Himes Says Vigorous Debate, Not Political Scorekeeping, is Needed to Solve U.S. Problems

Make it more like PBS, less like ESPN.

That’s the tone Congress needs to strike, said Weston residents attending a brown bag lunch with Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) and First Selectman Gayle Weinstein. Because sound bites won’t solve the multiple issues facing the 112th Congress, including Medicare and Egypt.

“Watching the game last night I realized this is what our government is like. It’s like having two teams. How do you solve issues with that attitude?” said Dorothy Friedman.

Friedman was one of about 40 residents attending the lunchtime event at . Himes, re-elected for a second term, took questions and comments from the room.

“We are in a different world economically than we were two years ago,” Himes said.

In 2009, when the 111th Congress convened, the federal government passed through the American Assistance and Recovery Act, also known as the stimulus bill, and TARP. At the time, the country experienced job loss rates of nearly 700,000 a month. And while new jobs are being created daily, it’s not enough Himes said.  

“There are still millions of people who can’t yet find jobs. The real estate market has yet to recover," Himes said. "Economists will tell you we’re recovering. But most Americans won’t tell you that. So the question now is what we cut, when, and by how much.”

Any debate must address unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare as well as defense spending, Himes said.

Himes addressed the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform chaired by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. Their bipartisan report called for several measures, including raising the retirement age and reducing the mortgage interest tax credit.

The commission proposed limiting the tax credit to home equity loans and mortgages exceeding $500,000. Critics of the cap argue that the deduction is the largest tax break they can claim. 

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the deduction will cost the Treasury Department about $135 billion in 2013, up from $86 billion in 2009.

“I would approach this with the idea that nothing is off the table,” Himes told Patch after the lunch. “We once had a cap on mortgage interest deduction at a million. Simpson-Bowles is looking at a cap between $500,000 and $1 million, which affects a certain demographic. Any cuts would have to be equitable.”

One way to make cuts equitable would be for everyone to feel a bit of the pain.

“We need a plan to cut the budget,” said Ken Casanova. “I read about 25 percent of the [Simpson-Bowles] report, it’s comprehensive and specific. It’s sound and it spreads the pain.”

Congress voted to pass a tax cut compromise last December, which temporarily extends the Bush era 2001 and 2003 tax rates for all income levels. It also voted to ratify the strategic nuclear arms, or START treaty, between the United States and Russia.

Those are two examples of what can happen when Congress engages in vigorous debate without trying to keep scoring political points, Himes said.

Himes told the group he’s concerned the country is spread too thin, from its entitlements such as Medicare to its military engagements.

America at war

The country just entered its tenth year of war in Afghanistan and its eighth year of involvement in Iraq. That’s too long, said some residents.

Himes said he supports Vice President Joe Biden’s approach, which calls for a counter-insurgency strategy. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has ordered 1,400 more Marines to Afghanistan this spring.

“I don’t support a deepening of a commitment in Afghanistan,” Himes said. “I think we need two to three fire bases in Afghanistan.”

Because while the Taliban are oppressive, and violent, they’re don’t pose a national security threat to the United States, Himes said. Al Qaeda does. Al Qaeda is now reportedly more entrenched in Yemen and Pakistan.

Turmoil in Egypt

As for the recent protests in Egypt calling for the end of the 30-year reign of Hosni Mubarak, Himes sees a difference between the protests in Tahrir Square and those that occurred in Iran last summer.

President Barack Obama and his administration's engagement in the issue speaks to the fact that the United States "has a lot of influence with Egypt and zero with Iran," Himes said. "It's undeniably a difficult situation. I think the president has handled it well. But at the end of the day it's up to the Egyptian people."