Hazelwood Op Ed: Congressman William Lacy Clay On The Debt Limit And Debt Reduction Agreement

NOTE: The following, in its entirety, is a first-person statement from Congressman William Lacy Clay (D) Missouri

No one likes everything in this bill, but the country needed to raise the debt limit…that’s why I voted for it. 

It avoids default, maintains the AAA credit rating, and makes responsible spending cuts to both domestic programs and the defense department. The deal also creates a firewall that protects Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits, which is absolutely necessary.

I would have much preferred a larger package of spending cuts, new revenues and real tax fairness. The process of getting to this point with the legislation was messy, but I think it was necessary as a first-step. But the second part of this compromise, the special committee is vital.

That bipartisan team, which will be appointed within the next two weeks, must continue to put everything on the table. And wealthy Americans, who have done extremely well, even during this recession, need to put something in the pot too. 

We can’t balance this budget on seniors, working people, and children. We also need to increase revenues. 

That means closing loopholes, ending tax dodges for big oil, hedge fund managers, and the most fortunate among us, and allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire at the close of 2012.

The progressive wing of my party is angry, and the right wing of the GOP, especially the Republican Tea Party, is furious. So that means that the compromise landed somewhere in the middle.

Finally, we need to remember that as we wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s time to do some nation building right here at home.

The United States is in dire need of a restoration policy that invests in rebuilding our infrastructure and competitiveness. 

We can reduce the deficit and rebuild our economic security, but to accomplish that, we still have to invest in people.

We need to invest part of the peace dividend to maximize the human potential of unemployed Americans who have great skills and abilities.

Jobs are a much bigger problem than the deficit, and we can’t lose sight of that.

That will require targeted spending to support modernized transportation, public education at universities, community colleges, and trade schools; and transforming our energy sector to finally free the United States from our dependency on foreign oil.

So as we tackle the deficit, we also need to maximize our most valuable asset…the human potential of every American.