An example of political courage: compromise from leadership during a fiscal crisis

John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Award Announcement:  Bi-Partisan Effort to Close California Budget Gap Recognized at 2010 JFK Profile in Courage Awards  - Four Members of California’s Legislative Leadership Honored -
May 24, 2010

• The four members of California’s legislative leadership who in 2009 led a bi-partisan effort to close the state’s devastating budget deficit were presented the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™ today by Caroline Kennedy at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
• Karen Bass, California State Assembly Member, and former Democratic Speaker of the Assembly; David Cogdill, California State Senator and former Senate Republican Leader; Darrell Steinberg, California State Senator and Democratic Senate President pro Tem; and Michael Villines, California State Assembly Member and former Assembly Republican Leader, were recognized for the political courage each demonstrated in standing up to the extraordinary constituent and party pressure they faced while working with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to address California’s severe financial crisis.
• 2008 was a year of brutal fiscal crisis for the state of California. Battered by an imploding economy and wary of implementing major tax increases or massive cuts to vital programs, the California legislature spent the summer of 2008 in a deadlock over how to close a projected $15 billion budget deficit. But even as the legislature struggled to address the crisis and pass a budget by the two-thirds supermajority required by California law, the state’s financial health deteriorated. As the U.S. economy cratered, the revenue assumptions that formed the basis of the budget negotiations fell apart. By January 2009, California’s projected deficit had grown to $40 billion. In February 2009, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded California’s bond rating to A, the lowest of any state in the nation.
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the legislature into special session to close the gap, and over the next few weeks, state lawmakers struggled to come to terms with the fiscal emergency. The February 2009 special legislative session was one of the most contentious in the state’s history. After weeks of negotiations, seeing no alternatives, Dave Cogdill, Mike Villines, Karen Bass and Darrell Steinberg – two Republicans and two Democrats – set aside party loyalties and ideological differences and agreed to a deal intended to pull California back from the brink of financial ruin. The compromise included tax increases, which set off an intense backlash among conservative constituents and activists, and deep cuts to vital programs, which brought bitter criticism from labor unions, environmental groups, state employees and social service providers.

This is an extraordinary story of difficult compromise, by elected public officials, in the dire conditions of a state's debt crisis.  There are lessons to be learned for today's  congressional leadership concerning our national debt.

Also at the JFK Library site are the acceptance speeches from the four legislators who received this prestigious award.