment and the program is capped at $25 million annually.

WASHINGTON — Seven freshman members of Congress unveiled Task Force Sentry, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have been, for the past eight weeks, working together behind closed doors to protect the U.S. political system from attack by foreign adversaries. The task force is led by Reps. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Mikie Sherill (NJ-11), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02).

This group of freshmen from a variety of backgrounds, including national security, technology and law, has adopted a unique mission: to introduce legislation that closes holes in our laws that allow for foreign interference and financial influence in the U.S. political process. In short, their mission is to protect our system for the 2020 elections.

Task Force Sentry members have long held a commitment to securing the U.S. political process against foreign adversaries. However, upon the release of the Mueller report –– which detailed Russia’s robust, concerted effort to wage information warfare on the U.S. political system –– the bipartisan group assembled with a shared mission of addressing the issues that were not receiving due attention: preventing this type of attack from foreign adversaries.

“We believe that protecting our country from foreign adversaries should never be partisan,” Task Force Sentry members said. “We come from different backgrounds, but agree it is our duty to understand and respond to threats when we see them –– and that is what we have been doing for the last eight weeks, to develop new legislation and concrete recommendations on how to prevent any foreign adversary from attempting to influence the U.S. political system again.”

Through briefings and meetings with issue experts over the course of the last eight weeks, members have identified vulnerabilities in our political system, and are currently working to finalize legislation to address them by:

1) Deterring the originator — making it more difficult for foreign entities to influence Americans;
2) Requiring enhanced disclosure — mandating that individuals or entities receiving foreign funds disclose where those funds come from;
3) Preventing foreign financing from supporting campaigns;
4) Defining the roles and responsibilities of social media companies to prevent foreign government entities from using their platforms to interfere in U.S. political processes;
5) Establishing ongoing monitoring, analysis and enforcement mechanisms to identify threats and tools to prevent foreign interference through information operations.

“Even well before the Mueller report was released, we have known that a foreign adversary attempted to attack our political system and has continued to try to do so again,” Rep. Slotkin said. “As a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who represents a state that was disproportionately targeted by Russian information warfare in 2016, I am proud that Task Force Sentry has taken up the critical mission of preventing attacks on our political system by a foreign adversary. This is not a partisan issue. It is a national security issue, it’s an American issue, and it is our responsibility to take action.”

“Coming from a background in the tech industry, I am struck by the vulnerabilities exposed in social media platforms through the disinformation campaign propagated by Russia over the years. There is a real threat that this could be replicated by any group or hostile nation with a mind to influence our public discourse, and I firmly believe that we as a Congress need to come together in a bipartisan manner to produce new ideas that will protect our nation now and into the future,” said Rep. Gonzalez.

“During a time marked by massive disinformation campaigns and hostile attacks against election systems across the globe—including potentially from adversarial actors like Iran, North Korea, and China—it’s critical that the American people have accurate and up-to-date information about the threats we face,” Rep. Spanberger said. “This Task Force is focused on gathering information from experts, working together across the partisan divide to advance effective policy, and helping to protect the public from disinformation. As a former CIA officer, I recognize the critical threats across the cyber landscape, and I’m proud to stand alongside my fellow Task Force members as we look to prevent future attacks, including those that could compromise the integrity of our elections.”

“A foreign adversary attacked our democracy in 2016 and is working to do it again—yet, almost nothing has been done to protect our future elections,” Rep. Underwood said. “When I took office, I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Every person who took that oath has the patriotic duty to put politics aside and get to work to ensure that Americans can participate in our democracy free from foreign interference. Election security is national security and the next election is just around the corner, we do not have time to wait.”

“Protecting our country from foreign interference is never a partisan issue. I worked to do so as a Russian Policy Officer in the U.S. Navy and I am continuing that work with members in Congress on both sides of the aisle,” Rep. Sherrill said. “Our democracy rests on fair elections. That is why the members of Task Force Sentry have worked so hard to study the implications of the Russians’ attempts to influence our elections, and the methods they used to do so. We are now working on legislation to protect the 2020 elections and to provide national security leadership on this critical issue.”

“The Mueller report was explicit in its investigation and revelation of a foreign adversary intervening in our democratic processes and electoral systems,” Rep. Houlahan said. “A threat to our elections is and should be treated as a threat to our country. I am proud to have helped launch the bipartisan Task Force Sentry to work to prevent such interference from happening again. This is not partisan; it’s about protecting the democracy for all of us.”

“Maintaining the integrity of our elections should never be a partisan issue. Foreign governments attempted to interfere in our elections in the past and they will try to do it again,” Rep. Torres Small said. “More than ever, we must focus on protecting the security and integrity of our elections by addressing the weaknesses within our elections systems while adapting to changing tactics of our foreign adversaries who wish to compromise our democracy.”

TRENTON — Governor Phil Murphy signed ACS for A4430 and A4555, also known as “Linda’s Law,” which will require electric public utility companies to verify with all residential customers whether anyone at the residence uses life-sustaining equipment powered by electricity. The legislation is in response to the death of Linda Daniels, a resident of Newark who lost her life when her oxygen tank lost power after her electricity was shut off.

“No one should fear losing their life because their electricity bill is a few days overdue,” said Governor Murphy. “Linda’s Law will protect residents who rely upon electricity to support their medical equipment.”

Linda’s Law will prohibit electric public utilities from discontinuing service for 90 days due to nonpayment for medical customers who rely on electric-powered medical equipment to survive. Utilities shall request information as to whether any residential customer qualifies as a medical customer on a semi-annual basis.

“On this anniversary of the tragic death of Linda Daniels, thank you to Governor Murphy and the Legislature for passing Linda’s Law,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph L. Fiordaliso. “The NJBPU has been working closely with the utilities to implement additional regulations that we hope, along with this legislation, will help prevent future tragedies. Our ongoing condolences to her family.”

“One year ago, Linda Daniels lost her life when her electricity was shut off and the oxygen mask that she desperately needed lost power,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “For seven hours, in the middle of a heat wave, she gasped for breath. A year later, a family is still mourning the loss of a 68-year-old mother and grandmother, who had much more life to give her family and community. We must continue to keep them in prayer and have trust that Linda’s death will not be in vain. Out of this tragic loss, “Linda’s Law” will protect and support those that need it the most regardless of their ability to afford it.”

“It is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that those depending on electricity for their medical device do not experience a shut-off in their home,” said Assembly Members Yvonne Lopez, Raj Mukherji, Eliana Pintor Marin, Wayne DeAngelo, James Kennedy, and Lisa Swain. “We need to ensure that electric public utilities have a comprehensive system to not only track, but also meet the needs of their medically dependent customers. We know that BPU regulations consider temperature as well as other factors prior to ordering a shut-off, however, the health of our most vulnerable populations must also be made a priority factor in determining a discontinuation of service.”

“Being late on your bills should not be life-threatening,” said Senator Joseph Vitale. “Unfortunately for Linda Daniels, discontinuing power to her home cut off her oxygen. This should never have been acceptable in America, and certainly not in New Jersey. No number of missed utility payments should ever have been lethal and hopefully with this legislation, it will never be again.”

“Many people rely on electricity to power life-sustaining medical equipment within their homes,” said Senator Linda Greenstein. “These individuals must be protected from potential energy shut-offs and must be provided leniency by their energy suppliers. No person’s electricity should determine life or death.”

“The inability to pay an electric bill should not have deadly consequences, but what happens when power is cut off to someone using life sustaining medical equipment,” said Senator Teresa Ruiz. “This legislation will expand precautions already in place to ensure power companies are not risking anyone’s life when they discontinue services to a customer past due on their bill.”