A New Community Ethic
Providence Journal Editorial, February 2

 Yesterday the House of Representatives concluded debate on a bill designed to provide health insurance for the many millions of Americans who are uninsured and cannot afford to purchase it themselves. Supporters of the bill, myself included, advocated for the need to address this crisis and spoke of the hardships endured by many ordinary Americans who lack access to the kind of health care that those of us who serve in Congress take for granted. President Yoshida and his Republican allies denounced the bill as "socialism" and argued that the cost was too high and imposed unfair burdens on American taxpayers.

My primary purpose in writing this column is not to express my disagreement with this view, though I certainly do disagree with it. It would be easy for me to sit here and lecture about society's moral responsibility to the disadvantaged, and I confess that there are times when I wonder why so many either reject this principle or reach such radically different conclusions about how to put it into practice. But rather than indulge in the recriminations and character attacks so common to American politics, I'd like to consider more broadly how we tend to approach issues in our public debate.

We are a nation that values the freedom and dignity of the individual above all else, and I would not have it any other way. And yet, I cannot help but wonder if we sometimes fail not only to take account of our responsibilities as a community, but to recognize ourselves as a community in the first place. The arguments against this health care bill, for example, boil down to two basic ideas: (1) that the program costs too much and cannot be afforded at a time when many of us in Congress are calling for more fiscal austerity; (2) that it is unfair to ask taxpayers who already have health insurance to pay for the coverage of those who do not. In other words, if you're already insured, this isn't your problem and we in Congress shouldn't be asking for your money in order to deal with it.

What this reasoning fails to recognize, I would argue, is that we cannot isolate problems and address them as if they exist in a vacuum. Precisely because we are a community, our own problems affect and compound those of others in ways we may not always recognize at first. And I'm not talking about some sort of abstract philosophical idea here. I'm talking about common, every-day events. I'm talking about the fact that when you take your care in for maintenance, maybe the part-time mechanic who works on it doesn't do a very good job, because he has a bad cold that could be treated if his family had health insurance. And maybe he can't take a sick-day, because his 8-year-old son has the same cold and he needs the money to buy medicine. When your car breaks down a month later and your own son or daughter is late for school, that's our health-care crisis affecting you. I'm talking about the fact that our high schools and colleges don't get the quality teachers and textbooks that they need, and companies don't know if they can trust the fact that somebody has a degree when they make hiring decisions. When you lose money on the stock market because it turns out some accountants don't know what they're doing, that's our underfunded education system affecting you. I'm talking about the fact that unemployment leads to an increase in petty crime. When you come home one day to find your home ransacked and your valuables stolen, that's our sluggish economy affecting you.

Let me be clear. I am not advocating this approach, which some may criticize as too reliant on self-interest, as a replacement for the values of compassion and moral responsibility, but as a stepping stone in the right direction. All too often, our relationships with others are framed in adversarial terms. We approach that auto mechanic with a certain cold skepticism, because in the back of our minds we think he might be trying to cheat us. We see those other drivers as obstacles to us getting where we need to go. We see a homeless man begging for change and wonder if he's just going to blow it on cigarettes and beer, or maybe we even avoid him because we're afraid of being mugged. Obviously we have to watch out for the crooks and con artists out there, but perhaps we when we begin to truly think of others as individuals whose needs and obligations affect us just as ours affect them, we will start to see beyond our piece of the pie and more easily adopt the values of communal responsibility.

It is unfortunately true that, while these sorts of concerns are often acknowledged, they rarely assume center stage in our national debate. When the health care bill came to the House Floor, most of us, and I include myself in this, spent more time arguing over the definition of the word "socialism" and whether or not the uninsured "deserved" this use of taxpayer money than we did considering the practical effects. Some of my colleagues pointed out that this insurance crisis contributes to an overall rise in the cost of health care, and an impassioned and sometimes harsh debate over moral responsibility ensued, but the issue of community interdependence never really came into focus. Those of us who are political progressives might consider whether we can lead our nation in a more humane and compassionate direction by reconciling self-interest and communal responsibility, rather than by framing the two as opposing values in a zero-sum game where one must triumph over the other.

I do not know what the outcome of the vote on this particular bill will be, and its chances in the current session may be dim with President Yoshida having threatened a veto. I would urge all of my colleagues in Washington, however, to help broaden our debate so as not to view issues as isolated problems but to consider what kind of community we are and what rights and responsibilities we have as a result. We may be a nation of individuals, but in an increasingly globalized and hi-tech society, it is true more than ever that no man is an island.

Congressman Coyle Takes Seat on Government Reform Committee
February 2

Congressman Coyle is pleased to announce that he will serve on the Government Reform Committee for this session of Congress. He is eager to work closely with Chairman Adams and the other committee members on election reform and other ways to make government business more transparent and accountable to the American people.

Statement on Liberty Party and Election Reform
Press Release of January 20

I spoke frequently in my campaign about the urgent need for election reform. It is simply unacceptable that so many of our citizens are still left unsure that their votes are counted accurately or feeling that various forms of political gimmickry are depriving them of a meaningful voice. The recent presidential race in Ohio, where recounts discovered over 3,000 additional votes for President Yoshida and Congressman Hahn, stands as a perfect example of why this process must be reformed. I have therefore decided to submit, as my first originally sponsored bill in Congress, the Know Your Vote Counts Act of 2005, which will require paper records for all electronic voting machines. I have also signed on as a co-sponsor to Congressman Dallas' Voting Rights Act of 2005 to end partisan gerrymandering in the drawing of House districts.

Like all of my fellow Democrats, I issue a warm welcome to all the members of the Liberty Party joining our coalition. Needless to say, I am enthusiastic at the prospect of participating in the new House majority, and I hope that we can work productively with our Republican and Federalist colleagues on election reform and other issues.

Statement on Torture Accountability and Prevention Act
Press Release of January 17

After the devastating terror attacks of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush called for a global war on terrorism, speaking of a conflict "between freedom and fear." Like most Americans, I was inspired by this vision despite my own partisan preferences, and I believe that it obligates us to fight the war on terrorism in accordance with our American principles of human rights and the rule of law. To put it simply, we must not succumb to the fear that we can only defeat the terrorists by adopting the most brutal and inhumane tactics.

It is with these concerns in mind that I have signed on as a co-sponsor to the Torture Accountability and Prevention Act introduced by Congressman Dallas. Torture is strictly forbidden by U.S. and international law and by our obligations to the Geneva Conventions, and Rep. Dallas' legislation will ensure that no element of the United States Government becomes complicit in the practice. By taking this principled public stand, we can signal our respect for human rights and rehabilitate our moral leadership in the war on terrorism. I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation as quickly as possible, and I hope that President Yoshida will lend it his support and his signature.

Congressman Coyle to Join Environmental Rights Caucus
Announcement of January 17

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining the House Environmental Rights Caucus. I have a long history of advocacy for a clean and healthy environment, and I intend to make environmental issues a central focus during my time in Washington. Environmental protection enjoys widespread support among the American people, and I hope we can set an example of responsible and nonpartisan leadership on this critical issue.

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