WTTW (PBS): Chicago Tonight Interview

The following interview orginally appeared on Chicago Tonight (WTTW) on October 21, 2013. If you are having trouble accessing the video, please click here.

Phil Ponce: After the 16 day government shutdown, and a bitter battle over the debt ceiling, Congress will still have to grapple with both issues again in the coming months. Is Washington ready for bipartisan compromise? Or will the two sides dig their heels in further as the next deadlines approach? Joining us now is Mike Quigley, who represents parts of Chicago and the Northwest suburbs. We should also note that we invited all six Republicans members of the Illinois Congressional delegation to join us this evening, but none of them were available. Congressman Quigley, welcome to Chicago Tonight.

Rep. Mike Quigley: Thank you.

Phil Ponce: First of all, recent polls show that the standing of Congress is at near all time lows, if not an all time low point. Lessons from the recent shutdown and flirtation with default?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think so, everyone is extraordinary frustrated and we understand that. What's lost I think in the news coverage is the fact that there wasn't a lot that a lot of members could do about this. This was really 30 or 40 members of the farthest right Republican caucus holding their caucus hostage, and basically all of Congress.

Phil Ponce: But before we get to that point, is it a failure of Congress as an institution, or are you saying it is a failure of this small group of people?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think it was a very unique situation here, one that we have never seen before, when such a small group is able to control the Republican caucus. When I first got there, Congressman Mark Kirk sat me down and said, "Everything that gets done here gets done in the middle." In all fairness, there were a lot of Republicans that we were working with on a bipartisan basis to reach a compromise. They weren't being heard. The bill never got to the floor.

Phil Ponce: The most recent Pew Research shows that the Tea Party movement is now viewed negatively, even by Republicans. How would you assess the current strength of the Tea Party in Congress?

Rep. Mike Quigley: Disproportionately powerful.

Phil Ponce: Even now?

Rep. Mike Quigley: Even now. I don't know if we are out of the woods yet because of their extraordinary strength. See, it's not just the Tea Party folks that can have sway. Those Tea Party members, 30 or 40 strong I think at the base, they really threaten a majority of the moderate Republicans with Tea Party primaries. They say if Senator Lugar can lose in Indiana, seen as a moderate, well then you can too. So they bring everybody to the right out of fear. So that's why they have disproportionate power. And they can still wield that in the second round.

Phil Ponce: You expect them to?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I expect them to try. The question is, will Speaker Boehner stand firm and go along with what will probably a Senate controlled compromise long term budget bill.

Phil Ponce: Reports are that Speaker Boehner's job appears to be secured. You agree?

Rep. Mike Quigley: No

Phil Ponce: You do not?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I was talking to a couple members of the Tea Party on the floor just before the government shutdown took place, and I said in just a very normal fashion, "So how is the Speaker going to handle this?" And they said almost dismissively, he has nothing to do with this. It's not the tail wagging the dog, it's really the tip of the dog's tail wagging the body politic, and he has to walk a fine line. If he had put what we call a clean CR, a funding mechanism, a continuing budget resolution on the floor, he wouldn’t have been the speaker the next day, according to the Tea Party people.

Phil Ponce: What was your leadership telling you during the shutdown? Just hang in there, we're going to win? What were they saying to you, what was Nancy Pelosi and leadership saying?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think they were saying "stay the course." Remember, the first request that was made, the first demand-we are going to shutdown the government unless you defund the healthcare law; that wasn't something that anyone was going to go along with. So I think they were saying, stay the course, let’s come off at the reasonable, middle ground alternative. The Democrats were willing to take a much lower figure. In the end, the Republicans could have declared victory in the beginning. Let's remember, that figure we approved was $986 billion, which is below the original Ryan budget, it was below Simpson-Bowles. This was low number-8% across the board. It was meeting our fiscal responsibilities; they just wanted too much.

Phil Ponce: Only Randy Hultgren voted no in the Illinois Congressional delegation against the deal reopening the government. What is the relationship within the Illinois delegation? How would you describe it?

Rep. Mike Quigley: Actually, with most of the members, Democrat, Republican, it's very cordial, On a day to day basis, Congressman Schock, for example, will often get on bills that we have worked with. Senator Kirk came to the Senate and immediately started working on a bicameral, bipartisan basis on independence, autonomy and reform measures. It's actually been a pleasure on the most part. Again, it's not the moderate Republicans that have made this difficult. If that was all that was in Congress, I believe that we could reach an accord on most of these matters, and get to the most serious issues that we haven't addressed.

Phil Ponce: How about the deadline for December 13th for coming up with a deal for federal tax and spending? Is there another standoff likely, do you think?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think there is enough time to get a big deal done. What I’m hearing is there may be a compromise middle ground that is still better than this standoff, and that's a one year deal that's pretty responsible. What we need in the end is a long term budget deal, something like Simpson-Bowels, was proposed, with more realistic figures. Do we get to Simpson- Bowels? I doubt it. Do we get to a one year deal that’s pretty reasonable? Maybe. Are we likely to be at a standoff at the edge? Again, it depends on how the Speaker handles the far right.

Phil Ponce: Did the Speaker have any choice on how he handled the far right?

Rep. Mike Quigley: It really depends on how you view what was happening inside the caucus.

Phil Ponce: For example, one theory is that the Speaker wanted the Tea Party to do its thing, realize that that strategy was unsuccessful, so that they would be chastened the next time around.

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think that's what he tried to do in the beginning as well. He had a proposal that said, "Okay, we are going to defund Obamacare, and when the Senate passes their version, they will strip that out and it will come back, and you will have appeased your far right base." Well that didn't work. So you would think that the polling and everything else that is being discussed about how bad this was would have discouraged them, but we are seeing a rallying cry that they are actually trying to threaten their own moderate members.

Phil Ponce: The midterms are approaching. Polls show that Republicans have lost quite a bit of support. Prospects for the Democrats taking the House?

Rep. Mike Quigley: We are a year out, so I always tell folks that it is way too early. But I think the danger is, for Republicans, if this happens again, and they don’t get to other matters, like immigration reform, they could lose the House despite the fact they have overwhelming majorities in those districts because how the maps were drawn nationally.

Phil Ponce: And what are the prospects for a farm bill and immigration reform?

Rep. Mike Quigley: I think that they are good, if we can ever get past this point. If we can ever get past this and get back to budgeting and authorizing and appropriating in a normal fashion, then the Senate bill on immigration reform has a chance. Do I think that the far right will try to skew that as well and take away the important provisions? Sure. But we can’t get to square one unless we get past this impasse.

Phil Ponce: How about the Affordable Care Act? Because all of the initial reports appear to suggest that it is just a mess. What are you hearing from the administration in its ability to fix things?

Rep. Mike Quigley: Well I think the administration was unhappy about how the implementation started, but just on the website aspect. Let's remember, this encompasses a very large and important bill. Most of the calls I'm getting from constituents aren’t about getting on the website. It's about what this bill does. This is really a prelude to a lifetime of important changes. And most of my constituents understand what I understand; let's remember where we were before this: 47 million Americans without health care insurance, you could get knocked off for pre-existing conditions, there were caps, a lot of benefits in this bill for senior citizens and couples with kids right out of college. So by and large, I think it's still positive. Let's remember what's most intriguing here: the fact that there is so much interest is what is causing the problems. What people were anticipating was that this was going to be unpopular. But there are so many people who need healthcare that it is creating problems at the initial stages. So much demand.

Phil Ponce: Let's talk about something very local. As you know a new runway has opened up at O'Hare. Some of your constituents say you have been insufficiently responsive to their concerns about more noise being created by these new traffic patterns. What is your reaction to that?

Rep. Mike Quigley: It's interesting. I can't speak for what happened with the O'Hare expansion deal before I became their Congressman. I started representing O'Hare in January of this year. And since that time, my staff and I have been very diligent to meet as often as we possibly can with individuals, groups, and community organizations. In the end, what we are doing is pushing for reducing the decibel level, so there can be a dramatic increase in soundproofing for homes and businesses and schools, as well as distributing the burden on all those runways. O'Hare's expansion is absolutely critical; it is the economic engine for the region. But I think it's fair and the constituent’s have a point, and I think I am leading that fight to distribute that runway traffic as evenly as possible so that one runway doesn't get hit more than others.

Phil Ponce: Congressman Quigley thanks so much for joining me.The following interview orginally appeared on Chicago Tonight (WTTW) on October 21, 2013. If you are having trouble accessing the video, please click here.