Frank LoBiondo

LoBiondo watches as President Donald Trump signs The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018

In 1992, LoBiondo ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, but was defeated by incumbent Democrat William Hughes by a wide margin. When Hughes declined to run for re-election in 1994, LoBiondo ran again and was elected to the House. He was a member of the Republican freshman class elected in the 1994 midterm election and was part of Speaker Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. From that point on, he won every reelection bid with at least 59% of the vote even though he represented a district that was considered marginally Democratic-leaning on paper. In 2012, his district gave President Barack Obama 54% of the vote. In 2016 the district gave President Donald J. Trump a 5-point victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

LoBiondo ran for reelection to the U.S. House in 2014. He won the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 3, 2014. He faced Democrat William J. Hughes, his predecessor's son, in the general election.

He was endorsed by Gov. Chris Christie, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey State Building & Construction Trades Council, and the New Jersey State Fraternal Order of Police.[3][4][5][6]

Lobiondo was reelected to the U.S. House in 2016. He did not have a challenger in the Republican primary and was victorious over Democrat David Cole in the general election.

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

• Congressional Arts Caucus[7]

On March 4, 2011, Andrew J. McCrosson Jr., who served as treasurer of LoBiondo's congressional campaign committee from 1995 until August 2010, pleaded guilty in federal district court to charges of embezzling more than $458,000 from campaign accounts over a fifteen-year period. The charges included one count of wire fraud and one count of converting funds contributed to a federal candidate. LoBiondo's campaign attorney called this "an abuse of the trust placed in him by the campaign."[8] McCrosson was sentenced 30 months in prison.[9]

LoBiondo opposes taxpayer-funded abortion except in cases of incest, rape or threat to the life of the mother.[15] He consistently voted against federal funding for abortion whenever it came to a vote.[16]

LoBiondo has a "B" rating from NORML for his voting record regarding cannabis-related matters. He has supported the Veterans Equal Access Amendment, which provides veterans information on accessing medical marijuana based on state law.[17]

He endorsed Chris Christie in the Republican primary. In the general election he supported the GOP ticket but rescinded his support for Republican nominee Donald Trump in October 2016 after the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording surfaced, but ultimately ended up voting for him.[18][19]

He voted against the $15 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler in 2008.[20] as well as the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program. In early 2008, he voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In December 2017, he voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

LoBiondo has been endorsed by various environmental groups including the League of Conservation Voters. An advocate for renewable energies especially nuclear power, he has consistently opposed offshore drilling off the coast of New Jersey, sponsoring legislation in each Congress during the past decade.[21]

Considered a defense hawk in Congress, LoBiondo was a member of the House Armed Services Committee and joined in the bipartisan support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.[20] In 2013 LoBiondo opposed Obama's request for congressional authorization to use force against the Assad regime in Syria.

In 2012, LoBiondo, along with Democratic congressman Frank Pallone, introduced legislation allowing states to legalize sports betting, then only allowed in four states, arguing it would strengthen Atlantic City as a venue for tourists’ dollars.[22]

He is in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and voted in favor of the resolution that began the process of repealing Obamacare in January 2017.[15][23] In 2013, he said that Obamacare was "too deeply flawed to implement and ultimately unworkable."[24]

LoBiondo was endorsed by Garden State Equality in his 2016 election [25] and a cosponsor of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would bar discrimination against LGBT individuals in the workplace. In 2011, LoBiondo appeared in an It Gets Better Project video, part of a YouTube campaign reaching out to young gay teens who have been bullied and is a cosponsor of the Safe Schools Improvement Act to respond to bullying of LGBT students in schools.[26]

LoBiondo voted no on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[27] He opposed the bill due to the $10,000 cap on deductions that he described as being "detrimental in my high-tax state of New Jersey."[28]

In 1994, LoBiondo pledged to only serve six terms in Congress.[29] In 2004 he announced that he would break his term limits pledge and allow the voters to decide. He retired after twelve terms.

LoBiondo has made improving VA services in South Jersey a top priority while in Congress, including new clinics in Northfield, Vineland and Cape May Court House (to open in late 2018).[30] He has introduced legislation - the Veterans Health ID Act [31] to allow veterans receive an ID card that allows them care at VA expense at any non-VA medical facility.