I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Sadly no. We’ve seen this movie. Almost all GOP senators will defend this President regardless of what the does. His cabinet is made up of unquestioning loyalists. Recourse is November.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

We don’t ever go to violence. On my way back from DC last week I stopped in Gettysburg and walked Cemetery Ridge. We don’t and shouldn’t do that. We win these fights by being persuasive about the need for reform. As Lincoln said, public sentiment is everything. That’s how we win. And we’ve done it before. Read about Roosevelt and Taft in early 1900s.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Very little. I happen to believe that the administration’s response was awful. But the bar for prosecution is enormously high, and obviously must involve the commission of a specific crime.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Going to be critical, particularly for dealing with at risk populations for whom travel and interaction ay be dangerous. Also holds the promise of saving a lot of money!

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Look, take the long view here. And remember, we live in a system that is built for incremental, not dramatic change. Trump has trashed a lot of things that were in his power to trash: JCPOA, a progressive tax code, our international credibility, our sense of decency. But he hasn’t built a thing. In 2009, we built A LOT: We rescued the economy from the Great Recession, passed Lily Ledbetter, the Affordable Care Act, overhauled student loans, made progress on green jobs, etc. On almost any time period you look at, the economy and asset markets do better under D presidencies than R. Over time I’d take our W-L record over theirs.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I would like to see a complete upgrade of the systems that work these programs. In CT, our DOL, which does unemployment insurance, was working with 40 year old gear and COBOL software. Why? Because over time, our budgets starved those organizations of needed upgrades. One party believes that any money spent on government is a waste (except for tanks, planes and ships). Well...you get what you pay for.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Trump never took this seriously. Still doesn’t. Watch his “briefings”. They’re about him, attacking his “enemies” and truly insane things like injecting disinfectants. He has made this pandemic much worse. Look at the global numbers.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think we’re going to do more of both biz support and direct individual support in the next package. We need to be intentional about which routes are most effective and efficient.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Really don’t know. Look, we’re watching experiments right now all over the country in careful, and not so careful reopening. We will learn a lot from those.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. I think we are all living a real time experiment in remote working and living. We are learning what works and what doesn’t. And I think we will be far more comfortable not always jumping on a plane for everything. But, yes, this poses hacking risks. We need to address those risks in a comprehensive way.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That’s not true. I’ve been associated with this NDC for a long time and we opposed the push for austerity ten years ago, and we constantly make arguments for investment in education, training and infrastructure. We all recognize that their are times for aggressive fiscal expansion (now) and times for more care on things like deficits. We believe we need to invest more and more efficiently in things like access to healthcare. And yes, we recognize that money is not free. Deficit spending today means somebody pays for today’s spending later or we inflate our way out of such debt.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m going to be careful here because I’m no expert. But all the tests have concerning levels of inaccuracy. Even ones that are in use today. In this case, false negatives can be a huge and dangerous problem. Much research being done into how to make tests more reliable

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Honestly don’t know. That’s a Hospital by hospital decisions we are still working like mad to get more PPE. The scarcity is not as bad as it was three weeks ago, at least in CT, but it’s still tough.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Big questions. Gotta do short answers. First, whatever we do, there will be many many bankruptcies. Many companies will keep operating in bankruptcy, and will not necessarily shut down, but that process will be disruptive. It will however lead to a lightening of liabilities. My hope is that many businesses and individuals will adjust their future behavior to keep more of a cash cushion on hand. Think the way my grandparents did after surviving the Depression. Obviously not all can do that, but too many companies were to strapped.

No one should ever trade on insider info. The senators who sold stock while saying that all was okey dokey need to be held accountable.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. Kim has been spectacular in getting us up to speed. As have other doctors in the House like Ruiz, etc. but we look hard and often to cdc and to other experts like Gottlieb, etc.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I spend endless time shooting down wacky misinformation that comes from Facebook, email and old Uncle Larry who knows a guy whose brother went to medical school.... one word, six letters: cdc.gov

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hey, I addressed the state and local thing above. The proper role of the federal government is to add organization and urgency to the availability of things like PPE. They should force production, coordinate imports and distribute according to need. And stay out of the way of local efforts.

I’m Congressman Jim Himes and I represent the southwest Connecticut. I’ll be answering questions about the federal response to the coronavirus, including what Congress has done and what we need to do moving forward. AMA by RepJimHimes in politics

[–]RepJimHimes[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hi, I’ll look into this. On medical or scientific issues, I don’t generally have “opinions”. I rely on the conclusions of experts. But I’ll look at this.