During the Thursday Breakfast Session at the 2024 Big “I" Legislative Conference, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) sat down with Nathan Riedel, Big “I" senior vice president of federal government affairs, to discuss the political climate on Capitol Hill, as well as progress on key Big “I" legislative priorities, including making the 20% tax deduction for pass-through entities permanent and a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Rep. Gottheimer is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the ranking member of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee and is a member of the National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee.

He also serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions; the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion; and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

Rep. Gottheimer began his political career as a speechwriter for former president Bill Clinton and is implementing the ethos from the Clinton Administration in his current role. “What I learned most from President Clinton was the idea that both sides could actually come more together," said Rep. Gottheimer.

“Don't worry if an idea is a Republican or Democratic idea. Just worry if it's a good idea and focus on bringing people together," he said. “For him [Clinton], it was all about uniting the country and looking for a place where you can have reasonable common sense. It's helped drive what I've done in Washington."

Rep. Gottheimer represents New Jersey's 5th congressional district and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. After ascending to Congress, he wasted no time in helping to form the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of 64 members of Congress evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats that seeks to find common ground on advancing legislation.

As a result, Rep. Gottheimer has been recognized multiple times as the most bipartisan Democrat in the House because of his support for pro-growth policies and bipartisan governing. The Problem Solvers Caucus is a symbol of bipartisanship in a political climate that needs “more civility" amidst razor-thin margins in both congressional chambers, making it “not easy to govern it," he said. “It's really tough when you have a one-seat majority and one or two people can literally throw the whole place into disarray." 

Riedel and Rep. Gottheimer then turned their attention to one of the key issues discussed on Capitol Hill by independent agents: taxation. The Big “I" supports the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, which would create a permanent deduction for small businesses, rather than letting it expire at the end of 2025. The deduction is heavily relied upon by many Big “I" members and their clients to expand their small businesses, hire more employees and better serve their communities.

Rep. Gottheimer was one of the original sponsors of the Main Street Certainty Act and is “very hopeful" that consensus can be reached on the bill, as well as eradicate the $10,000 cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction.

“We're going to have to figure out how we get rid of the bad stuff and keep the good stuff that's very important to the economic growth—it's worth billions in New Jersey," he said.

Another issue Rep. Gottheimer is attempting to solve is finding a long-term renewal for the NFIP. He has sponsored bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize the NFIP for five years and modernize the program. However, despite dubbing short-term extensions to the program as “ridiculous punts," he wasn't optimistic that anything beyond a one-year extension was likely to happen this Congress.

Before Big “I" members took to Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers about the issues that are most important to their businesses, clients and communities, Rep. Gottheimer reminded attendees that “you coming here makes an enormous difference, so please keep coming and thank you for doing it," he said. “Do not think for a second that it is a waste of time. It is very valuable to people in jobs like mine and our teams."

Will Jones is IA editor-in-chief.