09/22/11 Greenwich Congressman And Cos Cob Resident Jim Himes: The Grand Bargain

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I left Washington in early August utterly dispirited by the eminently avoidable debt-ceiling circus. As I suspected it would, the historically unprecedented mud wrestling hurt everyone: the Congress, both parties, and most tragically, the economy and the American people.

Fortunately, since I’ve returned to DC, I’ve noted a real change in tone. My colleagues have been trying to explain the inexcusable to enraged constituents. Perhaps the experience has focused their minds. I’m not so naïve to believe that a change in tone leads to a change in action, but I am feeling better about the prospect for meaningful progress.

In the last week, the president has done two essential things: he has proposed a meaningful jobs plan to put Americans back to work, and he has proposed his version of a “grand bargain”, the type of $4 trillion deficit reduction plan we need to stabilize our nation’s debt. Importantly, he has connected those plans to the underlying American values of fairness and shared responsibility that resonate through our history and among our people. And he has told us unequivocally where he stands. Agree or disagree with his proposal, these are the elements of conviction and leadership.

Make no mistake, the road ahead is fraught, and failure is a real possibility. There are elements of the president’s plan I don’t like. The savings from accounts set up for Iraq and Afghanistan are questionable, and I’ve never met a business owner who will offer a job to get a small tax credit. The epic task of streamlining our health care system is addressed with un-epic ideas. And I promise you, there are 534 other opinions in Congress.

And of course, the Tea Party majority in the House is determined to insulate the very most fortunate Americans from any responsibility to join in this national project, and is determined to avoid handing this president anything resembling success. On these things, they are full of passionate intensity.

I hope you will join me in urging the Supercommittee to “go big” and craft a fair, equitable and forward-looking grand bargain that demonstrates courage, compassion and compromise. Our nation risks losing its competitive edge if we don’t have the resources to invest in the education of our people and the infrastructure that allows them to succeed. Only by breaking the gridlock and thinking outside our partisan pigeonholes can we move forward on so many other critical issues.

Jim