Republican Tom MacArthur Sworn in to 114th Congress

Republican Tom MacArthur was officially sworn in as a member of the 114th Congress on Tuesday.

MacArthur will represent the Third Congressional District, which covers parts of Burlington and Ocean counties.

He defeated Democrat Aimee Belgard in November to assume the seat vacated by Jon Runyan.

He will serve on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee.

His first hires included Burlington County native Ryan Carney as the Washington Chief of Staff and Ocean County native Frank Luna as the New Jersey Chief of Staff. Also joining the staff are Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Griswold, Legislative Director Jeff Brabant, Communications Director Chloe Rockow, and Director of Constituent Services Noriko Kowalewski.

He issued the following statement after his swearing-in on Tuesday:

“Today, I was honored to be sworn in as the Congressman from New Jersey’s Third District,” MacArthur said. “I ran for Congress to help bring jobs and opportunity back to South Jersey, and I’m excited to get started doing just that.

“Over the next two years, I’m going to pursue the goals outlined in my jobs plan and use my thirty years of experience in the private sector to work across party lines in Washington, improve our economy, promote job creation, and restore hope and opportunity for all Americans.

“Specifically, I’ll actively support South Jersey’s largest employer, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and the 105,000 local jobs it provides,” MacArthur said. “Not only is it vital to our national security, the Joint Base has a $7 billion economic impact on our region, making it critically important to the Third District. I’ll also pursue policies that help our district’s 65,000 veterans, which I’ve already started doing by co-sponsoring the Hire More Heroes Act that the House is voting on today.

“As I outlined in my jobs plan, I’ll also encourage investment in New Jersey’s infrastructure, stand up for a simpler, flatter tax code, and work to protect Social Security and Medicare,” MacArthur continued. “Additionally, I’ll advocate for victims of Hurricane Sandy, fight to streamline regulations crushing our state’s commercial and recreational fishing fleets, and help to preserve and protect our beaches, Barnegat Bay, and the New Jersey Pinelands.

“I’m looking forward to these next two years, and am pleased at the team we’ve put together to help serve our district.”