Lieberman Talks National Heritage Area, Tax Increases

Sen. Joseph Lieberman outlined efforts to get the lower Naugatuck Valley designated as a National Heritage Area Friday in remarks during the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting. 

National Heritage Areas are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape.

Lieberman said the natural beauty and the human characteristics of the Valley make it a perfect region to consider for the designation. 

“This is a very, very special part of Connecticut,” Lieberman said. ​“It has the history of being part of the industrial revolution.”

With that history comes a longtime sense of entrepreneurship and innovation, he said. 

Lieberman said that while he sees a general pessimism about the future of America, places like the Naugatuck Valley, with hardworking people who retain community values, give him reason to have hope. 

Even Congress can learn from the Valley, Lieberman said.

“Washington needs a dose of the common sense and inclination to work together that exists in the Valley,” he said. 

Congress is considering naming 14 towns within the Naugatuck Valley as a National Heritage Area. If the bill is approved, the Naugatuck Valley would get financial help for long-term preservation projects, as well as tourism efforts. 

Click here to view the website for the Naugatuck Valley Heritage Area committee. 

Lieberman said he hopes the designation is awarded within the next year. 

“This is one of those bills just about nobody is against,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman also reflected on his 24 years in the United States Senate during his talk Friday. He is not seeking re-election in the fall. 

Lieberman said he’ll leave ​“disappointed in Congress.” 

It lacks ​“collaborative and courageous” leadership, Lieberman said, particularly when it comes to the national debt, which is approaching $16 trillion. 

“As I end my time of elected office, I’m coming back to the feeling that government should listen and learn a lot from business,” Lieberman said. 

“Even though we have different goals and standards, the reality is, we have operated too long in Washington without the fundamental ethic that you have, that you’ve got to balance your books as you try to make a profit,” Lieberman said. 

Lieberman said the United States needs to ease in higher taxes, while slowing the increase of entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. 

“We’ve got to lower spending and we’ve got to raise revenue somehow,” he said. 

“It’s not going to happen until both parties do something that is not easy politically,” Lieberman said. ​“Which is to raise some taxes… and to slow, not cut, entitlement programs.”

About 200 people attended the breakfast, which was the 48th annual meeting for the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce. It was held at the Grassy Hill Lodge in Derby.