Congressman Rob Andrews has represented the residents of the First Congressional District of New Jersey, which includes Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties, since he was first elected to the House in 1990.

Congressman Andrews is a leading national voice on workplace, education, budget, and national defense issues. Rob has served his entire Congressional career on the House Education and Labor Committee. He is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP), with responsibility for the health insurance, pension and labor laws of the nation. Rep. Andrews is committed to reducing the alarming number of uninsured workers by providing access to health insurance for every American, protecting the right of workers to collectively bargain, and to make it easier for workers to save money for retirement. Rob’s legislative priorities also include significantly investing in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, and incentivizing “green” programs and initiatives to move our country from energy dependency to energy efficiency.
Rep. Andrews also serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He is a member of the Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. Rob is focused on protecting Americans from loose fissile and biological material in the U.S. and abroad. Rob is also leading an initiative requiring the Department of Defense and the U.S. Military to use 25% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2025.

On March 8th 2009, Rep. Andrews was appointed to chair a special panel to address the ongoing challenge of defense acquisition reform. The seven-member panel consists of members of the House Armed Services Committee and will evaluate the Department of Defense's procurement policies for six months, looking for signs of financial waste and ways to change the procurement system to avoid that waste.

He has also been appointed to the House Budget Committee, which is working with the Obama Administration to ensure fiscal responsibility in the federal budget, provide relief to unemployed workers and spur immediate job creation and economic growth.

Governor Patrick speaks at the North Shore Career Center of Lynn. Patrick and Congressman Tierney announced $8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for the Commonwealth to invest in Re-employment Services programs statewide.

(Photo Credit: Sarah Gordon/Governor's Office)