One of the inspiring things about Walz's 2006 race was the hundreds of college and high school students working to get the Mankato West teacher and coach elected. A former student put together a Facebook group and the swarms of yellow-shirted young Walz volunteers was a sight to behold in parades.
However, the substance of the article notes that Walz is deliverig on campaign pledges to help make higher education more affordable:
For now, the outreach is paying small but notable dividends. Bronson
Pettitt, editor-in-chief-of the Minnesota State University-Mankato
Reporter, recently participated in one such conference call with Rep.
Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who chairs the Democratic Caucus, and Reps.
Zack Space of Ohio and Tim Walz of Minnesota, who represents Pettitt’s
district.
The three congressmen talked up the Democrats’ support and passage of
the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which will boost Pell Grants
and other student aid. Pettitt wrote an article in the campus newspaper
about the measure a day after the call.
“It was the first time I’ve done a conference call [with a politician].
And with a congressman from my hometown — it was good to hear him
speak,” Pettitt said.
Since he was severely burned in a combat injury, we've been following the story of Sleepy Eye National Guard Specialist B. J. Sprenger. Yesterday, he received his Purple Heart surrounded by family and friends. The New Ulm Journal has the story and KEYC -TV, some video footage.
Thank you again for your service to our country.
2008 Minnesota Veterans Literary Initiative On a related note, Sprenger's story is only one tale from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and shows like Ken Burns' "The War" remind us of how important it is to collect the narratives of those who fight the battles.
We received an email from the Military Salute Project about the 2008 Minnesota Veterans Literary Initiative, and we're passing along news of a writing contest it's sponsoring:
The Military Salute Project of Woodbury, MN is sponsoring the 2008 Minnesota Veterans Literary Initiative to encourage Minnesotans who served in the Global War On Terror to record and preserve their stories.
Submissions will be accepted via e-mail from residents of Minnesota who have been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the GWOT Expeditionary or Service Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, or the Iraq Campaign Medal for service on or after September 11, 2001.
Submissions will also be accepted from immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings and children 18 years of age or older), including the immediate family members of Minnesotans who were posthumously awarded one or more of the decorations.
Military Salute Project will present three awards each in Poetry and Essay categories. Submissions
received by April 1, 2008 are eligible for the Freedom Award ($500 and
a certificate), the Liberty Award ($250 and a certificate), and the
Independence Award ($100 and a certificate).
Submissions received after March 31, 2008 will be displayed in the Military Salute Project Reference Forum but will not be eligible for awards.
Recipients will be announced on April 14. Presentations will be made on May 17 during the Salute to Armed Forces Day event sponsored by Tribute To The Troops of Center City, MN
Jeff Seeber, founder and director of the Military Salute Project said, "We who served throughout the Cold War, and especially during the Vietnam War, owe a debt of gratitude to those who have defended us since America was attacked in 2001.
Their sacrifice enabled many of us to receive the Welcome Home we thought was never coming. Because of them, we are finally able to share our stories.
However, the passage of time has clouded our memories and much of our history has been forgotten or mistaken. By launching this initiative, we hope to prevent that from happening to their history.
We learned that writing about what we experienced may be painful, but it is also therapeutic. We
hope that encouraging them to submit their stories will help them cope
with their changed lives as well as provide a way for them to tell
their families at least some of what they have seen and done."
The Tribute to the Troops is nonpartisan. We are not Republicans, Libertarians or Democrats. We are not for or against the war. We have never
been, nor will we ever be, part of any political campaign or agenda. We are simply in support of the troops who serve our country so well, and the families of the brave heroes who put their life on the line defending our freedom and our way of life.
We encourage those who are eligible to submit work to the contest.
The proposal, passed by
the House and Senate by fairly large majorities, calls for expanding
funding of the program from the current $25 billion a year by $35
billion over the next five years. It would add funds available to help
cover children already eligible for the plan, and expand eligibility
for families from 200 percent of the poverty level to 300 percent.
Eighteen Senate Republicans joined
Democrats in the 67-29 vote Thursday and the House passed the bill
Tuesday, 265-159, with 45 Republicans voting for it.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-1st District, and Rep.
Collin Peterson, D-7th District, voted in favor of the Bill. Rep. John
Kline, R,-2nd District, who represents parts of Le Sueur County, voted
against the bill.
Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar both voted in favor of the bill.
Estimates are that covered children would
go from about 6 million to nearly 12 million. The bill allows families
of four making less than $51,000 a year to get coverage. As the bill
was being approved by both houses, the White House took administrative
action and imposed new rules some say would thwart the new legislation.
Coleman and other Republican colleagues wrote the president a letter
opposing those rules.
Said Coleman: “Not only could these
impractical standards strip children of access to care, they could also
block future efforts to cover Minnesota’s 70,000 uninsured children.”
The rest of the editorial cites additional arguments from Coleman's letter. It's a far cry from the Fairmont Sentinel's opposition to SCHIP, in an editorial that scolds Walz and appeals to motive, arguing that Walz's secret agenda is socialized medicine.
Funny, but the Republican-leaning Martin County newspaper doesn't breathe a word to its readers of Coleman's vote or the letter quoted so frequently in the Free Press editorial. Pretty slick--one wonders if Coleman will set the editors and loyal GOP base straight in the border county.
A friend at the Minnesota Farmers Union passed along a ticket to the DFL's first Founders Day dinner that featured blogger and columnist David Sirota and Montana Senator Jon Tester. We ran into our friend Blue Man Hal Kimball, finally meeting the accomplished and beautiful Bluewoman.
On the way out, Walz stopped at our table to talk to a DFL activist from Southeastern Minnesota. In passing, he confirmed that his September 10 remarks about the MoveOn.org Petraeus ad were on Fox Across America.
We also got a chance to talk candidly with DFL activists from across the First. Their insights will be incorporated into our posts as the issues we discussed come up.
Steve Drazkowski campaigned on rural values in the recent special election in 28B, and so we're curious to find him listed as a special guest on the handbill promoting Minnesota House Representative Mark Olson's "Old-Fashioned Family Picnic."
Minnesotans may recall that Mark Olson was convicted in July of one domestic abuse complaint and sentenced in mid-August:
A Sherburne County judge on
Thursday sentenced Olson, an eight-term Republican from Big Lake, on
one count of domestic assault. A jury in July convicted Olson of
causing his wife fear of bodily harm during an incident at their home.
Judge
Alan Pendleton sentenced Olson to 90 days in jail, but stayed the
sentence and put Olson on two years probation, fined him and required
him to complete a 12-week group counseling program.
There was talk of the legislature taking action against Olson at the time of the sentencing, who was suspended from the GOP House caucus after his arrest:
House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, and House
Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, have conferred about Olson's
case, but no legislative action has taken place, said Andy Wittenborg,
a spokesman for the DFL caucus.
According to Anderson Kelliher, a
complaint signed by at least two members would have to be submitted to
the House ethics committee before formal punishment could be
considered.
"Members from both sides have said they're ready to
bring a complaint, but none has been filed yet," Wittenborg said.
Olson, who is serving his eighth term, was suspended from the
Republican caucus after his arrest.
He is unlikely to be removed. At the time of his sentencing, the St. Cloud Times asked him to step down, as did a Republican blogger at he time of the conviction. His wife, who is divorcing him, discussed Olson's personal family values in
Family dynamics prove destructive. Dump Mark Olson contrasts this year's guests with those Republicans who attended Olson's annual picnic last year. We're astonished that Draz is breaking with the consensus of the GOP Caucus in the House and appearing as Olson's special guest. Taxpayer League head former rep Phil Krinkie is a special quest as well.
A.M. in the Morning writes about the aftermath of Katrina in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, with a focus on insurance issues. Some fascinating videos and great background on the multi-peril bill Bush has threatened to veto.
The blog provides a more in-depth context for the flood insurance bill just passed in Congress. Some local coverage:
The bill, championed by Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Bay
St. Louis, is highly anticipated on the Gulf Coast where many residents
are still battling insurers over storm damage done by Hurricane Katrina
two years ago. Taylor, who settled his suit over the loss of his home,
said the bill would resolve the disputes over the causes of damage -
wind or water - that have been at the center of many lawsuits.
Despite the veto threat, Taylor was upbeat Wednesday night. "Things are falling in place," he said.
Though
the administration and insurers oppose the bill, Taylor said the
American Bankers Association, the National Association of Home Builders
and the National Association of Realtors support it.
Walz offered a successful amendment that added:
to the flood map modernization provisions of H.R.
3121 a requirement that FEMA map areas in the 100-year floodplain that
would flood if not for a "levee, dam, or other man-made structure."
An item in yesterday's Washington Post provides a strong contrast between the old system of corrupt earmarks and the open and accountable standard which Congressman Walz is working to establish.
We do get a good belly laugh whenever we hear a Republican try to equate Tim Walz's open and accountable earmarks list (established by talking to local and state officials about their needs) with the fabulously corrupt "bridge to nowhere" that Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) secured.
There's also the famous example of Senator Don Young (R-Alaska) earmark for an interchange in Florida--said interchange wasn't in the plans local officials and highway builders drew up for the road. Young did have a fundraiser in the area, which seems to be the genesis of the appropriation.
Yes, gentle readers, the local officials in Alaska and Florida don't want the corrupt GOP earmarks. Kane notes that they do have some real needs that federal dollars could aid, but the wishlists of contributors were more important to Stevens and Young than the public good:
It was a long, hot summer for Alaska's two senior members of Congress -- Sen. Ted Stevens (R) and Rep. Don Young (R)-- as both came under scrutiny in a burgeoning corruption investigation in their home state. And now even their earmarking power is losing some of its pop.
For the second time in a week, local officials have rejected multi-million-dollar earmarks that came courtesy of Stevens and Young, both of whom are senior members of powerful committees.
The Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees growth projects around the Naples, Fla., region, voted 6-5 this morning to reject a $10 million earmark for a proposed new interchange off of I-75. It's actually the third time this year that the county organization refused the money, but today's vote was needed because past votes occurred after procedural mishaps that violated internal rules. So today's vote is the official action refusing the earmark, which was written into the 2005 federal highway bill that Young authored when he chaired the House Transportation Committee.
The county MPO hopes to spend the $10 million instead on widening I-75, which local officials consider a top highway priority to make hurricane evacuations easier. Officials have accused Young of pushing the earmark because of a fundraiser thrown for the lawmaker by developers in Naples. Those developers own land next to the proposed new interchange, which would likely increase the value of any new homes built next to a new interchange.
The Naples move follows an announcement last Friday from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) that the state would not build a bridge to connect remote Ketchikan, an island with just 50 residents, to another more populated area of the state. Young and Stevens, the longest serving GOP senator in history, originally secured more than $200 million in the 2005 highway bill for the bridge. Opponents labeled it the "Bridge to Nowhere" and successfully stripped language directing the money to the bridge project. But the state wound up with $200 million to spend how it saw fit.
It's a sign of their declining power that local and state officials would defy Stevens and Young on these projects.
Two years ago, when Stevens and Young were at their apex of power, the conventional wisdom was that Alaska would spend the $200 million on the bridge. Now Palin, who has not been entangled in any of the corruption investigations, has deemed the bridge project fiscally irresponsible.
When Lee County, Fla., planners originally questioned the $10 million interchange earmark, Young's office said the county had to spend the money on the interchange or else lose federal funding on future projects. But local officials hired a consultant to investigate the earmark, learning that originally the highway bill did not specify a new interchange. After it passed both the House and Senate, but before it was sent to the White House, someone changed the language of the earmark to specifically read "interchange." Florida's congressional delegation is now working on legislative language to allow Lee County to spend the money on widening I-75.
We think Southern Minnesotans are smart enough not to fall for the "bait and switch" rhetorical tactic the NRCC and others have chosen to expound. Walz chose his earmarks after consulting with local officials about their needs--and released his lists of requests to the public.
Here's Walz's statement about earmarks from the Mankato Free Press's coverage of the release of the earmarks. Click on the link to review the list itself:
In releasing his earmarks request Friday (see accompanying list), Walz said in a statement:
“The projects I requested funding for are projects that are critical to the economy of southern Minnesota and to my constituents’ quality of life.”
He said members often know more about projects important to their districts than a federal agency in Washington, D.C.
“However, because the appropriations process has been abused in the past, I believe it is important for this system to be as open and transparent as possible,” Walz wrote.
The list includes road, bridge, health care, and other initiatives sought by state and local officials. All are a far call from the Stevens and Young nonsense.
. . . .there is critically important legislation awaiting President Bush's signature that will cover millions of children who are without health insurance. . . .
One of the things we're finding interesting about this issue is the number of young adults who are aware of the beltway debate on this issue and passionate about its passage. Must have something to do with the empathy they gain from being parents themselves.
We at BSP still don't think the Senate and Congress should act as the ad police, and wish that Democratic leadership had not allowed the resolutions condemning the MoveOn Petraeus ad to come up. We're also not a fan of the ad's headline, either.
That being said, there's a new wrinkle in today's feed on Walz's response to the ad.
In Outside Agitators Or Prime Movers?, MSNBC's Tom Curry quotes Tim Walz as saying that he was on Fox News on September 10 disagreeing with the tactics in the MoveOn.org ad and the ad's treatment of General Petraeus.
This jibes with something we had read early in the controversy on a conservative site about Walz disagreeing with the ad on a radio show; a tipster answered our earlier query with the information that the radio show was on a "Fox Across the Nation" broadcast. However, we haven't been able to confirm that this was the case, since our source didn't have an audio file. Perhaps Walz is talking about Fox News on cable. We are hoping for audio or video and a transcript to clarify this murkiness.
Here's the Walz part of the MSNBC story:
"Moveon is both part of the key to the Democratic majority and the seeds of their own demise because the majority makers who won in conservative-leaning (House) districts have nothing in common with Moveon," said third-ranking House Republican leader Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida.
A 'canyon of difference'
"So there is this canyon of difference between the hard left base that's represented by Moveon and the right-of-center Democrats who won in seats that were previously unwinnable that made the difference in them taking the Congress," Putnam said.
But that's exactly why for some congressional Democrats, the "Betray Us" storm clouds had a silver lining: it was a chance to let it be known how they far they are from Moveon.org.
Said freshman Democrat Rep. Tim Walz, who was elected last year in a Republican-leaning district in Minnesota, "Before anybody in the country spoke on this, I spoke on Fox News on Monday morning Sept. 10 and said I disagreed with the tactics, I disagreed with the way they treated Gen. Petraeus."
Walz got a relatively tiny $665* in aid from Moveon.org.
As for next year's campaigns, "I think they're probably going to have less of a role," he said.
"In my case, I'm pinched from both sides," Walz noted. "They ran the Petraeus ad that I disagree with, and they're asking if they should support primary candidates against those who voted for the war funding" as Walz did in May and again on Wednesday.
Does Moveon.org have a candidate against Walz?
"That's just talk from what Moveon says; there's no talk in the district," he said.
A couple of things about this. It does seem like Walz is throwing down the gauntlet at MoveOn's feet, and that those activists in the district upset by the war funding, FISA and the ad resolution votes will likely could possibly be provoked to put up a candidate, rather than to shut-up.
How that primary challenge fares will prove a concrete measure of discontent with Walz from the left--and we predict that the discontent, however large or small, will be vocal and passionate. MoveOn.org will indeed play the role of a progressive version of the Club for Growth, should the progressive organization aid a district candidate willing to take on Walz. Update: given the emails we're getting, we believe we've probably overstated the possibily of a DFL primary challenge to Walz [end update].
The consequences to the First district GOP, however, are much more devastating.
For while Walz's vote on Wednesday might have seemed a surrender to demands-by-press-release issued by MNGOP chair Ron Carey (Sept. 10) and challenger wannabes Brian Davis and Randy Demmer (Sept 20/21) before the MSNBC story broke, the fact that Walz expressed his disagreement on Fox prior to the faux demands shows that they simply weren't paying attention.
Rather, they simply revealed themselves as mere cogs in the apparatus for manufacturing outrage. They couldn't be bothered with due diligence.
Moreover, the NRCC has tried to define Walz as a puppet of the left. Good luck pushing that meme while MoveOn's ads run back-to-back to the NRCC's own.
What's likely to be lost in the sound and fury from both the right and left will be that Walz didn't like the ad, but that reaction didn't stop him from looking critically at General Petraeus's claims. He ended up being unswayed following a critical examination of the testimony, rather than accepting namecalling as legitimate argument.
The Fighting First should live up to its name. We're popping some corn.
*We have to research this dollar amount, as it is markedly different than that stated by critics on the right and left. UPDATE: So far as we can tell, all of the citations of a larger figure source themselves back to MoveOn's page about its 2006 success stories. When one looks at FEC reports, the much smaller figure cited in the MSNBC story is listed under Independent Expenditures. Thus, we're assuming that the rest of the figure is individual contributions to Walz's campaign given via a MoveOn.org contribution mechanism. Not rocket science to figure out that MoveOn.org won't be providing that service again.
We're even more curious how much the right spent trying to brand Walz as MoveOn.org's lapdog, after Walz had already said his piece and moved on to substantive criticism of Petraeus. [end update]
Representative Walz is a champion of providing children's health care via SCHIP. He recently began a fundraising appeal:
The other day, my six year old daughter Hope called me and announced, “Dad, I swallowed a rock. What are my options?”
For Hope, the options are good. We’re lucky to have good health insurance and a quick call to Hope’s doctor was all it took for a few good suggestions on how to get the rock back.
As most of you know, I now spend the majority of every week in Washington, DC voting on legislation. It gives me peace of mind to know that my family is healthy and that my kids have the opportunity to stay that way with regular preventative care from our family doctor.
But for many kids, the options are not that good. Without the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), more than 6 million kids would have only one option: treatment in their local emergency room.
Research and common sense will tell you that healthy kids do better in school and grow up stronger than sick kids. That’s why CHIP was created. It takes more than public education to level the playing field for our kids – it takes good health care, nutrition programs like the free and reduced-cost lunch program and other efforts to make sure our children can focus on learning.
This week, Congress passed the final conference report on the CHIP reauthorization. This legislation expands the program to include nearly 11 million children. Without CHIP, these 11 million children would otherwise be uninsured.
I voted for this legislation because it reflects your values and the priorities you asked me to take to Congress. Right wing interest groups are fighting mad about this vote. They say that giving uninsured children access to doctors and dentists is “nationalizing health care.” These groups, and the powerful special interests they represent, have already taken out ads in your local papers, and we expect that they’ll continue to do so for weeks to come. President Bush is threatening to veto this legislation as soon as it hits his desk.
That Walz is being attacked from the right on this issue may illustrate how little his GOP challengers have to run on in 2008, and the lengths they'll go in imagining their lemons are lemonade. Indeed, in many Republican-held swing districts across the country, incumbent Republicans cast the same vote as Walz.
Bush has vowed to veto the measure, but he has faced strong criticism from many fellow Republicans reluctant to turn away from a popular measure that would renew and expand an effective program aimed at low-income children. Democratic leaders, while still as many as two dozen votes short in the House, are campaigning hard for the first veto override of Bush's presidency.
They secured a veto-proof majority last night in the Senate, with the 67 to 29 tally including "yes" votes from 18 of the 49 Republicans, including some of the president's most stalwart allies, such as Christopher S. Bond (Mo.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (Tex.) and Ted Stevens (Alaska). Democratic leaders are likely to send the measure to the White House next week, giving advocates a few more days to pressure Bush to sign it.
For Republicans, the issue is politically perilous. Every Senate Republican facing a difficult reelection bid bolted from Bush yesterday. Most House Republicans in swing districts abandoned him Tuesday when the House approved the bill 265 to 159. Those Republicans "took the vote that was easiest to explain," said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
Even conservative Republicans pleaded with Bush to relent.
We have to wonder why the Republican party and its allies are spending their money to attack Walz on SCHIP. Those who want to support Walz's re-election bid because of his work for SCHIP can contribute here.
Reading an article in the Rochester Post Bulletin about a new law that removes wind energy production taxes from school district's revenue streams, we stumbled across this passage:
Republican Rep. Randy Demmer of Hayfield added that he had no idea this
provision was put in the education bill when he voted. He has scheduled
a meeting with education officials to discuss the policy and see if
"there might be some rationales I'm not aware of."
Demmer didn't know what was in a bill he voted for? Hmmm...what First District Republican legislator does that bring to mind? Let's see..
Oh yeah, now we remember--that DM & E Railroad loan provision Gutknecht didn't know about when he voted on the transportation bill it was in:
Gutknecht campaign spokesman Bryan Anderson said it was “problematic”
that the DM&E Railroad loan provision “was placed in the
transportation spending bill late at night without a lot of members
knowing about it.” Gutknecht was one who didn’t know about it.
A candidate for the Republican endorsement in MN-01 seat, Randy Demmer is campaigning on returning to traditional Republican values. We see now that he means it.
Update: another reminder of this spirit in action, last fall's lovely "Railroaded" Youtube:
House Republicans continue to use procedural motions to recommit in order to score "report card" checklists that can be used against vulnerable freshmen, CQ Politics reports in Hispanic Caucus Seeks Unity on Immigration. The article notes:
Six times since June, House Republicans have used procedural votes
to box Democrats into a corner on various aspects of illegal
immigration.
Vulnerable Democrats, including 19 freshmen, have voted “yes” on at least some of those votes. Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and Heath Shuler of North Carolina — both freshmen from districts that President Bush
carried in 2004 — have voted with Republicans all six times.
The freshmen who've caved on some of the votes:
The freshman Democrats who have voted for some but not all of the GOP motions are Arizona’s Gabrielle Giffords and Harry E. Mitchell; California’s Jerry McNerney; Florida’s Tim Mahoney; Indiana’s Joe Donnelly [and] Baron P. Hill; Kansas’ Nancy Boyda; New Hampshire’s Paul W. Hodes; New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand [and] John Hall; Ohio’s Zack Space and Charlie Wilson; Pennsylvania’s Jason Altmire, Christopher Carney, and Patrick J. Murphy; Texas’ Nick Lampson; and Wisconsin’s Steve Kagen.
We're curious about the details of the strategy mentioned here:
Tim Walz
of Minnesota, class president for the 42 Democratic freshmen, said
House leaders told concerned freshmen during a Sept. 26 breakfast with
Pelosi that they were devising a strategy to prevent vulnerable members
from having to vote repeatedly on immigration-tinged motions.
The GOP, however, will continue to demogogue on this theme, inserting the immigration debate into procedural motions, regardless of the content of the bill at hand:
Republicans,
in the meantime, are sticking with what they’ve determined is a winning
campaign issue for them — interjecting immigration concerns into
motions to recommit.
The amendment was accepted and the bill passed this afternoon, according to a news release sent out by the Walz congressional office:
Today, Congressman Walz successfully offered an amendment to H.R. 3121, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, which passed the House of Representatives late this afternoon by a vote of 263-146.
“This legislation will make long overdue changes to our flood insurance program,” Walz said. “It will strengthen the program for the 5.5 million Americans who own flood insurance and add important new tools to help more homeowners and businesses receive protection from floods.”
The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007 is one of the largest overhauls of the National Flood Insurance Program since its creation in 1968. Walz said the bill will ensure the program’s continued viability by phasing out unnecessary subsidies, encouraging broader participation, and increasing financial accountability within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The legislation also included a Walz amendment that would require FEMA to update its flood maps with additional information that can be used by communities to determine their flood risk. Walz said the need for this type of information became clear following the devastating floods that occurred in southeastern Minnesota on August 18th and 19th.
“In August, flash floods hit several communities in southeastern Minnesota, in part because their flood control structures were overwhelmed. My amendment would require FEMA to map the areas in the 100-year floodplain that would flood if it were not for a flood control measure,” said Walz. “This amendment provides important information to the public and to local communities that want to plan accordingly for heavy rains like those that fell in southern Minnesota.”
After a cool, slow morning, the news heats up in a sunny prairie autumn afternoon. First up, the Rochester Post-Bulletin's Edward Felker reports Canadian Pacific plans talks with Mayo, lawmakers say. The CP's chief held meetings with Senators Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar, as well as congressman Tim Walz:
Minnesota lawmakers said Wednesday they were told by Canadian Pacific President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Green that the railway intends to have talks with the Mayo Clinic and other major entities affected by its plans to buy the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Rail road.
Walz reacts:
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, after his meeting with Green said he intends to have town hall meetings about the acquisition this fall, possibly in November, that would feature company officials.
Walz said that he was pleased with his discussions with Green and that the company intens to enter a "listening stage" with community groups after it files its acquisition application in Washington next month. "He indicated he will personally be inviting and bringing up to Calgary the major players, everybody from Mayo, Olmsted County, ag groups ... to let them feel as confident as possible about what's going on," Walz said.
Walz said Green wants to make "a fresh start" on hauling coal and hopes to foster a more positive relationship with Mayo, compared to the intense ill will that prevailed between the clinic and the DM&E.
"He said they are obviously acutely aware of where there were issues before, and they indicated they do not want to make those errors," Walz said.
The importance of private giving, working hand-in-hand with responsible government, has been brought home to southern Minnesota by the help given flood victims. Congressman Tim Walz has joined the newly formed Congressional Philanthropy Caucus. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports:
A Congressional caucus that was formed to discuss issues that affect the charitable world now has 25 members and will start meeting this fall, probably next month, says an aide to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a caucus co-chair.
Among the first issues that the new caucus will discuss are a tax bill that Congress is expected to adopt this fall and the proposed extension of legislation allowing some people to donate money from their individual retirement accounts to charity tax-free, says Nikia Okoye, senior legislative assistant to Ms. Tubbs Jones, Democrat of Ohio.
In a news release from the University of Minnesota, President Robert Bruininks thanked the members of Minnesota's congressional delegation who voted for College Cost Reduction and Access Act. that group includes both U.S. Senators and Representatives Walz, Ramstad, McCollum, Ellison, Peterson and Oberstar. President Bush signed the bill today. The meat of the release:
“
What we’ve seen with this bill has been a strong bipartisan recognition of the importance of education to our nation’s future,” said Bruininks. “In our current fiscal environment, with many other pressures on the public purse, Congress -- and our delegation in particular -- really stepped up to the plate.”
Calling the Pell Grant “an absolute cornerstone of opportunity,” Bruininks said the bill represented a significant boost for students at the University of Minnesota’s campuses, where last year 8,416 low-income undergraduate students received grant assistance from federal programs. Nearly all of these students received Pell grants and many also received grants from the relatively new Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grant programs. The total federal grant assistance was $28,164,950, and the average award per student was $3,347.
In a “thank you” letter to Minnesota members of Congress who supported the bill, Bruininks also highlighted significant new University of Minnesota programs designed to leverage federal assistance to the most economically disadvantaged students, including the University’s Founders Free Tuition Program, which guarantees grant and scholarship assistance that is at least equal to tuition for any Minnesotan who is Pell eligible.
Sensing a pattern? Infrastructure and health insurance are too expensive, even though Bush finds the cash to run up a tab in Iraq--and some of that bill involves water and transportation projects. For Iraqis.
In Minnesota, our governor used the veto to deep six transportation and bonding, and the threatened Bush veto may put highway and bridge projects at risk. Yesterday's Mankato Free Press called for a special session to pass a transportation bill, while the New Ulm Journal lamented that transportation wasn't taken up in the special session two weeks ago.
The Free Press editors concluded:
Of course, the
Democrat-controlled Legislature passed a gas tax bill last year that
Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed. That bill would have sent $68 million over 10
years to the eight counties in the Mankato region. So much for property
tax relief. Many local Republican legislators were not
interested in helping Democrats override the governor’s veto, saying
their constituents didn’t want a gas tax increase. But they should have
asked their constituents if they wanted a higher increase in property
taxes, a mostly mandatory tax, or a smaller increase in the gas tax, a
mostly voluntary tax.
If the Republicans and Gov. Tim Pawlenty
have a better plan, it’s time for them to present it. A special session
on transportation would be the ideal place.
A special session was held for flood relief, but now area state legislators are finding that the Pawlenty adminstration isn't following the legislative intent of that special session. Last week we posted about the deal actually offered to businesses and the response of DFL Rep. Ken Tschumper to the administration's interpretation of the bill he wrote.
Terry Huebner’s family earns a little more than the average Winona County family, and it could cost them $23,000 in state flood aid.
Huebner’s Goodview home sustained between $40,000 and $60,000 in damages during the August flood.
He got a $28,200 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and he’s been depending on state flood aid to help cover the rest.
But under Minnesota Housing Finance Agency guidelines, Huebner isn’t eligible for a dollar in state housing aid.
“That news sent me and my wife into a huge tailspin, after thinking there was a little light coming,” he said.
Huebner’s household income is about $2,000 more than a threshold set by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, based on 120 percent of a county’s median household income. In Winona County, that’s $81,120.
If Huebner lived in Olmsted County n where the threshold is $87,120 n he would be eligible for up to $23,000 in forgivable loans.
“It’s a tough one to swallow,” Huebner said. “It’s not an option to take out another mortgage-type loan. I don’t know where that leaves us.” . . .
. . .Goodview officials and others are bashing the MHFA-imposed income cap on state housing aid.
State Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha, called the move “completely unacceptable,” and accused MHFA officials of “ignoring the intent of lawmakers” who drafted the flood relief legislation.
Drazkowski said the flood relief bill specifically waives MHFA guidelines used for administering aid in previous disasters.
“We intended to provide flood relief for everyone,” Drazkowski said. “Precedent can put the blinders on institutions of state government.”
Drazkowski, in turn, called Wednesday’s news “outstanding.”
“The Legislature wanted all homeowners to receive help, not just those who met an arbitrary income level,” Drazkowski said.
Before the flood, the Draz was the darling of the Taxpayers League, with TP League brown-noser and GOP Congressional candidate Brian Davis putting in a cameo appearance at a "debate" the TP League held on August 24. Now it looks like Draz has parted company with those who believe that private charity will provide adequate disaster relief. A wall of muddy water can do that to a person.
The tsunsumi of presidential (and vice presidential wannabe) veto threats does something else for us: it releases our inner hick, prompting memories of lyrical populism. One such song from 2005 shuffled up on the iPod yesterday as we drove the gauntlet of farm equipment on the way to work. The second verse really hit home:
Why don't we liberate these United States We're the ones who need it the worst Let the rest of the world help us for a change And let's rebuild America first
Our highways and bridges are falling apart Who's blessed and who has been cursed There's things to be done all over the world But let's rebuild America first
That's about it. There's a video:
Note: We're working on the timeline of GOP demands that Congressman Walz denounce the MoveOn.org ad. We recall reading just about the time of General Petraeus's testimony that Walz had been on the radio disagreeing with the ad's tone, but we haven't been able to track down the venue--not even in Nexis transcripts. Does anybody out there know?
Walz did respectfully disagree with Petraeus's testimony on the day it was delivered, saying it left him unswayed, so his critique of the ad apparently didn't stop him from thinking critically about the General's statements.
For ourselves, we thought the offending headline in the ad was juvenile name-calling, the sort of slogan we were taught to avoid in grad advertising and pr classes. As for the House and Senate votes condemning the ads, we don't think the congress should be usurping the role of ad councils. Get back to work.
. . .The motion to amend (it was really a motion to recommit with amendment, but the bill is already back before the House as I write this, whatever) passed 341-79. All 79 nays were Democrats who will now be accused of “turning their backs on the troops” or some such nonsense by talk radio and right wing bloggers.
10 minutes of debate. 20+ minutes of the voting machine being open. You can laugh at this if you want, but that half hour is time that could have been spent on real legislation such as that before the House addressing popcorn lung disease. I will update with how the Minnesota delegation voted once the roll is posted (though I am sure there won’t be any surprises).
No surprises here on this roll call. Minnesota members voting aye: Walz, Kline, Ramstad, McCollum, Bachmann, Peterson, Oberstar. Voting nay: Ellison. At least maybe some people will let up on bullcrap such as calling Tim Walz “MoveOn.org’s Minnesota representative.”
Whatever will Randy Demmer have to say now? Oh, that right--DJ has Demmer's new talking point: family values.
Brian Davis no doubt will continue to carry on about Walz's need to return the funds. Nice to know his priority is an ad.
Meanwhile, there are children's health care, transportation, conservation, water, veterans' issues, and other important issues for Walz to work on in Washington and in his district.
Update: We will have more soon about Walz's focus on real, rather than symbolic politics.
One of the standard tactics of grassroots membership organizations is the fly-in of local and state leaders to meet with representatives in Washington. This is Sportsmen's Week in DC, and members of Trout Unlimited (pictured at the top of this post) stopped by Rep. Walz's office to talk about the effects of last month's flooding on southeastern Minnesota trout streams.
. .On Sept. 24 through Oct. 3, the House of Representatives will focus on issues important to the sportsmen’s community and recognize the tremendous contributions these men and women make to our economy and our communities all across the country.
. . . Every year, millions of Americans participate in hunting and fishing activities across the U.S. In 2006 alone, an U.S. Fish and Wildlife estimated 42.5 million Americans participated in hunting and fishing activities with 30 million Americans participating in fishing and 12.5 million Americans in hunting.
Walz issued a statement about Sportsmen's Week:
"As co-chair of the Rural Caucus, I am especially honored to celebrate Sportsmen's Week," said Walz. "Hunters and anglers support 1.6 million jobs and play a central role in keeping our rural economies alive and well. As a pheasant hunter, I am proud to be a part of a group that helps shape our national heritage and seeks to ensure the good stewardship of our land and natural resources."
Earlier this week, Congressman Walz cosponsored two resolutions that the House passed: one recognized hunters across the United States for their continued commitment to safety and another encouraged participation in hunting and fishing, as these activities assist with scientific management of wildlife and conservation of the natural environment.
For a SE Minnesota blogging fly fisherman and KTTC meteorologist's personal perspective on the floods, visit Driftless Skies flood pictures page. Great title for a blog if there ever were one.
We've been posting about Goodview's quest for federal aid to upgrade its water treatment plant for most of the year. Congressman Walz, Senator Coleman and Senator Klobuchar have all worked to secure the money. The Winona Daily News reports that a presidential veto may jeopardize those earmarked dollars:
The Senate on Monday approved $3 million for a water treatment plant in
Goodview, but the funding could be in jeopardy as it is part of a
massive waters funding bill that the President has threatened to veto.
Goodview
must begin construction on a $4.5 million water treatment plant in 2008
in order to meet a federal deadline for reducing radium, a naturally
occurring radioactive element often found in ground water.
The
$3 million earmark is included in the Water Resources Development Act,
which passed easily. A companion bill cleared the House in August, and
Minnesota lawmakers thought it was a cinch.
Republicans like to whine about earmarks, but this one has been completely above board: a local community has a pressing need for a water treatment plant and members of the congressional delegation openly work to secure the money. The size of the bill is less suggestive of pork than of the nation's pressing infrastructure needs.
The bill passed with overwhelming support in both chambers of Congress, and a Coleman spokesman says that Coleman will vote to override a veto.
A broad House majority gave final approval last night to a $35 billion
expansion of the popular children's health insurance program, with
members from both parties brushing aside a stern veto threat from President Bush to vote their support, 265 to 159.
The Senate will take up the bill later this week and is expected to
send it to the president with a veto-proof, bipartisan majority. But
amid furious White House
lobbying, even Republican advocates in the House ruefully conceded that
they will probably fall short of the 290 votes they will need in the
House next week to override the promised veto.. . .
Congress and the White House are heading for a showdown
over funding health care for children in need. Congress wants to expand
'S-CHIP', the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and cover an
additional three million children. The president says that will bust
the budget and subsidize some families that don't need help. But
congressman Tim Walz says the program has worked, and needs to
continue. Rep. Tim Walz says, "It costs us about $3.50 a day to cover
these children, far less than the amount it takes to cover them in
emergency rooms, where many of them get their primary care." Congress
could pass the expansion this week and the president is threatening a
veto.
The roll call vote is found here. In this state, it was a classic Minnesota split: all DFL representatives and retiring Republican Jim Ramstad voting yes, while Michele Bachmann and John Kline voted against the bill.
The editorial board of the Post Bulletin weighs in on last Monday's immigration meeting in Austin, and finds little to applaud in State Senator Dick Day's presence at the meeting. In part:
. . .when dialogue ends and people start shouting "The constitution is being taken away from us," or "This is going to be a Third-World country soon," then the potential for accomplishing anything meaningful disappears. And when someone suggests violence and vigilantism be used against illegal immigrants, then it's time for anyone with an iota of sense to denounce such statements and try to steer the conversation toward something constructive. . . .
. . .Clearly, the current immigration "system," such as it is, isn't working. Stronger borders are needed, and we need to identify who is working in the United States, where they're working and how long they've been here. Companies should make every effort to hire workers who are here legally, and the federal government should monitor companies that consistently ignore the law.
But meetings like the one last week do little or nothing to solve the problem. In fact, claims of free speech notwithstanding, it was an embarrassing display.
We asked Sen. Day for his reaction to the event, and it was somewhat mixed. "I get uncomfortable any time people start getting personal," he said regarding the comments to Sylvestry. "If I'd been putting on the meeting, it would have been 40 minutes of explaining the issue. Instead, the people just kind of took over."
Despite that, he said he'd attend such a meeting again and didn't denounce the sentiments that were expressed.
"If anybody thinks this was just a bunch of kooks, they're wrong," he said. "But I would hope that meetings in the future wouldn't be as vigorous."
"Vigorous" might be an overly polite term. . . .
. . . People don't react well when they think their jobs, neighborhoods and way of life are threatened.
But mean-spirited pep rallies will only make things worse.
