GOP senators criticize proposed nonprofit cuts, increased funding for immigrant legal defense program

TRENTON, N.J. — Two New Jersey Senate Republicans are criticizing Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, arguing that it reduces or eliminates funding for numerous nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable residents while increasing funding for the state’s immigrant legal defense program.

Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco and Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O’Scanlon said the budget proposal would cut funding for organizations that support veterans, people with disabilities, seniors, children, individuals facing serious illnesses and victims of domestic violence.

According to the lawmakers, the proposed budget would allocate more than $20 million to the state’s Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative while eliminating or reducing funding for a range of nonprofit programs.

“These cuts hurt organizations that support veterans, protect victims of domestic violence, provide services for people with disabilities, combat food insecurity, help families facing serious illnesses, and care for seniors and children—many of which provide services that government cannot easily replace,” said Sen. Bucco. “The impact will be felt in communities across New Jersey but somehow, the Governor is proposing to spend more than $20 million to defend individuals who entered this country illegally. That is a clear example of misplaced priorities.”

According to the lawmakers, the organizations and programs facing elimination or significant reductions include:

• Meals on Wheels of Ocean County, which would lose $100,000.
• Joan Dancy & PALS, an organization supporting individuals living with ALS, which would lose $100,000.
• The Adler Aphasia Center, which would lose $200,000.
• The Arc of Monmouth County, which would lose $295,000.
• The Integrated Care Pilot Program for Military, Veterans and First Responders, which would lose $320,000.
• The ALS Association, which would lose $325,000.
• SOS Veterans Stakeholder Group, which would lose $350,000.
• The New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders, which would lose $455,000.
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, which would lose $500,000.
• ACCSES NJ, which helps provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities, which would lose $500,000.
• Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice’s Access to Palliative Care Program, which would lose $1 million.
• The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group’s Children and Family Health Institute, which would lose $1 million.
• Rutgers Cooperative Extension, which would lose $1.25 million.

The lawmakers also pointed to proposed cuts for Rutgers Cooperative Extension and programs serving military veterans, first responders and individuals with Tourette syndrome.

According to Bucco and O’Scanlon, the combined reductions to those programs total less than the $20.2 million proposed for the immigrant legal defense initiative.

“Republicans have demonstrated there are better options available,” said Sen. O’Scanlon. “We identified more than $1 billion in savings and alternative resources that could be used to provide tax relief, increase support for schools, and restore funding for organizations serving New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents. Veterans, seniors, children, people with disabilities, and families dealing with life-altering illnesses depend on these programs every day. At a time when families are struggling with rising costs, cutting support for these organizations is the wrong priority. These cuts were a choice, not a necessity.”

The lawmakers said Senate Republicans previously submitted proposals to the governor and legislative leaders identifying more than $1 billion in potential savings, spending restraints and alternative revenue sources. They argued those measures, combined with increased revenue projections, could help fund tax relief and restore support for nonprofit organizations while addressing the state’s cost-of-living challenges.

Lawmakers continue negotiations on the fiscal year 2027 budget ahead of the June 30 deadline for approving a spending plan before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.