Mount Vernon Gazette

By Chuck Hagee

This economic recession is "as serious as anything we have seen since the Great Depression. In fact many are referring to this as the Great Recession," newly elected 11th Congressional District Congressman Gerald Connolly told members of the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce.

Addressing their Business Networking Breakfast last Thursday morning at the Belle Haven Country Club, Connolly said, "Every economist we have talked to all agreed that we [Congress] must do something or the country will go over the economic precipice. The economy is worsening on a daily basis."

Connolly, who won the 11th District seat vacated by the retirement of Republican Thomas M. Davis III, stated that he would have preferred the bill to have had bipartisan support. "There is a $1 trillion constriction this year and another $1 trillion constriction forecast for next year. These are Great Depression figures and we must do something," he said.

"There are things in this stimulus package dealing with investments because those are the gifts that can keep on giving. There are also items dealing help for both the housing market and the automobile industry," Connolly said.

ALTHOUGH THERE were three and a half million jobs lost in the last year, according to Connolly, the Greater Washington Area "in many ways is cushioned from the worst of those losses" by the federal government. "Here in Northern Virginia the things that drive our economy are government and IT. But, this area is not immune," he stated.

One potential aid to the banking industry cited by Connolly was the creation of a "toxic asset bank" following the Swedish model. "In their case the bank held the so-called assets until they began to turn around and eventually they were able to sell them with no loss," he said. He noted the federal government followed a similar model during the Savings & Loan crisis.

He also told the audience that he will be traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan in the near future. "I feel that I need to see the actual action on the ground if I'm going to vote on these issues," he said.

When asked how success of the stimulus package would be measured, Connolly said, "By how quickly things turn around and when credit begins to flow to small businesses again."

He told the audience of business people that he supports employee free choice in unionization and that he believes legislation to enable that will pass the Congress. "We have had eight years of an administration hostile to labor," he said.

He also noted that, in this business experience, if employers provide good wages and benefits for their employees there is no need for them to organize. Connolly pointed out that, even with that stance on "employee free choice" he received the backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in his bid to replace Davis.

CONNOLLY CALLED for strengthening Social Security by lifting the cap on wages subject to Social Security deduction and increasing the retirement age. He also cited health care as a "major problem" that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

On a local subject, Connolly called for the US Army to revisit their decision to place the 6,400 personnel contingent of the Washington Headquarters Services Group at the Alexandria Mark Center site. "I think that BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure] 133 can be revisited," he said. However, he gave no specifics.

"One of the driving forces of BRAC was security — get out of the urban areas like Crystal City and into more defensible locations like Fort Belvoir. The Alexandria site does not do that," he said.

On a lighter note Connolly said, "Becoming a member of Congress after serving as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is actually a step down.

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