The House has passed the stimulus bill, 246-183-1, with Blue Dog Collin Peterson joining Minnesota Republicans in voting against it.
The New Ulm Journal reports in Walz supports stimulus bill:
Walz expressed impatience with critics of the bill who wanted to take more time to put their own projects and ideas into the bill.
"Timeliness is important," said Walz. "We don't have time to wait longer. As we dawdle, people are losing their jobs and their livelihood."
President Barack Obama had sought an $800 billion stimulus bill, saying that was how much was needed to provide the needed stimulus to the economy, according to his consultations with economic experts.
Asked if the $790 billion package was big enough, Walz said he hoped it was.
"There is real need out there, and we want to get this right. I'm a little uneasy about that. We don't want to pull a car only half way out of the ditch."
Asked about the bill's trimming away $35 million in state stabilization funds, leaving $54 billion, at a time when Minnesota is anticipating a budget deficit of $6 billion to $7 billion, Walz said that was one of his biggest disappointments.
"As far as job creation and stabilization goes, that was one of the most important parts of the bill," said Walz. "If there is an Achilles' heel to this bill, that is it."
The larger amount of stabilization aid, which would help states make up deficits and fund infrastructure and building projects, was based on what the governors had told Congress.
But Walz said Congress will have other opportunities to help states, through the upcoming transportation funding bill and other legislation that Congress usually handles.
The Alliance for a Better Minesota isn't happy with Governor Pawlenty's political ambitions getting put ahead of Minnesotans' needs. The organization has created a website, My Guv Is Cheating on Me, to help citizens express their disappointment. Even the conservative Journal wonders if Pawlenty is Upping the crisis.
The Muse Tube has been kind enough to post the full video of Walz's floor speech:
PR reports that Minnesota Republicans blast stimulus bill. Walz bits:
1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz said the bill is not perfect but is needed. Walz said he's lost patience with Republican criticism.
"I guess I'm a little frustrated," he said. "I see my colleagues trying to zero in on one tenth of 1 percent that they happen to not agree with and miss the fact that as we dawdle people are losing their livelihoods," he said.
Walz said tax cuts, along with research money in the bill, will help the people of his district. And Walz says it's critical that Congress passes the plan.
"What we're doing is addressing an economy that is as difficult as any that most of us have seen in our lifetime," he said. The numbers are staggering. The outlook is pretty bleak in the short-run. This piece of legislation is meant to be the life preserver to put us in the right direction."
KEYC-TV has posted a good interview in Rep. Walz Reacts To Stimulus Bill Deal. In the netroots, Jeff Rosenberg looks at Pork: The most meaningless word in politics. It's a fine read that echoes what Southern Minnesotans have known about projects like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water system or flood mitigation projects in Owatonna
This story of a Stockton family getting kicked out of their FEMA trailer is very sad.
We don't often agree with Tony Cornish but his proposal to make ATVs to be road legal makes a lot of sense for rural Minnesotans. Allowing more classes of ATVs to use shoulders would help nesting birds and take some wear and tear off the ditches.
We had a request for the right side of the aisle for a little Crowing Crows. Here's a little ditty inspired by a novel by Saul Bellow, himself a product of the WPA Writers Project in Chicago. Just one more failure of the New Deal we guess, since art isn't very important.
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