Dan Debicella’s View

The pork-barrel stimulus bill has done next to nothing to create jobs in Connecticut.  Instead of more government spending, we need to give relief to small businesses and middle class families.  I propose that we repeal the 50% of stimulus money that has yet to be distributed and instead cut the payroll tax in half for one year. This one act will save every family in America $1,500 in taxes.  Furthermore, it will provide tax relief to small businesses so that they can afford to hire additional employees. Finally, it will actually shrink our $1.4 trillion deficit because it costs less than the pork-barrel stimulus.

Jim Himes’ View

Jim Himes has shown that he is out of touch with the people of Fairfield County.  His answer to creating more jobs is more government spending.  In the stimulus package he voted for $10,000 more debt for every family in Fairfield County.  What has Fairfield County received for this massive new debt?  Some paving jobs on the Merritt Parkway for two months.  Jim Himes likes to talk about helping the economy, but all he has done is vote for more government spending, including our record $1.4 trillion deficit.  Meanwhile, the number of unemployed individuals in Connecticut is sadly on the rise and Jim Himes is nowhere to be found.

Dan Debicella’s View

The fundamental problem with healthcare is out-of-control costs, yet Jim Himes’ plans focus on covering the uninsured by taxing the already insured. Dan has a detailed plan for cutting the costs of healthcare. It includes:

1. A focus on preventive medicine through a “healthy-living tax credit” so that we can catch diseases early, save lives, and keep the cost of care low
2. Interstate competition between health insurance companies to ensure that premiums are truly controlled by the market
3. Malpractice reform to reign in out-of-control insurance costs for doctors and hospitals
4. Mandate reform to ensure that single women aren’t forced to pay for prostate cancer coverage and men aren’t paying premiums for mammograms, both of which are happening right now in this country
5. Improvements in electronic patient records and healthcare information technology to streamline the continuum of care and ensure that patients get the right care at the right time, and
6. Low-cost private plans like Governor Rell’s Charter Oak Plan that will ensure that fewer people go without healthcare and cover millions of Americans—because we make it affordable for them.

Together, these six reforms could reduce the cost of healthcare dramatically in Connecticut—while saving more lives through more prevention and better care.  Rather than just taxing the insured to pay for the uninsured, we need a more intelligent and creative approach to reforming healthcare. 

Jim Himes’ View

Jim Himes has voted for a government-run healthcare package that makes an error that can be fatal in medicine—it focuses on the symptom, not the root cause of what ails healthcare in America today.  The plan does nothing to address the problem of escalating costs but is, in fact, hinged on tax increases and penalties to working families in Connecticut. 

The Himes/Pelosi plan would cover the 6% of uninsured in Connecticut by taxing the other 94% of us who have health insurance.  His bill would cost Fairfield County $1.4 billion in higher taxes and healthcare costs—an average of $5,000 for every family.  Harming most of us to help some of us is not an ideal answer.

Jim Himes knows the bill means higher taxes but claims the bill only raises taxes on wealthier families in Fairfield County. That is based on faulty assumptions as Jim Himes and Nancy Pelosi claim there is will be cuts in Medicare that will help pay for the plan. However, they have no specifics of where these cuts will come from.  Instead, the government will have to either increase our record deficits, or more likely raise taxes on middle class families to pay for subsidies for the uninsured.

Dan Debicella’s View

Abraham Lincoln believed we should have all the government we need, but only the government we need.  Families and small businesses are the engines that drive the betterment of society.  As a state senator, I have seen the job-killing burden of high taxes and government red-tape.  As your Congressman, I will fight for our free enterprise system and support the small businesses that create jobs and are the foundation of our economy. I believe that if Washington understood what the rest of us already know, our nation would be better off. Government spending could be brought under control if Washington followed some common sense principles. First is that you can’t spend more than you make and second is that you can’t borrow more than you can pay back.  That is why I have proposed a new federal spending cap to rein in out-of-control spending.  Only by capping spending and forcing Congress to make tradeoffs will we be able to eliminate our massive budget deficit.

Dan believes we need to preserve Social Security and Medicare through common-sense reforms, and he opposes raising taxes or privatization as answers.

Jim Himes’ View

Jim Himes sees government as the solution to our economic problems. Banks in trouble? The government should take them over. Auto industry in trouble? The government should take it over. Healthcare system needs reform? The government should take it over.
Jim Himes has voted again and again in favor of big government and higher taxes at the expense of small businesses and workers who made this country great. He supported a failed stimulus package that has left each of our families with nothing but thousands of dollars of national debt. He supported a massive government-run healthcare plan that will undoubtedly put government decision-makers between you and your doctor. He supported massive bailouts on Wall Street while accepting massive amounts Wall Street contributions.

Dan Debicella’s View

We need a Congressman who is unequivocal in his support for Israel. Jim Himes says he supports Israel, but then is unwilling to take a strong stand to support our ally when they are most in need.  The United States needs to support Israel as they work to secure their borders and stop weapons from reaching terrorist groups like Hamas. Fairfield County deserves a Congressman who will speak strongly and clearly for our allies in Israel.

“The United States needs to back Israel as it tries to secure its borders against terrorist groups like Hamas. They have a right to stop ships to ensure no weapons are being moved into the Gaza Strip. Israel is trying to reach out to moderate Palestinians to reach a lasting peace, yet the extremists in Hamas continue to try and pick a fight with Israel. I firmly believe the U.S. should stand with our allies in Israel and promote the removal of terrorist organizations like Hamas from power.” – Jewish Ledger, 6/9/2010

Jim Himes’ View

Jim Himes has been unwilling to take a strong stand on Israel’s right to defend itself against Islamic extremism. Mr. Himes had this to say:
 
“Israel is our good friend and our only long term ally in a dangerous part of the world. As Americans we do not rush to judgment before we have the facts. As tragic as the situation in the Mediterranean is, I urge all parties involved to do all they can to reduce tension and to allow the facts to be examined.’ –Jewish Ledger, 6/9/2010

Dan Debicella’s View

I know this problem all too well because I have lived your frustration as a commuter.  For eight years I commuted the length of Fairfield County into New York and I know how much Connecticut will welcome cost-effective ideas that work. Our quality of life and the growth of our economy depend on it.

We first need to improve mass transit by creating a “door-to-door” approach to make mass transit convenient.  Second, we need to expand the capacity and quality of our road system for those who choose not to use mass transit.

Mass transit needs to be made more convenient.  Convenience includes sufficient parking, comfortable trains, and the ease of getting from train to final destination.  To fix this, we need funds to increase parking at key stations along the Metro-North line. In addition, we must establish comprehensive shuttle service from Metro North stations in Norwalk, Greenwich and Stamford to major places of business in those communities. Getting more people on mass transit will relieve congestion on our roads and improve our environment. We also need to think outside the box to increase highway capacity.  The grandiose, multi-billion ideas are both too expensive and not realistic.  Instead, we need cost-effective, common-sense solutions to expand capability at the “choke points” along the Merritt and I-95 to increase capacity where backups always happen.

Improving our mass transit and roads will cost money, and I am committed to not raising taxes. We should rely on reinvesting increased revenues from economic growth to improving our transportation system over the next decade.

Jim Himes’ View

Jim Himes has fallen short on his promises to improve traffic in Fairfield County. With the exception of one paving project, which has only served to slow traffic on the Merritt Parkway, we have seen no improvement in commute times. Jim Himes has no plan to improve our lives as commuters here and we’re suffering because of it.

While Fairfield County residents have been struggling to keep their sanity on the roads and rails, Jim Himes has been focused on his Washington insider agenda. We have problems right here at home, but sadly Jim Himes isn’t listening.