Lamont gets to shine
The dark political theater on display in Washington has given the new governor of Connecticut a chance to shine.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday signed emergency legislation he proposed that will allow federal workers who are not being paid due to the partial government shutdown to obtain interest free loans to help make ends meet.
The bipartisan legislation put on display the qualities the new governor claimed he would bring to the job, including working with the private sector on solutions and thinking creatively. Lamont wasted no time in pointing that out. “It should serve as an indication of the way in which I plan to govern,” said Lamont after signing the bill. “Inclusively, smartly, and in a way that reminds people that government can be part of the solution.”
Addressing other state problems will prove more challenging and less bipartisan, but nonetheless Lamont deserves credit for seeing a need and meeting it. An estimated 1,500 federal employees who live and work in Connecticut, some considered essential and working without pay, others temporarily laid off, are eligible for the program.
The federal employees can apply for bank loans up to $5,000 for each month out of work. They’re interest free if repaid within 270 days after the shutdown ends. To make the plan palatable to banks, the state is guaranteeing 10 percent of the aggregate amount loaned.
Workers are expected to be paid for lost salary when Congress finally approves, and President Trump signs, legislation funding the agencies. Workers going without pay include air traffic controllers, airport security screeners, Environmental Protection Agency staff and Coast Guard personnel.
In his prepared statement Lamont avoided laying blame for the shutdown. Given the Republican support, it was the right move. The measure passed 32-1 in the Senate, 127-15 in the House.
“I’m proud that this legislature stood up and said we need to govern, collectively,” said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven.
But his counterpart, Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, couldn’t resist taking a shot, stating, “Trump continues his extreme and irrational government shutdown.”
Looney is right, of course. By blocking pay for federal employees, Trump seeks to blackmail Congress into approving $5.7 billion for his border wall. Were Congress to acquiesce it would set a terrible precedent. But it was better for Looney, rather than Lamont, to make that point.