Frank Alo LoBiondo (: born May 12, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 1995 to 2019. He is a member of the
Republican Party. He represented all of
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
,
Cape May
Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...
,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
and
Salem Counties and parts of
Camden,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
,
Burlington, and
Ocean
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...
Counties.
In November 2017, LoBiondo announced that he would retire from
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
at the end of his term, and did not seek re-election in
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
.
Early life, education, and business career
Born in
Bridgeton, LoBiondo was raised on a farm in the
Rosenhayn section of
Deerfield Township. He attended
Georgetown Preparatory School, and received a
B.A. in Business Administration from
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. He worked for twenty-six years in a family-owned trucking company.
Early political career
LoBiondo served on the
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberl ...
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...
from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he was elected to
New Jersey's 1st Legislative district in the lower chamber of the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
and served from 1988 to 1994. He won re-election in 1989, 1991, and 1993.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections

In 1992, LoBiondo ran for the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, 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
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
's
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a legislative agenda advocated by the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party during the 1994 United States House of Representatives elections, 1994 congressional election campaign. Written by Newt Gingri ...
. 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.
2014
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
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...
, 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.
2016
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 assignments
*
Committee on Armed Services
**
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
**
Subcommittee on Readiness
*
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
**
Subcommittee on Aviation (Chair)
**
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
**
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
*
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Caucus memberships
*
Congressional Arts Caucus
Embezzlement by campaign treasurer
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
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
to charges of embezzling more than $458,000 from campaign accounts over a fifteen-year period. The charges included one count of
wire fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...
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." McCrosson was sentenced 30 months in prison.
Electoral history
Political positions
LoBiondo was a member of the moderate
Republican Main Street Partnership. His record on several issues, particularly the environment and labor union votes, fitted a moderate Republican. In 2005, ''
National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes ...
'' ranked him as the most liberal Republican representative in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and more liberal than most of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
's Republican congressional representatives.
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting p ...
in 2005 placed him in a higher liberal quotient than most of the Republican representatives in those two states.
LoBiondo was ranked as the 13th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the
114th United States Congress
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from Ja ...
(and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey) in the Bipartisan Index created by
The Lugar Center and the
McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).
Abortion
LoBiondo opposes taxpayer-funded abortion except in cases of incest, rape or threat to the life of the mother.
He consistently voted against federal funding for abortion whenever it came to a vote.
Cannabis
LoBiondo has a "B" rating from
NORML for his voting record regarding
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
-related matters. He has supported the Veterans Equal Access Amendment, which provides veterans information on accessing medical marijuana based on state law.
Donald Trump
He endorsed
Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...
in the Republican primary. In the general election he supported the GOP ticket but rescinded his support for Republican nominee
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in October 2016 after the
Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording surfaced, but ultimately ended up voting for him.
Economy
He voted against the $15 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler in 2008.
as well as the 2008
Troubled Asset Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by U.S. Presi ...
. In early 2008, he voted against the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a Stimulus (economics), stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed ...
. In December 2017, he voted against the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs ...
.
Environment and energy
LoBiondo has been endorsed by various environmental groups including the
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...
. 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.
Foreign policy
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.
In 2013 LoBiondo opposed Obama's request for congressional authorization to use force against the
Assad regime in Syria.
Gambling
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.
Healthcare
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.
In 2013, he said that Obamacare was "too deeply flawed to implement and ultimately unworkable."
LGBT rights
LoBiondo was endorsed by Garden State Equality in his 2016 election
and a cosponsor of the federal
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or, depending on the version of the bill, gender i ...
that would bar discrimination against LGBT individuals in the workplace. In 2011, LoBiondo appeared in an
It Gets Better Project
It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, m ...
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.
Tax reform
LoBiondo voted no on the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs ...
.
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."
Term limits
In 1994, LoBiondo pledged to only serve six terms in Congress.
In 2004 he announced that he would break his term limits pledge and allow the voters to decide. He retired after twelve terms.
Veterans
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).
He has introduced legislation - the Veterans Health ID Act
to allow veterans receive an ID card that allows them care at VA expense at any non-VA medical facility.
References
External links
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobiondo, Frank
1946 births
American people of Italian descent
County commissioners in New Jersey
Georgetown Preparatory School alumni
Living people
Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
People from Bridgeton, New Jersey
People from Deerfield Township, New Jersey
People from Ventnor City, New Jersey
Politicians from Cumberland County, New Jersey
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey
Saint Joseph's University alumni
21st-century New Jersey politicians
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature
Politicians from Atlantic County, New Jersey