BEDFORD, N.H. (AP) – Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson on Sunday proposed linking Congressional and presidential pay raises to efforts to lower the national deficit, though he acknowledged such a measure would never pass.
At a crowded house party, the New Mexico governor was asked how he would end partisan bickering in Washington and force Congress to return to doing “the people’s work.”
Richardson said it was unrealistic to think that issues such as health care and energy independence could be sorted out in a true bipartisan fashion but said he would urge leaders of both parties to spend one year working on three key issues without regard to party: the war in Iraq, Social Security and the deficit.
“I would say to the Republican and Democratic leadership my first week: ‘Hey, we’re going to try to govern differently. Let’s take three issues that need immediate attention and let’s get the politics out. Let’s make a pledge here that for one year, we try to resolve them, but our Republican National Committee, our DNC chair, we shut ’em up and we try to resolve these three.”
On the deficit, Richardson has proposed a constitutional amendment to balance the budget and reduce reckless spending. He floated the idea of tying pay raises to deficit reduction.
“You restrict the raises of the Congress and the president consistent with how much you reduce the debt,” he said. “It won’t pass but it is something I think deserves attention.”
Richardson said he’d put Congress back on track by reducing the influence of lobbyists and instituting public financing of all federal campaigns. Candidates who show an ability to raise small amounts of money from many donors should be rewarded, he said.
“Maybe reward those candidates that have 1,000 givers at 100 bucks or 50 bucks,” he said. “There are just a lot of creative ways we can do this.”
Richardson, a former U.S. energy secretary, said he also would surround himself with a diverse cabinet that will include Republicans and independents. His focus, he said, will be on choosing the most talented people, not the most well-connected.
“I think there’s a new generation of policy makers out there. We always seem to pick the ones that are there before or have the political chattering class ties,” he said.
“The old Clinton I cabinet, myself excluded – they’re all planning their return. They’re already measuring the curtains.”
Richardson’s weekend trip was a homecoming of sorts for his wife, Barbara, who grew up in Massachusetts and attended Colby-Sawyer College in New London. She said she was glad to be spending time with New Hampshire voters, and her husband, whom she doesn’t see often these days.
“Last night was the first dinner we had together in 10 days and we had to inhale it because of the Sox,” she said, referring to the Boston Red Sox’s 12-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday to tie the AL championship series at three games apiece. “We got back to the hotel by the third inning.”
AP-ES-10-21-07 1607EDT
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