Congressional Reps. Discuss Recovery & Gridlock At Econ Club

DETROIT (WWJ) - A trio of U.S. Congress members from Michigan share their views on the economy during a gathering of the Detroit Economic Club Monday.

WWJ's Pat Sweeting reports that the Representatives spoke about ideology and the economic recovery.

"Nothing else comes first domestically, and I think it's a criticism of where we are that we are so divided," said Congressman Sander Levin.

Congresswoman Candice Miller says it's a clash of ideology: "In my neck of the woods, people are very, very concerned about the unbelievable out of control of Federal spending, that they have witnessed, they are shocked, they are appalled."

Congressman Gary Peters says the discussion should be less about ideology and more about helping small businesses access loans.

"I spent 22 years in the business world, and in the investment world, we didn't look at the issues based on ideology, we looked at how do we maximize our profit, how do we take care of our customers, how do we grow our business," said Rep. Peters.

"Unfortunately, in Congress, you've got ideology that does dominate it, you've got a democratic caucus that tends to be further to the left, than the average democrat - you've got a Republican caucus that tends to be further to the right, than the average Republican."

The three Congressional Representatives were part of a panel discussing topics such as the economic recovery, jobs, and the budget.