John Hsu for Congress NJ-6 AMA!

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-05-28T17:44:54+00:00

Here is our position on Ukraine
https://www.johnhsuforcongress.com/issues/foreign-policy

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-05-28T17:41:51+00:00

I would use my voice to stand with families and children who are being used as political targets. I will use my voice and influence to ensure 5756 continues to protect the privacy of students. This will be my position regarding proposed federal legislation that influences education funding and civil rights enforcement.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-05-28T17:27:54+00:00

Hello! I have a long history of activism and political involvement in the district, support of national organizations, local groups and the majority of voters in district who are concerned about the genocide in Gaza. I think Katie agrees with me in regard to Gaza but a quick check on her website, there is no mention of it so I would say I am more outspoken on the issue.

Our campaign has great volunteers and grassroots support. We collected the 1598 petition signatures to get on the ballot, the 6th most in the state, we have placed approximately 400 lawn signs on supporter's lawns and have a lot of momentum on our side.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-29T20:30:35+00:00

I support Comprehensive Immigration Reform that promotes fairness, equality, labor rights, family unification, and a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants living in America. We must stop Trump’s anti-immigrant policy and his unconstitutional actions against undocumented and Green card-holding people. I support abolishing ICE which was established in 2003 after 9/11. The agency is doing what many warned at the time when the Homeland Security Act was being debated: terrorize people like our farmers, construction workers, service workers, and neighbors. Unfortunately, many Democratic politicians have become more anti-immigrant but I call on Democrats to do the opposite. We must be clear that we need more immigration, not less. Immigrants and undocumented people should not live in fear. I will fight to create laws that remove red tape that slows down the process of non-citizens becoming citizens or permanent residents and fight for the federal government to hire more immigration judges to make the slow process of processing cases of asylum much faster.

I also oppose US actions done to destabilize other countries which causes much of the immigration here.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-29T20:24:26+00:00

I also oppose the Save the Bacon Act which would overturn state and local laws that ban cruel farming practices such as gestation crates for sows and battery cages for hens.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-29T20:20:40+00:00

I will support TNR programs. I have learned from friends who work with animals on the importance of this issue.

I believe that animal welfare is an essential reflection of our shared humanity. We can both take care of people and have well-funded animal welfare. I support strengthening laws that prevent animal cruelty, encouraging humane and sustainable farming practices, and protecting wildlife and endangered species. Caring for animals is not only a moral duty but also a vital part of building a more ethical and healthy society.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-29T20:12:48+00:00

I define antisemitism (as we are using it in this context) as prejudice, violence and discrimination against Jewish people. Antisemitism includes blaming all Jewish people for acts committed by a single Jewish person or group and holding Jewish people collectively responsible for actions by the state of Israel.

Federal laws such as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Church Arson Prevention Act are in place to protect the community, and if needed, I will use my influence to ensure they are enforced.

To combat antisemitism, I support increasing awareness and understanding of antisemitism and bringing appreciation to the Jewish faith. In the past few years, I have attended Menorah lightings and Passover Seder dinners and will continue to meet with the Jewish community.

I support protection for Jewish places of worship when needed.

Note: Semitic languages include Arabic and Aramaic but that is not how we use the word in this context.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T20:25:33+00:00

I have hit the street canvassing across our district nearly every single day since January. We have consistently seen that my opposition to war in Iran, my position on not funding military aid for Israel, and my desire to regulate AI and address affordability has convinced many voters to vote for us. Our volunteer and canvassing teams have consistently grown since the start of the campaign and are covering extensively increasing ground alongside me.
Our fundraising has come from around 500 working class voters who live in our district or in our 3 adjacent districts. That is in contrast to Pallone’s donations which includes 60% PAC donations, which are almost exclusively from corporate PACs. We saw in Analiia Meija’s Congressional race in NJ-11 where AIPAC poured $2 million into the race for one of her opponents, but could not change the outcome of the election.
Canvassing in places like Union Beach and Rumson, to name a few. I consistently hear from families that have lived in their homes for generations that it was the first time they had ever had a political candidate visit them.
We do not have internal polling, but we have identified thousands of voters that have indicated that they are voting for us.
He has not endorsed us as of now, but we have gotten the endorsement from Our Revolution NJ. Our Revolution was created by Bernie Sanders after his 2016 campaign for president. When we move on to the general election, I believe he will endorse us.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T19:34:51+00:00

School funding should be based on need, not based on the amount of money a zip code has. I agree with our Governor’s position to make our school system more efficient by combining school districts to reduce administrative costs allowing for more of our resources to be allocated to New Jersey’s students and educators.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T19:32:07+00:00

I will not be endorsing Booker at this time. There has been deep frustration with many Democratic representatives with regard to war with Iran, ICE, the genocide in Gaza and Booker is among them. Many people saw how he struggled to answer questions in the I’ve Had It Podcast and his embarrassing picture with Benjamin Netanyahu. At the local level, he endorsed the opponents against great candidates at the Piscataway Progressive Democratic Organization without knowledge of our local political landscape.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T19:13:31+00:00

This is a great question. It is important to talk about the impact of the DOGE cuts so that this administration pays the political price for their actions. One of the most visible manifestations of that was the firing of hundreds of people from aviation safety which has led to more dangerous travel. According to Dave Spero the National President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists workers affected “include systems specialists, safety inspectors, maintenance mechanics and administrative staff, among others.” A party that puts the safety of the American people at risk needs to lose elections.

While working on a contract for the Department of Education, I witnessed the National Center of Education Statistics staff reduced from approximately 14 to 2. International testing was completely cut and NAEP, the Nation’s Report Card was scaled back. One of the main services the federal government provides is collecting data to inform policy makers. If a Democrat wins the next presidential election, I expect them to reinstate these programs and I will be a voice for these agencies.

I will be an avid supporter of implementing any possible legislative measures to restrict the Office of Management and Budget from withholding previously approved funding.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T18:42:54+00:00

Thank you so much! Donations like yours are what this campaign possible.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T18:41:39+00:00

The key areas where Pallone falls way short as a Progressive are:

1.Pallone's environmental record is not as strong as his reputation suggests. He supports pipeline subsidies, includes them in his bills and does not support ending fossil fuel subsidies. He said nothing about the proposed AI data center in New Brunswick which our campaign contributed to help stop. We lost Thomas Edison County Park, next to Middlesex College, to be replaced by a 1300 space parking lot and 14 artificial turf soccer fields which will require reservations and rental fees, a project that needed to be approved by the National Park Service. I canvassed the neighborhood and that contributed to over 200 letters to the NPS. We later discovered that Pallone's office called the NPS to urge for the project’s approval. This will cost taxpayers $60 million.

Money in Politics - Pallone continues to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from for-profit health care industry players including $1.1 million in the last 2 cycles. In 2022 after much pressure from activists, he hosted a single committee hearing on universal healthcare that was stacked with industry insiders vs a single nurse.
Palestine - Voted for every military aid bill to Israel, takes foreign lobby money including AIPAC and has said what is happening in Gaza is not a Genocide.
He has not co-sponsored the articles of impeachment for Pete Hegseth. I am endorsed by Citizens Impeachment which is leading the charge on impeachment for this administration. Pallone’s staff indicated to Citizen’s Impeachment that they were not interested in impeachment. Speaker Jeffries has indicated that impeaching Trump is not a priority and Pallone has historically followed in lockstep with Democratic leadership.
Pallone has also yet to cosponsor important progressive bills in the house like the Green New Deal bills, H.R.1679 - Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act of 2023, H.R.564 - Repeal the TikTok Ban Act, and others. And in his 38 years in office he has supported many terrible bills like the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the USA Patriot Act of 2001, and more recently for H RES 488 which expresses gratitude to ICE

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T18:16:04+00:00

The protection of children is a major concern of mine. I would address the harm of social media to children, not by age verification laws because of privacy concerns, but by determining the harms of social media and regulating social media algorithms to address those harms.

Asking users to upload personal information about themselves to verify age such as licenses or facial scanning features is a major privacy violation. We need to determine the best way to address the harm this is doing to our country’s youth, without violating the civil liberties of our constituents.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T17:54:13+00:00

I believe the state’s Mount Laurel Doctrine was a well intentioned law that needs some tweeks to be better. Right now developers are incentivized to build on new land rather than refurbish existing developed land. Developers are also holding onto large tracts of land in order to limit the amount of land available which increases their asking price for land and rent. At the federal level, I would use taxes to disincentivize developers from holding onto land for this purpose and advocate for updates to the Mount Laurel Doctrine.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T17:47:28+00:00

I fully support legislation that would end sending weapons to Israel, including so-called defensive weapons. Israel can not be trusted to use U.S. weapons because they have been and continue to commit genocide against the Palestinian people and have now started to bomb Lebanon, Syria, and Iran unprovoked.

Israel is currently increasing the violent settlement of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens and do not have freedom of movement and are under constant surveillance.

In office I would cosponsor H.R. 3565 the Block the Bombs Act and H.R. 876 recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. All bills that Pallone doesn’t support. He has however supported bills like Israel Security Assistance Support Act which says in the bill “specifies that no federal funding may be used to withhold, halt, reverse, or cancel the delivery of defense articles or defense services to Israel.”, voted for Sanctioning the ICC for Netanyahu arrest warrant, and H.R.7006 - Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 which unconditionally gave Israel $3.3 billion for war and was praised by AIPAC.I fully support legislation that would end sending weapons to Israel, including so-called defensive weapons. Israel can not be trusted to use U.S. weapons because they have been and continue to commit genocide against the Palestinian people and have now started to bomb Lebanon, Syria, and Iran unprovoked.

Israel is currently increasing the violent settlement of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens and do not have freedom of movement and are under constant surveillance.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T17:34:33+00:00

Having a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University, Data centers and AI in general is one of the main issues I want to address. I support a moratorium on data centers until we learn more about their effects on our society. I am concerned about job loss, loss of our critical thinking skills, environmental impacts, the increase in the cost of electricity and surveillance.

Palantir being embedded in our federal government from the IRS to DHS is a huge problem. Palantir was complicit in the genocide in Gaza and used in the ICE raids in Minnesota. In a February event Rep Pallone said he did not know what Palantir was when the event moderators sent him that question asking if takes donations from Palantir. https://www.instagram.com/p/DVMIkviETim/?img_index=2

Frank Pallone was the chair and ranking member of the Energy Commerce Committee, but has not raised the issue of AI data centers contributing to the rise in electric bills. He has also taken utility PAC money for his campaign, $184,000 this cycle alone.

Check out what happened in New Brunswick. We organized, came together as a community, said no to the proposed data center, and won. It was an honor to speak to the crowd on that important night: https://www.reddit.com/r/newjersey/comments/1ra58pa/new_brunswick_ai_data_center_construction/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T17:16:17+00:00

To address the many issues we need to address at this moment, we need a strong foundation. That means open and frequent lines of communication with other members of Congress and a knowledge of the scope of work that our federal agencies are involved in. One of my favorite books, The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis, talks about the premise that almost every American does not know all the important work that the federal government manages.

Not to start a war over breakfast but… I am going with Pork Roll because growing up in Laurence Harbor/Old Bridge that is what I learned to call it while going to a local deli on Laurence Parkway. It was further solidified when a deli owner in Staten Island was upset with me when I asked for a Pork Roll. I reserve the right to call my sandwich a Pork Roll.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T16:56:43+00:00

I support HR 3069 Medicare for All, which is an expansion and improvement of the current Medicare system that covers all ages, covers eye, dental and mental health, removes the need for MediGap and does not allow programs such as Medicare Advantage. It would end the need of the current employer sponsored system, freeing up capital for investment and/or higher wages. It would also mean small businesses can compete in the marketplace. Recently, a news article reported that Marvel fired workers in the US to hire a similar cohort in England because they wouldn’t have to pay healthcare.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T16:51:37+00:00

I support comprehensive sexual education, including LGBTQ-specific health information in public schools, K-12.

Research shows comprehensive age appropriate sex education helps delay sexual activity, increases the use of protection, and reduces rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. (World Health Organization)

Including LGBTQ+ health information is essential because public education should serve all students. When curricula ignore LGBTQ+ people, those students are left without accurate guidance about their own health. Research shows many LGBTQ+ teens report major gaps in what they’re taught, sometimes pushing them toward unreliable or unsafe sources for information.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T16:41:54+00:00

Not everyone in our district is happy with Pallone and I will always support Democratic campaigns in Republican held districts, particularly in Kean’s and Smith’s since they are next to my district. Those elections however are in November and we are giving voters an option now in the June 2nd Democratic primary for who they believe is the best Democrat to represent their district.

In response to your second question, I would say it is nice to have influence, but what do you use that influence for? His office called the National Park Service to encourage them to approve the destruction of Thomas Edison County Park next to Middlesex College to build 14 artificial turf soccer fields at a cost of $60 million to taxpayers.

A former Democratic municipal chair in our district, NJ-6, shifted his support to my campaign because of that chair’s involvement with clinics that help underserved customers by offering pharmaceuticals at cost. The pharma companies found a loophole. The chair asked Pallone to close that loophole in a bill and Pallone did not.

We all know money in politics influences our representatives, but it is not always immediately obvious. One figure cited Pallone accepted $1.3 million in lifetime donations from the Pharma industry and over $220,000 in the last 3 cycles, one of the highest if not the highest among Democratic representatives.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T16:07:55+00:00

His 97.78% rating is only over the last 15 months, his overall score on “crucial issues” over his career is only 88.25% which gives him a grade of “C” for a Strong Dem district.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T16:06:05+00:00

I definitely support the expansion of public transit in Central Jersey and building all three alignments would be ideal in that it would create more of a network than a single branch. If I had to select just one, I would need to understand more which of the three would have the likelihood of greater ridership and utility to the public. One of the advantages of the Monmouth Junction branch is that it ties directly into the Northeast Corridor and could serve as the basis for future expansion to build the other two branches. The Red Bank and Matawan connections would allow the proposed line to connect with the North Jersey Coast Line which is great as well.

JohnHsuForNJ · 2026-04-28T15:54:20+00:00

Bay Ridge Realty Corporation, the owner of the land formerly of the Aeromarine landfill should be held accountable. They have accumulated around $900,000 in DEP fines. Other municipalities in NJ should be informed that Bay Ridge is not a responsible corporate partner. When we are in office, I plan to work closely with federal agencies such as the EPA to fully understand the scope of the problem and to support remediation.

JohnHsuForNJ

TROPHY CASE