Easton Courier - Himes Seeks to Focus on Improving Oversight, Transportion

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Easton Courier - Himes Seeks to Focus on Improving Oversight, Transportion

Written by Kristan Zimmer

Financial oversight, improved transportation and environmental incentives are three things Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes hopes to bring to the country and 4th District constituents if elected to the U.S. House of Representatives this November.

Himes, this year's challenger to 11-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, recently met with Hersam Acorn Newspapers editors to discuss how he thinks the government should address the market decline and other issues, such as transportation, education, environmental initiatives and military involvement overseas.

"Chris Shays is standing by the stance that the economy is fundamentally strong," Himes said in the interview, which took place before the House voted on an early version of the $700 billion federal bailout bill. "We had a bubble. It wasn't real growth. It was free money, easy credit. Gains haven't been shared."

Himes said the government must reconfigure the current regulatory models to bring them up-to-date with today's financial market structure.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, passed by the Senate at the end of the Clinton administration, allowed commercial and investment banks to consolidate, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. However, Himes said this change radically changed the atmosphere of the financial markets and government regulation didn't change to reflect the new model.

"Gramm-Leach-Bliley allows firms to combine and become global in a way we were unprepared to deal with," said Himes, who began his career on Wall Street working at Goldman Sachs & Co.

On Friday, Oct. 2, after Congress succesfully passed the bailout bill (Shays voted in favor of it on both Monday and Friday), Himes released this statement: "The rescue plan passed by Congress today is a necessary evil that we all hope will keep our economy safe and strong. It is also the latest and clearest example of why our families need new leadership on the economy in Washington. For years, Chris Shays has supported Republican policies that took the referee off the field and which have brought us to this point. In Congress, I will fight for smart regulation that will make sure that American families are never put in this position again."

During his meeting with Hersam Acorn editors, Himes said he believes another economic stimulus is in order, but this time, he wants it to be invested in infrastructure and education - two things Himes says will have the greatest trickle-down effect in stimulating the economy. Himes said, locally, he will fight for a New York Harbor rail tunnel to move more freight by rail through the Northeast, reducing the number of trucks on Interstate 95.

Himes has focused much attention on developing cities to encourage public transportation, improve parking, reduce crime and bring economic stimulation. Throughout his campaign, a major focus has been Bridgeport.

"If you reverse the vicious cycle, if you can turn it around, businesses move in," Himes said.

Himes said improving infrastructure will draw new businesses and jobs to the area, which reduces crime. To prevent the outflux of working class families through this turn-around, he said, the city must establish "inclusionary zoning," which requires builders to provide a percentage of workforce or affordable units.

Building is one thing, but building that is environmentally sensitive is another. Another plank on Himes' platform is creating incentive for "green" building, which he says will lower energy bills while creating jobs that cannot be outsourced.

"We use roughly half of energy consumption in our buildings," Himes told editors.

He is calling for Congress also to extend tax credits that promote wind and solar energy and increase financial support for alternative energy research.

A major part of improving quality of life for the long term is education, Himes said.

He supports fully funding the No Child Left Behind Act and does not support vouchers, which he describes as a mechanism designed to destroy the public school system."

When asked how taxpayers will respond to his initiatives, many of which mean more government spending at a time when people are beginning to pinch pennies, Himes said he believes voters will see the value in investment, which will have "economic return."

Himes said he sees areas the country could cut costs so that money could be used elsewhere. One example he gave was Iraq.

"The end state in Iraq is when the three warring parties make decisions in two areas that they haven't done before: oil and governance," Himes said. "The three warring parties will not make those agreements until they believe we're on the way out."

When asked what he would say to those who argue pulling out is a gamble, Himes said the country is already gambling.

"We're gambling right now, losing lives and $12 billion a month," he said, adding that the country doesn't have the resources in Afghanistan that it should to fight terrorism and develop a stable economy.

Himes told editors that while he does not have a lengthy political record by which voters may judge, financial services and the economy, energy and health care are things he has "interest and experience in."

"I'm excited as I can be," he said. "Where we are going is more about solving problems and less about partisan fights no matter whether you are working on Wall Street or making $20,000 a year."

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