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Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. ( ; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, is in the north-central part of the state and includes New Brunswick, Woodbridge Township, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Edison, Piscataway and Asbury Park. Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Pallone is a graduate of Middlebury College, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Rutgers School of Law–Camden. Before being elected to the House, he was a member of the Long Branch City Council from 1982 to 1988.
Pallone was a member of the New Jersey Senate from the 11th district from 1984 to 1988. In 1983, he defeated incumbent Republican State Senator Brian T. Kennedy 50%-49%. In 1987, he was reelected with 60% of the vote, defeating Neptune City Councilwoman Gerri C. Popkin.
He also serves as a co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues along with Congressman Ed Royce (previously Joe Knollenberg and Mark Kirk) and was instrumental in garnering the support of 127 members (30%) of the U.S. House for the Armenian Caucus. In 2002 he was awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal by the President of Armenia. In 2002, Pallone was awarded India's third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his contributions as member of Congress's India Caucus. "Fund push to AIDS war", The Telegraph (Calcutta), January 12, 2004. Accessed May 26, 2007. "Pallone, a Democrat Congressman from New Jersey and recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 2002 for his contribution towards bringing India and the US closer, said America has promised to make $15 billion available to combat AIDS in 14 hard-hit countries ranging from Haiti to Kenya." He also received the Friends of India Bollywood Movie Award in 2003.
Pallone was one of 31 House Democrats who voted not to count Ohio's electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election. Republican President George W. Bush won Ohio by 118,457 votes. Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Pallone received an A on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues. Congress at the Midterm: Their 2005 Middle-Class Record. Retrieved June 28, 2006. while the National Taxpayers Union has consistently given Pallone an F ranking on votes that affect taxes, spending, and debt. NTU Rates Congress Results for the First Session of the 111th Congress. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
Pallone has questioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on its update of flood plain maps in Monmouth County, specifically in the Raritan Bayshore."Pallone looks for FEMA flood map intermission". Gaffney, Melissa. The Courier. May 8, 2008. May 31, 2008.
Pallone has introduced a bill to modify the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the U.S.'s most important set of fishery regulations.
On October 3, 2008, Pallone voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program believing that the enumerated powers grant Congress the authority to "purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector."
In 2014, Pallone defeated Representative Anna Eshoo 100 to 90 in a secret-ballot vote to becoming the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. He had been the third-ranking Democrat, and was in line to becoming ranking member after the 2014 midterm elections due to the retirements of John Dingell and Henry Waxman. Pallone was backed by Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and the Congressional Black Caucus, the latter of which "made a repeated point to stress the importance of Pallone’s seniority. Black lawmakers have a deep appreciation for seniority, as it was historically the quickest way African-American members earned gavels". House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi aggressively campaigned on Eshoo's behalf, while the Steering Committee, packed with Pelosi allies, recommended Eshoo for the ranking slot by 30 to 19 votes.
After Representative Chris Smith said he did "not construe homosexual rights as human rights", Pallone issued a statement supporting homosexual rights. The statement read, in part, "Representatives in Congress must be promoting the expansion of human rights, not fighting to limit its definition to people that they deem to be appropriate."
While chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Pallone sponsored the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), which became the first online privacy bill to pass committee markup.
Early in 2005, Pallone announced his intention to seek the Senate seat held at the time by Corzine. Corzine won the Democratic nomination for governor in June 2005, and Pallone was the first politician to officially seek Corzine's Senate seat. He launched "Pallone for New Jersey" to inform New Jersey citizens of his work in the House and his desire to be New Jersey's next senator. In January 2006, Pallone announced his endorsement of Bob Menendez for Senate in the November 2006 election, ending his bid for the seat.
Pallone was an early and strong endorser of Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. He traveled to New Hampshire to campaign for Clinton. Clinton lost the primary to Barack Obama, who went on to become president. Pallone also endorsed Frank Lautenberg over Congressman Rob Andrews.
In the August 13, 2013 primary election, Pallone lost to Booker. Booker then won the general election.
| +New Jersey's 11th senate district (1983): Results ! | Year ! ! | Democratic ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | Republican ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | 3rd Party ! | Party ! | Votes ! | Pct ! | |||
| 1983 | 24,339 | 50.4% | 23,412 | 48.5% | Edgar Van Houten | Bull Moose | 508 | 0.1% |
| + (1988–1993) and (1993–2024): Results ! | Year ! ! | Democratic ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | Republican ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | 3rd Party ! | Party ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | 3rd Party ! | Party ! | Votes ! | Pct ! ! | 3rd Party ! | Party ! | Votes ! | Pct ! | |||||
| 1988 (special) | 116,988 | 52.0% | 106,489 | 47.3% | Laura Stewart | Libertarian | 1,713 | 0.8% | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | 117,024 | 51.6% | 107,479 | 47.4% | 2,107 | 0.9% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 77,866 | 49.1% | 73,696 | 46.5% | Richard D. McKean | Independent | 4,377 | 1.2% | William Stewart | Libertarian | 1,833 | 1.2% | Joseph A. Plonski | Populist | 871 | 0.5% | ||||||||
| 1992 | 118,266 | 53.9% | 100,949 | 46.1% | Joseph Spalletta | 2,153 | 1.0% | 1,404 | 0.6% | Peter Cerrato | Independent | 1,073 | 0.5% | * | ||||||||||
| 1994 | 88,922 | 60.4% | 55,287 | 37.5% | Charles H. Dickson | 1,774 | 1.2% | Gary J. Rich | Conservative | 800 | 0.5% | Richard Quinn | Natural Law | 548 | 0.4% | |||||||||
| 1996 | 124,635 | 61.3% | 73,402 | 36.1% | Keith Quarles | Libertarian | 2,044 | 1.0% | Richard Sorrentino | 1,509 | 0.7% | Susan Normandin | 548 | 0.6% | * | |||||||||
| 1998 | 78,102 | 57.0% | 55,180 | 40.3% | Carl Mayer | Independent | 1,291 | 0.9% | Steve Nagle | Independent | 1,262 | 0.9% | Leonard Marshall | Independent | 1,262 | 0.9% | ||||||||
| 2000 | 141,698 | 67.5% | 62,454 | 29.8% | Earl Gray | Green | 4,252 | 2.0% | Karen Zaletel | Reform | 1,120 | 0.5% | Sylvia Kuzmak | Conservative | 328 | 0.2% | ||||||||
| 2002 | 91,379 | 66.5% | 42,479 | 30.9% | Richard Strong | 1,819 | 1.3% | Barry Allen | Libertarian | 1,206 | 0.9% | Mac X. Lyden | Independent | 612 | 0.5% | |||||||||
| 2004 | 153,981 | 66.9% | 70,942 | 30.8% | Virginia Flynn | Libertarian | 2,829 | 1.2% | Mac X. Lyden | Independent | 2,399 | 1.0% | ||||||||||||
| 2006 | 98,615 | 66.9% | 43,359 | 30.2% | Herbert Tarbous | Independent | 1,619 | 1.1% | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 164,077 | 67.0% | 77,469 | 31.6% | 3,531 | 1.5% | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | 81,933 | 54.7% | 65,413 | 43.7% | Jack Freudenheim | 1,299 | 0.9% | Karen Anne Zaletel | Green Tea Patriots | 1,017 | 0.7% | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | 151,782 | 63.3% | 84,360 | 35.2% | Len Flynn | Libertarian | 1,392 | 0.6% | Independent | 868 | 0.4% | Mac Dara Lyden | Independent | 830 | 0.3% | * | ||||||||
| 2014 | 72,190 | 59.9% | 46,891 | 38.9% | Dorit Goikhman | 1,376 | 1.2% | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 167,895 | 63.7% | 91,908 | 34.9% | Rajit B. Malliah | Green | 1,912 | 0.7% | Judith Shamy | Libertarian | 1,720 | 0.7% | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | 140,752 | 63.6% | 80,443 | 36.4% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 199,648 | 61.2% | 126,760 | 38.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 106,238 | 57.5% | 75,839 | 41.0% | Tara Fisher | Libertarian | 1,361 | 0.7% | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 170,275 | 56.1% | Scott Fegler | 122,519 | 40.3% | Fahad Akhtar | Common Sense Independent | 4,871 | 1.6% | Herb Tarbous | Green | 4,246 | 1.4% | Matthew Amitrano | Libertarian | 1,770 | 0.6% |
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