John in Congress

Congressman John Adler was sworn into his first term in Congress on January 6, 2009. In Congress, John continues to be focused on creating jobs, cutting wasteful government spending, and providing tax relief for middle class families. He serves on the influential House Financial Services Committee and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

John is working hard to put our economy back on the right track. John wrote and passed legislation to reduce burdensome regulations for small businesses and create jobs in our communities. He wants to ensure that regulating the financial services industry protects consumers and seniors, while also preventing businesses from going overseas.

In an effort to help restore fiscal accountability in Washington, John consistently votes to cut excessive government spending, pay down the deficit, and provide New Jersey families with tax relief. John successfully advocated for numerous bills to reduce the tax burden, including a bipartisan bill to provide middle class families with property tax relief, extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, and support the cash for clunkers tax credit program.

John’s district includes Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and over 66,000 veterans. He is a strong advocate for the Joint Base and is working hard to ensure a smooth transition as the bases merge. John is consistently fighting for our seniors and veterans. The first bill that John passed in Congress provided a $250 economic recovery payment to seniors and disabled veterans. He is also leading the charge to investigate the Philadelphia VA hospital after it mistreated over 100 local veterans with cancer.

John is considered one of the most independent members in the House of Representatives. He is currently fighting to improve congressional efforts to reform our health care system and ensure that any reform is sustainable in the long term. Furthermore, he is not been afraid to vote against excessive spending bills and strongly opposes the recent bailouts for failing companies.

About John

John grew up in the Borough of Haddonfield, where he attended Haddonfield public schools. His father owned and operated a dry cleaning store in town. When John was in junior high school, his father suffered the first of a series of heart attacks leaving him with skyrocketing medical bills. Like many small business owners, John's father lacked the health insurance necessary to pay the high medical costs. The heart attacks left his father unable to work and he consequently lost the dry cleaning business. After his father died in 1976, John and his widowed mother lived on Social Security benefits for widows and minors. John understands the importance of Social Security, and has vowed to protect the program.

He attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School with the assistance of Social Security payments, scholarships, student loans, and jobs in the summer and during the school year. He married his law school classmate Shelley, and they moved to Cherry Hill.

In 1987, John won a seat on the Cherry Hill Town Council. He wrote Cherry Hill's ethics ordinance during his time on Town Council. He was also committed to strengthening Cherry Hill schools and improving health care while on the Council.

In 1991, John ran for State Senate against a long-time incumbent. That year, he was the only candidate to beat a Republican incumbent in either house of the Legislature. John served in the State Senate for 17 years, and was the Chairman of the prestigious New Jersey's Senate Judiciary Committee. He sponsored vital legislation designed to address key environmental and health related issues, homeland security, ethics reform, reducing auto insurance rates, eliminating municipal and school mandates, and reducing corporate tax on small business.

John wrote New Jersey's law requiring pension forfeiture and mandatory prison terms for corrupt officials. He also wrote the Smoke-Free Air Act, which prohibits smoking in indoor public places and workplaces.

John and Shelley still live in Cherry Hill. They have four sons, Jeffrey, Alex, Andrew, and Oliver.