Rothman said town hall meetings were a dying tradition. "My colleagues in the congress don’t really do this anymore, but they’re worthwhile," he said.

Federal dollars

As a member of the appropriations committee, Rothman does not only have a say in what gets passed, but in what programs receive funding. Rothman said he is the first Bergen County congressman on the house appropriations committee, the only committee that can allocate federal dollars. "I do bring money home," he said. "I brought home $900 million so far."

Deborah Wertalik, a North Arlington resident and director of Special Angels Recreation for autistic children, wanted answers on how congress would help the growing autistic population in the United States.

"If the right things aren’t being done now, it’s going to be a lot more money in the future," said Wertalik.

Rothman said he understands autism, as he has an autistic nephew, but pointed out the widening budget gap in the federal government. He said the U.S. is currently facing an $8 trillion budget deficit. "There’s a strong competition for dollars, but we’re in there fighting," he said.

"I’ll take care of it"

Rothman responded to a number of complaints with an "I’ll take care of it" attitude. "Often times when a member of congress takes a case, the case moves more quickly," he said.

He told a woman waiting two years to receive U.S. citizenship he would be delighted to have his office take on her case. "After 9/11, more people wanted to become citizens and the requirements for security checks became even tougher," he explained. "There are more people than ever who are now applying to be citizens."

EnCap

About a dozen area residents told Rothman of their troubles with EnCap, the developer whose plans to turn landfills into golf courses and housing in the Meadowlands have gone sour.

Rothman said the state agencies had yet to ask for his assistance on the EnCap matter and had been under the impression that the current governor, Jon Corzine, was taking care of it. "The governor’s administrators are now here working on it," he said. "The local officials are now prepared for these discussions in a way they were not prepared in past years."

Rutherford resident Frank Wilson suggested threatening to take federal dollars away from New Jersey to sway state officials to fix EnCap’s contaminated landfills in the Meadowlands. "As you’ve seen, it’s more toxic than it was before," said Wilson.

"I want to use the most persuasive methods," said Rothman. "One wants to be careful who one threatens."

Another resident suggested holding televised congressional hearings, similar to the ones used during the Major League Baseball steroid scandal, to get to the bottom of EnCap. Rothman said he would consider it if he found it to be the best way to spend energy and resources in a productive way, but felt the Iraq War and upcoming elections would likely take precedence in congress this year.

Rutherford resident Susan Muller said she fears for her health. "I’m so disgusted at what happened down there and I wonder if I’m going to have cancer," she said.

Patrick Kinsler, also a Rutherford resident, also asked for Rothman’s help with EnCap. "We are the laughingstock of this country. We always have been corrupt. We can’t fight Trump. We can’t fight the corruption. Where’s [U.S. attorney Christopher] Christie?" asked Kinsler.

Rothman said he would meet with the local mayors to get a better grasp on the issue and find out if he can help.

National to local

North Arlington resident Eileen Tita asked about the falling dollar. "Right now, our money is worth pittance throughout Europe and the islands," she said.

Rothman pointed to international market factors out of congress’s control as a major cause of the falling dollar, but said the federal government is responsible as well, particularly with regard to the budget gap. "To some degree, our mess is of our making," he said.

Tita also wanted to know how the government would fund universal health care, a cause which Rothman champions. Rothman believes universal health care will save the U.S. millions because Americans are paying exorbitant amounts for health care to make up for charity care hospitals that are obligated to provide to those without health care.

Lyndhurst health administrator Joyce Jacobson said she supports universal health care and asked what Rothman could do to enact it. Rothman blamed an inadequate number of votes in the Senate to pass S-chip, a universal health care plan for children.