Maloney Seeks His Place In A Changing

Political And Economic Environment

By Steve Bigham

With a new President in the White House and an economy in flux, politicians everywhere, especially in Washington, D.C., are trying to get their bearings and plot a course for the coming years. This week, 5th District Congressman Jim Maloney underscored that fact as he discussed the state of the economy, George W. and, with redistricting fast approaching, the future of the Fifth Congressional District.

During a visit to Newtown on Monday, the US Congressman talked openly about the many “imbalances” within the George W. Bush administration. He criticized the President’s tax plan, which, if approved, stands to eliminate certain federal programs that help towns like Newtown hire new teachers (to decrease class sizes) and new police officers. The congressman also spoke out against Mr Bush’s plan to decrease the amount of health care funding for prescription drugs.

“Basically, the picture that’s emerging is there are people who want a huge tax cut and are willing to sacrifice everything for it. That’s an unbalanced approach for where we find ourselves right now,” he said, referring to a somewhat fragile economy and a $4 trillion deficit. “More tax cuts are coming, so the prospects of finding the right balance is disappointingly small.”

Mr Maloney says he supports tax cuts, but only to the extent that it does not cut federal programs that really matter.

“According to the President, it’s always a good time for a tax cut. They just change their argument depending on the situation. Democrats argue that it’s time for a balance,” Mr Maloney said. “When you ask people if they favor a tax cut, most say ‘Yes,’ but if you ask them if they favor a tax cut that affects education and health care, that’s a different story.”

Whatever way the economy breaks in the coming year will have an impact on Mr Maloney’s future in Congress. Right now, the economic picture remains a little fuzzy as economists come to terms with the current climate. Much of President Bush’s budget package is based on surplus generated by a strong economy. If that should change, then all bets are off, Mr Maloney said. A clearer picture of where this nation stands should arrive by September.

“Come Labor Day, we’ll have a better sense of whether we’ve dodged a bullet or it we’re entered into a recession,” said Mr Maloney.

And if the economy takes a nosedive, it could undermine the Republicans’ narrow control of Congress.

“The die is beginning to be cast. I think the Democrats are going to win back the House [of Representatives] regardless of the strength of the economy. The Bush administration has done itself damage on the environment,” he said.

Mr Maloney discussed the rising gas prices and criticized the Bush administration’s stance on the world’s oil supply. He pointed out that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have put an emphasis on exploration and development of more refining capacity in the United States rather than conservation.

“They’re oil men and they’ve come out with an unbalanced perspective,” he said. “They want to drill on every available piece of US public land.”

Redistricting

A recent shift in the United States population means Connecticut will lose a congressional seat. There has been talk that Mr Maloney might fall victim to the redistricting shuffle. This week, however, Mr Maloney appeared confident of his prospects for continuing to represent the area.

“It’s not clear what going to happen. The Republicans say the Fifth District can be chopped up and moved around into other districts. But when the town-by-town census numbers came it out recently, it was clear that there is just no way that can be done,” Mr Maloney said. “Half of the total growth in Connecticut took place in the Danbury area.”

There was discussion of shifting the Danbury area into a Fourth District that would encompass nearly all of Fairfield County. But, Mr Maloney explained, there are 200,000 more people in Fairfield County than a single congressional district can accommodate. Moving Bridgeport into the Third Congressional District with New Haven might rectify the situation. But that is unlikely, Mr Maloney noted, since the Fourth District’s Republican Congressman Chris Shays lives in Bridgeport.

“The Danbury-Waterbury Interstate 84 corridor will continue to stay together,” Mr Maloney said. “They won’t divide up Danbury and Waterbury.

“The Democrats are proposing that the Second District be split, adding the northern part to Hartford and the southern part to New Haven,” he continued. “That way, we’ll have three districts in the western part of the state and two in the eastern part. It matches where the growth is located. If you put Danbury into the Fourth District, you would now have four of the seven largest cities [in the state] in one district.”