For eight years I was a proud Member of the House of Representatives,
truly believing that my job was to serve my country and the people that
elected me. I wanted to get things done for the American people, even
if that meant breaking ranks with my party at times for something I
believed in, or reaching a compromise that ultimately served the
interests of the voters. There doesn’t seem to be much bipartisan
sentiment these days, with everyone simply trying to get their sound
bite on television and to outflank each other with how far right or
left they can prove themselves to be, when in reality, most of America
relates to the political center.
Just look at your approval ratings – the latest polling data shows the
numbers around 12 percent, which sounds great compared with the nine
percent some polls were showing a few weeks ago. They like to pick on
my friend John McCain for his running joke whenever approval gets low,
saying “we’re down to paid staffers and blood relatives.” Senator
McCain seems to be the only one on the Hill that notices how bad it’s
gotten out there, because no matter how frustrated the people get, the
partisan bickering just gets worse.
On top of it all, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
announced two days before its deadline and three days before
Thanksgiving that it was unable to reach an agreement that would reduce
the budget deficit by $1.2 trillion and prevent automatic budget cuts
from being enacted.
Is that because the members are too concerned with getting home to
turkey dinner to worry about the pathetic condition of the American
economy, or because the 12 members of the Super Committee have received
at least $41 million in campaign contributions from the finance,
insurance and real estate sectors during their tenures in Congress to
ensure that their precious tax loopholes are kept in place?
The commercial banking industry is about to set its sixth consecutive
record for spending in lobbying this year, spending $47 million so far
this year alone and over $4 billion since the year 2000. A group of 20
corporations has spent more than $1 billion in a combination of
lobbying and campaign contributions to gain additional tax breaks from
the government that could total $79 billion over the next ten years,
all while moving millions of dollars in profits overseas – and we
wonder why we can’t close the budget deficits.
President Obama is no better, having raised nearly $90 million so far
for his and the DNC’s campaign coffers, with more cash coming in from
Wall Street than all the Republican candidates combined. His top
fundraiser, John Corzine, had to step down because his firm, MF Global,
found itself being investigated by the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the FBI when customer accounts were suddenly found to be
missing hundreds of millions of dollars. These are the thieves that are
funding campaigns, and demanding taxpayer money in return later, and we
can’t simply keep printing money and running deficits, expecting the
problems to go away.
Is this really the best we can do? Our economy is in real trouble;
fourteen million Americans are unemployed and ready to work, wondering
why their president and congressional leaders on both sides can’t stop
bickering and keep their hands out of the special interest cookie jar
to focus on what matters – controlling federal spending, fueling
economic growth and creating jobs. We keep missing out on opportunities
to show the American people that they are what matters. It’s time for
the president and members of Congress to quit worrying about who to
blame for the problems and start worrying about how to fix them.
Here’s what we need to do immediately:
1.
Abandon the Joint Select
Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Most Americans are upset about its failure, and rightfully so – after
all, if most us walked away from the duties of their jobs two days
before a deadline, they’d be fired – but this group was owned by
lobbyists from the beginning.
2.
Conduct a one-time, up or
down vote on the recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform (the
Bowles/Simpson Commission) before Christmas, after one week of debate,
ten minutes per member, while America watches. The proposal combines
spending cuts and revenue increases to reach $4 trillion in savings,
far beyond what the Supercommittee was unable to achieve. The president
must lead on this issue. We are running out of time.
3.
Reinstate a version of
Glass-Steagall and
institute other regulatory measures to keep banks and financial
institutions from becoming too big to fail so that we can prevent
future financial crises. Of course banks want deregulation – they can
take more risks with our money, and expect us to pay them for it when
they lose it all. We need smart investing to fuel the economy, but
risky investing hurts everyone.
4.
Bring the Currency Exchange
Rate Oversight Reform Act, or the China currency bill, up for a
vote to
take back some of the unfair advantages that China is using to maintain
an extraordinarily large trade surplus. Our manufacturing industry,
particularly small and medium-sized businesses, can’t compete when the
other player cheats at every possible turn. You wouldn’t have a
sporting event without referees; it’s time that we start calling
penalties on China’s unfair trade practices.
Some of these
items make members of my party a little uncomfortable, and that’s okay.
Isn’t it our job to question one another, and to push each other
outside our comfort zones, to make sure that we are doing what’s right
for the American people? Are you going to show real leadership in this
time of need, or are you more concerned with getting reelected using
money from major donors with a vested interest in maintaining the
status quo? I promise you, if you make the right choice, the money
won’t matter. You’ll get reelected for what you did for the American
people, not what you did for the corporations.