Candidate: Banking committee should be jailed

McLean, Va. – Republican congressional candidate Keith Fimian called for members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee to be imprisoned for their role in the country’s current economic crisis.

“We can’t even govern our way out of a situation like this without larding up the bill. It’s tragic,” said Fimian. “There should be people indicted and imprisoned that are on the Senate and House banking committees.”

{mosads}Fimian’s comments were made in a debate against Democrat Gerry Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. They're vying for Rep. Tom Davis’s (R) seat in Virginia's 11th district.

The two candidates focused largely on the economic needs of the district, using that subject as a bridge to discussing the overall improvement of the national economy.

The debate was hosted by the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce, which oversees businesses in Northern Virginia. The area has experienced an economic boom over the last decade, as it has become a hub for technology companies and government agencies.

If elected, Fimian said he would prioritize working on legislation to prevent a system in which employees can unionize themselves without first informing their employer. The method, known as “card check,” would deplete Northern Virginia of many small businesses, including technology and government-contracting companies because they are notoriously against such a system, Fimian said.

Fimian, who has received Davis’s backing, founded U.S. Inspect, the nation's largest home inspection company, located in Northern Virginia.

Connolly, who has served as chairman of the Fairfax supervisors for almost five years, said he would prioritize the area’s transportation needs.

“The thing that unites us all in the business community is a deep and profound desire for transportation investment,” he said. “Rail projects, road projects, bridge projects are either going to be funded or not funded if we’re not in (Congress) fighting for our fair share.”

Connolly said the main committee he would push to have a seat on would be the transportation panel, adding that as part of the Democratic Party he would have a better chance of succeeding than Fimian.

“As a freshman member of Congress, obviously I’m going to do a lot of networking,” he said. “But I think frankly that the Congress is going to remain a Democratic Congress and it’s going to enhance its numbers, and being a member of the majority party will also help serve us well.”

Fimian, though he admitted it was unlikely, said he would fight to be on the Ways and Means Committee.