Hi — I wanted to share this editorial in today’s “Star-Ledger” about the COVID deal. I’m always eager to hear your thoughts, and thanks again for everything Happy holidays and stay safe!
Yours,
Josh
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Gottheimer’s key role in stimulus deal
Opinion by Tom Moran
Rep. Josh Gottheimer has served just two terms in Congress, which means he doesn’t have a chairmanship, or a spacious office with a view, and that he drives himself back and forth to Washington.
But he just played a key role in breaking the partisan stalemate in Washington that led to the agreement on a $900 billion stimulus bill, a savior that will help the nation cope with the crisis for the next three months, until President Joe Biden takes the handoff.
Gottheimer, D-5th, preaches the gospel of compromise, much like Biden does. He’s been searching for the sweet spot for months, as co-chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, a 50-member group of centrists, 25 from each party. And for the last six weeks, he’s been negotiating with the group of eight centrist Senators who drafted the legislation.
The $900 billion number rose from those discussions, conducted mostly over Zoom since the November election.
“I am wiped out but thrilled,” Gottheimer says. “People are not going to get kicked out of their homes or lose their unemployment benefits. They’re going to get food. And we put more money into vaccine distribution. Those are things I really care about.”
The bill was drafted in the Senate, and parts were overhauled by House committees, so many chefs contributed to this meal. One of the most important changes came in Rep. Frank Pallone’s committee, which added billions for testing, contact tracing, and vaccine distribution. Politics is a team sport.
Gottheimer’s role was to help break the stalemate by opening this channel to Republicans and working with them on the shape of the deal. It started in August, when the Problem Solvers proposed a $1.8 trillion compromise plan, a move that caught the eye of Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia.
“Manchin said he really liked what we put together,” Gottheimer says. “So, we said, why don’t we combine efforts? That was in November, after the election. So we met in Manchin’s office, a group of us, and started discussing what it might look like.”
Many hours of talks followed, mostly on Zoom. At one point, Gottheimer had to pull over at a rest stop in Delaware for an emergency Zoom discussion. There were many more meetings among the staffs.
The final product is too stingy and doesn’t include critically needed aid to state and local governments. But it extends unemployment benefits that were set to expire the day after Christmas for 12 million families and gives unemployed workers $300 a week on top of their standard statement benefits. Most Americans will get a $600 stimulus check.
The moratorium on evictions will be extended, and $25 billion allotted to help tenants pay back rent. There is a new round of aid to small businesses, like restaurants, and targeted money for states.
“People are in really bad shape,” Gottheimer says. “The idea that we were going to go home with nothing for them was unconscionable. This is what people hired us to do.”
Gottheimer irritates some Democrats, who see him as a showboat and worry that the Problem Solvers Caucus could undercut the bargaining power of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In another era, when party leaders could find common ground themselves, that criticism would make sense. But when the leaders are locked in a stalemate, not even talking, then we’re lucky to have ice breakers like Gottheimer, as we have just seen.
“It’s been nine months since we passed the Cares Act, and they’ve been unable to break the logjam,” Gottheimer says. “And I never surprise the leadership. I’ve been talking to Pelosi multiple times a day for the last few weeks, talking to her about what’s the best direction to take.”
The Republican leader of the Problem Solver’s Caucus is Tom Reed, from western New York State. He and Gottheimer have become friends and know one another’s families, another throwback to an earlier era in Washington. Reed drove six hours to attend the funeral of Gottheimer’s mother in 2018.
“When my daughter was elected class president, he gave me a hand-written card to give her he was so proud of her,” Gottheimer says.
It’s hard to imagine a thaw in Washington, even after Trump is replaced by Biden. But Gottheimer thinks this model can work again, on infrastructure, health care, the environment, even immigration reform.
Maybe he’s nuts. But for the sake of the country, let’s wish the man luck.
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