“The fallout from the Trump administration’s federal funding shell game is landing here in New Jersey as our Legislature attempts a last-minute budget maneuver to siphon Opioid Settlement Fund money from its intended recipients to dubious and unexplained medical center targets. Likewise, our Affordable Housing Trust Fund is being diverted at a time when every available dollar is required to meet the full spectrum of housing development we desperately need. Both these moves bring to mind a carnie’s attempt to deceive the public into accepting something much less valuable than expected.

    “Anyone on either the giving or receiving end of opioid addition recovery treatment knows that the more personal, face-to-face, and hands-on it is, the more effective. And housing experts attest that in addition to large developers who qualify for federal funding, we need this state funding for smaller projects that don’t, in order to stem New Jersey’s desperate housing crisis. With a state deficit of nearly a quarter million housing units, this is no time to build a fiscal house of cards. And with an opioid recovery program that has cut overdose deaths by almost half since 2021, this is no time for budgetary smoke and mirrors. New Jersey must stay the course with these programs and stay transparent in its transactions.”

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