Posted on August 11, 2025
Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone is criticizing Republican colleague Rep. Jeff Van Drew over a congressional plan to gut federal funding for beach replenishment, with Pallone saying Van Drew is not doing enough to save the funds from being cut.
“This is coming from the Trump administration, it’s coming from the Republicans in Congress, and now you see somebody like Jeff Van Drew saying, ‘Oh, it’s not really a problem,” said Pallone in an interview Thursday. “Well, of course it’s a problem.”
Asked to respond, Rep. Van Drew said he’ll “always” protect the Jersey Shore, and pointed to millions included in the current federal budget for dredging and resiliency projects along the coastline.
“I’ve been working closely with our towns, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the administration to ensure that beach replenishment projects along our coast are fully funded … and we fully expect that to happen,” Van Drew said in a statement to the New Jersey Monitor.
At the center of this battle is a GOP-backed appropriations measure in Congress that would slash funding for the U.S. Army Corps’ beach replenishment projects from the typical $200 million down to $60 million in the new federal fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The proposed cuts would jeopardize projects in Avalon, Beach Haven, and Stone Harbor.
While the Army Corps typically funds projects with some help from local and state money, small Jersey Shore towns can’t foot the bill alone, Pallone said. He noted that towns have to abide by strict requirements and show a cost-benefit analysis to be approved for the projects that, ultimately, save towns money when storms hit.
“It’s going to cost you more money, because these are only done when you can show that, in fact, it saves money,” he said. “So if you said, ‘No, we’re not going to do it,’ and there’s no resiliency, it’s going to cost more.”
Pallone said the measure, which was voted out of committee but hasn’t received a full House vote yet, would be the first time in nearly three decades that there isn’t enough federal funding to pay for beach replenishment.
Pallone and Van Drew both represent Jersey Shore towns, Pallone in Central Jersey and Van Drew in South Jersey.
Van Drew cited past federal funds he’s brought to his 2nd District for seawalls, living shorelines, beach replenishments, and coastal resilience projects.
“For five years running, we have been number one when it comes to delivering grants and funding. That hasn’t changed — regardless of whether we’ve had a blue or red administration or whether we’ve been in the majority or the minority in the House,” he said. “Hard work has always gotten the job done. Our record speaks for itself.”
Pallone suggested the cuts are politically motivated to hurt New Jersey because it is run by Democrats.
“There’s never been this phenomenon where it’s essentially down to zero, and we’re going to continue to fight it,” said Pallone. “I just am disappointed with Van Drew because he suggested that this isn’t happening, and in fact, it is happening. It’s very clear.”
