Himes says another $3 trillion is needed, but won't end hysteria

By Scott Benjamin

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) of Greenwich says the House Democrats $3 trillion Heroes Act proposal is not going to "eliminate the [economic] anxiety" from the pandemic but "we need that money to get to the place where people are going to be hired again" after unemployment has soared from 3.5 percent in February to 14.7 percent in April.

Himes, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5) of Wolcott and four of their New England Democratic colleagues spoke during an online news conference on May 13 on the 1,815-page proposal, which, among other things would provide more aid for states, another round of direct payments for Americans, mortgage relief, rental assistance and an increase in the value of the earned income tax credit.

Himes indicated that the obstacles are so massive that the American economy will not rebound as rapidly as it did after former Democratic President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion Recovery Act in 2019, a month after both Obama and Himes took office, to address a financial crisis that had resulted in $17 trillion in personal asset losses and an unemployment rate that was climbing to 10.2 percent.

Washington Post economics columnist Robert Samuelson has stated that, "When Obama took office in early 2009, the economy and financial markets were in virtual free fall. By summer, they were not."

Himes said that "of course it won't" eliminate all of the economic hysteria from the pandemic. He said that won't happen "until we're out of the health care destruction that is happening. To get there we need this kind of investment" in testing and helping people who are struggling economically.

He said that funding from the Heroes Act would helped keep people who are "risking their lives employed," such as nurses, police officers and firefighter

Remarked Hayes, "I think the way we lower people's anxiety . . . is to educate them." She said Democrats are seeking to "invite perspectives" and "allow criticism" in reviving the economy.

The New York Times reported on May 13 that, "Republicans instantly dismissed [the Heroes Act] as an exorbitantly priced and overreaching response" to the pandemic.

Larry Kudlow of Redding, the director of the National Economic Council, told ABC News' "This Week" on May 10 that the White House was "collecting ideas" in consultation with Congress and probably no further steps would be taken on further stimulus or tax cuts until early June as federal officials reviewed the impact of the nearly $3 trillion in funding that has been approved since March 27.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. House planned to vote on the package on May 15 even though there have not been negotiations between the two parties.

Hayes said among the many constituents that she has spoken with, "Not one has said, 'You need to slow this down.' "

She noted that mayors and first selectmen "need real information right now [since their fiscal year] starts on July 1. They can't wait."

"To do nothing is no longer an option," exclaimed Hayes.

Hayes said the Democrats' proposal would provide Connecticut with $3.9 billion in funding n 2020 and $3.1 billion in 2021.

Himes said there was "an important contrast " in how Democrats have cooperated with Republican President Donald Trump over the last eight weeks in comparison to the actions U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had with Obama as he attempted to boost the economy.

Only three Republican senators supported the 2009 recovery act even though economists ranging from "the far left to the far right" said stimulus was needed, he declared.

Himes said McConnell said his goal was to "make President Obama a one-term president."

"Democrats today don't have any better regard for President Trump than Mitch McConnel had for President Obama," he said. Nevertheless, they have been "engaging with the Republicans to put forth four or five [stimulus] bills that have been dramatically bipartisan."

"I think that strong a contrast is really important. Democrats set aside all their partisan concerns for President Trump," Himes explained.

Hayes, a former teacher at Kennedy High School in Waterbury who was the national teacher of the year in 2016, said she was pleased that the Heroes Act included $7 billion for child care coverage, but there "is more work to do."

She recently distributed a news release announcing that she is co-sponsoring a "$100 billion investment in the child care sector."

"Even before this pandemic, over 44 percent of people in Connecticut lived in a child-care desert," stated Hayes.

The two Connecticut congressmen were joined in the virtual news conference by U.S. Reps. Richard Neal - the chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee - Seth Moulton and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who is the chairman of the House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee.