Roskam stood ground on bad bill

This letter is in response to Mary F. Warren's March 6 letter to the editor regarding U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam's "no" vote on the recent $800 billion stimulus bill. During President Obama's inaugural speech he emphasized the need to put an end to the petty grievances and worn out dogmas that have strangled our politics, stressing the importance of bipartisan cooperation. Unfortunately, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted nothing of it, seeking out zero input from Congressional Republicans including my Congressman, Peter Roskam. Mary also commented how tax cuts are not the answer to all our problems. I would agree, however, you seem to forget that it was President Obama who originally called for 40 percent tax cuts in the stimulus package. The fact that Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Democrats reduced the real tax cuts in the bill to only 17 percent shows how both Republican and Obama's priorities were disregarded. I think we could have a rational discussion of the merits of the bill; however, I believe name-calling and Bush-blaming does little to move our country forward and revitalize our nation's economy. I applaud Roskam for his willingness to work with the president and standing his ground when a bad bill finally came to the floor, an ultimate testament that he is in Washington representing us and not special interests.

Sean McGee

Glen Ellyn