Lujan Grisham, Arnold-Jones Talk Job Creation, Debt

First Congressional District candidates Michelle Lujan Grisham and Janice Arnold Jones fleshed out plans for Congress to create jobs and address a $1.2 trillion federal budget deficit during a televised debate Thursday night.

Lujan Grisham, the Democrat, said during the debate on KOB-TV that the government should do more to get loans to small businesses, which would help them weather tough economic conditions.

“The No. 1 priority is investing working capital,” said Lujan Grisham, a former Bernalillo County commissioner and state Cabinet secretary for health and aging. “We can provide micro-loans.”

Lujan Grisham cited small-business loans as an approach that helped Bernalillo County lure new companies and increase employment.

Arnold-Jones, the Republican, said Congress first needs to pass a federal budget to boost employment and local economies. Passage of a budget would enable government contractors to get back to work, said Arnold-Jones, a small-business owner and former state representative.

Arnold-Jones said the economy also would benefit from cutting back on government regulations, eliminating hurdles and allowing companies to expand hiring.

“We need to step up and pull back regulations right this second,” Arnold-Jones said.

Addressing the federal budget deficit, Lujan Grisham said part of her solution would be to increase taxes on households earning more than $250,000 — a move estimated to create about $1 trillion in new revenue over 10 years.

Lujan Grisham also said she would push to eliminate oil and gas tax subsides costing about $4 billion per year.

Arnold-Jones said her solution to the federal deficit, which she called the “greatest threat” facing the nation, would start with eliminating unfilled jobs on federal payrolls.

Arnold-Jones said other cuts would be necessary. However, she said she would work to prevent cuts in defense spending, government benefits for developmentally disabled people and wounded combat veterans.

“We are going to have to make the really tough choices about all the other programs,” Arnold-Jones said. “… There’s a lot to do.”

The hourlong debate, held at Sandia High School, was televised on KOB-TV. Lujan Grisham and Arnold-Jones are scheduled to hold one more debate before Election Day. That debate, sponsored by the Albuquerque Journal and KOAT-TV, will be televised on KOAT-TV at 4 p.m. Sunday.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal