Congressional Office Announces the Passing of Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr.'s office issued the following statement today.

"It is with the heaviest of hearts that Congressman Payne's Congressional Office announces the passing of Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. He was 65 years old and proudly served the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey since 2012.

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. has been a tireless fighter for New Jersey families as well as job creation, economic growth, protections for children, education, and the health and safety of our communities. He served as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In that role, Rep. Payne, Jr. improved passenger and freight rail nationwide. In addition, he served on the House Committee on Homeland Security, where he protected Americans through his work to improve communications between emergency agencies and provide greater resources to aid victims during and after national emergencies.

During his time on the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, Rep. Payne, Jr. introduced the INVEST in America Act, which became the bipartisan, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to provide funds for critical road and rail projects, such as New Jersey's Portal North Bridge and Hudson River Tunnel in the Gateway Program. Thanks to his efforts, the new law included $66 billion for passenger rail, the largest federal investment in rail in 50 years, and $55 billion to replace lead water pipes nationwide. In addition, the law included $8 billion for New Jersey's highways, $4.5 billion for the state's public transit, and $42 billion to improve New Jersey's traffic safety.

Outside of his committee work, Rep. Payne, Jr. was a strong leader on health care. His bill, Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act, provided full Medicare coverage to patients who have cancerous polyps removed during routine colonoscopies and it was signed into law in 2020. As a diabetic, Rep. Payne, Jr. fought to lower the price of insulin and improve treatments for Americans with diabetes and kidney-related diseases. He founded the Congressional Men's Health Caucus to increase awareness of men's health care and the Congressional PAD Caucus to increase awareness of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), a condition that could lead to limb amputation.

Rep. Payne, Jr. had been a strong advocate for children, gun violence prevention, American currency, small businesses, environmental issues, voting rights, racial justice, and the underprivileged to create more equality nationwide. His bill, the Homeland Security for Children Act, guaranteed that children's needs are included in future emergency preparation planning and became public law on June 6, 2022. He never stopped fighting for his Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act, which would have paid gun owners for their firearms to get more guns off the streets, and his Payment Choice Act, which would have protected cash as a form of payment for goods and services nationwide.

In addition, Rep. Payne, Jr. had been a champion of environmental protections, small business growth, and voting rights for all Americans. He introduced the Green Jobs Act to create more small businesses and jobs in alternative energies and technologies in low-income communities and fought to remove lead contamination in drinking water for district residents and Americans nationwide. He worked diligently to establish a disadvantaged business enterprise program (DBE) in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to increase the participation of women and minority-owned businesses in national rail infrastructure projects. Also, he helped pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Voting Act in a previous Congress to make Election Day a national holiday, end partisan gerrymandering of Congressional districts, protect non-election day voting options, and prevent states with a history of voter discrimination from passing voting laws without federal approval. After the murder of George Floyd, Rep. Payne, Jr. helped pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in a previous Congress to make it illegal for law enforcement agencies to engage in racial profiling, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and create a database of officers who racially profiled Americans to prohibit their employment in other law enforcement agencies.

Congressman Payne, Jr. experienced a physical accident at home on April 6, 2024, which necessitated hospitalization. During his treatment for this health issue, he faced medical complications due to diabetes and high blood pressure that led to subsequent cardiorespiratory arrest. Despite the dedicated efforts of the medical staff to treat him and improve his health, they were unable to prevent his passing unfortunately. Congressman Payne, Jr.'s passing comes 12 years after his father, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr., died in office on March 6, 2012.
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