Congressman Joe Pitts: My Job Is To Save And Strengthen Medicare

Like any politician, there's a lot to like and dislike about our 7, soon to be 8, term US Congressman Joe Pitts.

This 15 minute interview, conducted earlier this month on the heels of the debt-ceiling debate/debacle, is sure to give liberals and conservatives alike more reasons to like and dislike Mr. Pitts.



Liberals will find his full throated defense of Medicare noteworthy, while conservatives will scratch their heads a bit as Congressman Pitts expresses his support for additional government revenue (taxes) by closing corporate loopholes and cutting government subsidiaries.

Here are a few quotes from the interview:

On the debt ceiling debate/debacle:

"Divided government is not pretty.  You have philosophies that are totally different that are trying to negotiate and compromise.  It takes time but it works."

On civility:

"We ought to keep our rhetoric down and not be so vicious and mean when we debate."

On his vote for the raising the debt limit:

"Some people felt it was not enough.  I agree, it was not enough.  But we are in charge of one-half of one-third of the government.  We have a responsibility to help govern.  Its all we could get.  We started down the road."

On future tax increases:

"I don't think you'll see the Republican side of the isle vote for tax increases but you will see  them vote for tax reform, closing loopholes .  There are a lot of loopholes and subsidiaries."

On future tax deduction debate:

"I don't think you'll see them eliminate the mortgage deduction.  I don't think you'll see them eliminate the charitable deduction.  Everything else is on the table"

On not being able to do more in Washington:

"When you only control one-half of one-third of the government and you can't get your bills considered in the Senate, its difficult.  At least people know, if we get control of the government again, what we will do."

On the 'throw all the bums out' sentiment:

"If you want someone to operate on your heart, if your going to be flying an airplane, you want someone who knows how to do a heart operation or land a plane in bad weather."

On his decision to seek an 8th term in 2012 even though he promised in 1997 to serve only 5 terms:

"I am going to run for reelection."

On why he is running:

"My job is to save and strengthen Medicare and the healthcare system in this country, to preserve them."

Congressman Pitts: This is Democracy At Work

"What credit rating agency Standard and Poor's describes as dysfunction and incompetence in Washington's handling of the debt ceiling, U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts views as American-style democracy working mostly as it should."

That's what our Congressman Joe Pitts is quoted as saying in a front page story on LancasterOnline this morning.  Pitt goes on to say,

 "Standard and Poor's seems to take the position that we shouldn't have a debt limit in this country.  The fact is that the debt limit has enabled us to have a serious debate about our debt long before we would run into the type of problems seen in Greece, Ireland and Portugal."

Congressman, with all due respect, what Standard and Poor's is saying is not that America shouldn't have a debt limit, rather that American politicians seem unable to address America's debt issues in a substantive manner.

Americans of all political stripes saw the debt ceiling debate/debacle in Washington last month, where one party said do it my way or else and the other party lacked the backbone to stand up for its principles, as the worst America has to offer, not the best.

Its true what Winston Churchill once said, that 'democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others,' but do you and your congressional colleagues have to parade the worst that American democracy has to offer just to make political points in what was and is a manufactured crisis.

This while everyday Americans struggle to keep a job, pay the mortgage/rent and otherwise make ends meet?

Debate is good Mr. Pitts, intransigence is bad.

We expect more of you and your colleagues Mr. Congressman.  We expect more of democracy.

You can read the entire article explaining how the Congressman attempts to spin the recent debt-ceiling debate/debacle into a silver lining here.

Guest Editorial - Congressman Joe Pitts

Why I Voted for the Deal

By Congressman Joe Pitts (R-PA)

The German magazine Der Spiegel described Washington as having a “Civil War Atmosphere” during the recent fight over raising the debt limit. There was certainly some amped up rhetoric, such as Vice President Biden calling Tea Partiers “terrorists,” but nevertheless there were no fistfights on the floor of the House. There were no cane-beatings on the floor of the Senate.

Personally, I wish there could be more civility in Washington. However, we have to remember why it was so difficult to reach an agreement. The two parties in Washington have very different views about the role of the government.

In the past few years, President Obama has supported a stimulus package costing nearly $800 billion*, a health care law costing more than $1 trillion, bailouts amounting hundreds of billions of dollars, and increased spending in dozens of other government programs. He earnestly believes that this money has been well spent. He continues to maintain that the stimulus was a success, even though it failed to reduce unemployment.

Republicans have a starkly different view. We want a limited federal government that spends less and taxes less. When Barack Obama and John Boehner walk into a room together, they are entering with different principles and different assumptions.

It is with full knowledge of these great differences that I cast a vote this week for the Budget Control Act of 2011.

This was by no means a perfect bill. The legislation calls for spending cuts over the next ten years totaling $1.2 trillion. It then establishes a new, bipartisan joint committee to plan for an additional $1.2 trillion in cuts. The increase in the debt limit authorized by the bill would be less than total amount of cuts.

The new joint committee will have 12 members; six from the House and six from the Senate evenly divided between the two parties. They are required to report a bill by November 23. Congress will then have to vote up or down on their legislation, without amendments or filibuster. If they fail to reach an agreement, then there will be across the board cuts in defense and domestic spending.

I know that this bill will not solve our budget problems. While I thought that this was the best we could do under the present divided government, we cannot pat ourselves on the back and call it a day.

There are only a handful of ways to deal with our debt. Raising taxes and cutting spending usually receive the most attention. Economic growth would certainly help reduce annual deficits. Inducing inflation or simply defaulting would also reduce the debt, but would create more many problems than would be solved.

I believe that there are four things we should do to get our debt under control.

First, we should pass the balanced budget amendment. Congress has been irresponsible for far too long. The deficit has increased even in good economic years. We cannot keep assuming that it will be easier to balance the budget at some point in the future.

Second, we need annual spending caps that bring our expenses down to a manageable level. We should be spending only as much as we historically have taken in in tax revenue.

Third, we need to reform entitlement spending, especially Medicare and Medicaid. President Obama agrees, stating that: “Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close. Nothing else.”

Finally, we must reform our federal tax system. We need to eliminate special interest provisions and lower rates to be competitive with the rest of the world. What you pay in taxes shouldn’t be determined by how much you spend lobbying in D.C.

Despite the bitter fight we just went through, I am still constantly reminded that there are many things we agree on. I work closely with Democrats on a number of issues: health, job growth, and protecting human rights. We respect each other’s differences and work together for the good of the nation. It was not easy to reach an agreement, but we did so before the government could no longer meet its obligations. Democracy is not always pretty, but it works.

Congressman Joe Pitts represents the 16^th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.

* Editor's Note: Congressman Pitts omitted that fully a third, or $300M, of President Obama's 2009 $800M stimulus package was a middle class tax cut.