A Bluestem Prairie

Legistorm: FY 2008 house staff salaries now online

Some of our loyal readers may recall that LegiStorm [was] used to dispute Bachmann's no-earmark declaration. Our transparency fellow travelers today announced that LegiStorm Completes 2008 Salary Data from House.

The watchdog organization's blog notes:

The salaries are in. The pay figures for staff members from the House of Representatives' fourth quarter of 2008 are now available on LegiStorm, having been entered from the thick disbursement records released by the House of Representatives.

This data period is critical because it is the time when Santa Claus brings goodies to dedicated staff in the way of annual bonuses. Bonuses are not a universal perquisite on the Hill but they are a common way for members to reward staff who have merited them. This assumes that members have budgeted well and have sufficient funds available in their annual allotment, known as the Member's Representational Allowance.

The latest collection of salary data is a window into one of the fiercest fought elections in modern times. Elections can affect how congressional staffers are paid, both in legal and not-so-legal ways. For example, staff members often take leave to work on campaigns, whether their bosses' or those of others. The pay records can reflect those absences.

And sometimes, staffers receive compensation from the campaigns but volunteers on a campaign usually vastly outnumber the paid staff. Therefore, campaign work is often a volunteer or grossly underpaid activity. Occasionally, members of Congress reward aides with bonuses, even if unconsciously, for their special dedication to the campaign. Since federal law prohibits the use of tax dollars to subsidize campaigns, such a use of bonuses would be improper.

Also controversial is the payment of large bonuses by members of Congress who are departing. With no more concern about getting re-elected, members can be quite generous with taxpayer money toward their staff.

The organization promises to blog more about the data.  What's in the database for Minnesota?  Starting with the First, here's what we found:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $193,125
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $196,189
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $184,982
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $202,862
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $777,158

For Representative John Kline in the Second:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $212,611
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $207,138
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $205,013
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $211,893
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $836,655

For former Representative Jim Ramstad in the Third:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $201,699
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $197,024
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $192,514
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $270,134
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $861,371

For Representative McCollum in the Fourth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $294,750
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $226,402
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $211,660
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $271,468
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,004,280

On to Keith Ellison for the Fifth District:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $210,435
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $218,720
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $211,428
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $238,209
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $878,792

For Congresswoman Bachmann in the Sixth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $191,645
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $184,522
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $171,938
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $206,824
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $754,929

And Representative Peterson in the Seventh:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $242,072
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $236,521
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $242,343
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $285,004
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,005,940

Finally, for Congressman Jim Oberstar in the Eighth:

• 07/01/2008 - 09/30/2008 | $262,680
• 04/01/2008 - 06/30/2008 | $280,782
• 01/01/2008 - 03/31/2008 | $318,577
• 10/01/2007 - 12/31/2007 | $291,872
• Fiscal Year: 2008 $1,153,911

Have fun with the data, kids. We'll be looking closer at the data in the coming days ourselves.

Tuesday digest: unapologetically southern Minnesota edition

Once again, Congressman Walz is praised for his prudent choices for earmarks in the district. The Post Bulletin editorial board writes in Regional earmarks are well spent:

. . . the Bolder Options youth mentorship program in the Rochester area will receive $200,000 to expand its services, as will the Rochester Sheriffs Youth program, which provides services for at-risk youths. Rochester also will receive $712,000 for a new bus garage, and the Hormel Institute in Austin will get $323,000 that will help fund biomedical research. Also, Winona State University's National Child Protection Training Center will get a $700,000 cash infusion to help train social workers, teachers and health care providers to detect signs that children are being abused.

Those are just some of the earmarks that First District Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, helped bring to southeastern Minnesota, and we must say that we don't see anything remotely pork-like in any of these projects and programs. Rather, they have the potential to change many lives for the better.

That's not to say that the earmarking process is even modestly efficient. It isn't. The bill Obama signed includes tax breaks for racetrack builders, rum producers in Puerto Rico and manufacturers of wooden arrows meant to be used by children (no, we're not making this up.) Also included is $2 million to promote astronomy in Hawaii, and perhaps most fittingly of all, $1.7 million to study odors from hog farms in Iowa.

Obviously, there's no shortage of waste. Everyone knows it, but the rules in Congress seem to be "I won't raise a fuss about your pet projects if you grant me the same courtesy." We doubt that one lawmaker actually read every earmark in the spending bill, and the same thing almost certainly can be said of President Obama.

That needs to change. We hope Obama follows through on his pledge to do better next time, to weed out the blatant "bridges to nowhere" while funding projects and programs that truly are good investments.

But for now, we're simply glad that southern Minnesota can accept its share of earmarks with no apologies. [emphasis added]

And given Walz's openness in releasing his list of budget requests and posting them online, we're wondering if transparency means never having to say you're sorry. Perhaps more representatives will let the sun shine on their earmarks.

The Worthington Globe reports Jackson Armory receives funding via the Recovery Act, aka the stimulus. KSTP-TV took note of the 2 regional airports awarded $1.5M in Mankato and Albert Lea. The Albert Lea Tribune says Walz announces airport funds for Albert Lea:

Walz speaks to the issue in Couple Copes with a Medical Mistake:

. . .According to the Institute of Medicine, medical mistakes cause between 44 and 98 thousand deaths or injures every year.

Surpassing those who die from aids, breast cancer and car accidents.

"This is part of the health care reform, we can not wave a magic wand. Medical mistakes, they are a 6 billion dollar a year problem and that does not even include the loss of life that may come with it," said Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz.

According to the Institute of Medicine there are currently no federal mandates forcing hospitals to release this information to the public.

“It’s always better to be informed and have those things out there. The goal is to have quality care and a lower cost,” said Walz.

The American Medical Association opposes making every mistakes public because doctors fear discussing them can lead to punishment and numerous lawsuits.

However in 2003 Minnesota was the first state to pass a law requiring all hospitals to report what they call “28 serious adverse events.” . . .

Public Citizen's Watch Dog blog looks at  Walz's work to ban congressional insider trading in  Insider Trading: How Congress Can Make Big Bucks at Our Expense:

Now also would be a good time to put an end to secret spending and insider trading immunity for government officials. 

A recent piece of legislation proposes to do just that.  Introduced by Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), the “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” (H.R. 682) would ensure that those with access to privileged "non-public information" gathered through oversight proceedings would not be able to use that information for personal benefit in securities and commodities trading.

Specifically, H.R. 682 would negate a little-known loophole in the law which could allow members of Congress as well as executive staffers and government officials to practice insider trading in order to enrich themselves as well as their associates.  Of course,  this type of insider trading would be wholly illegal for citizens like you and me.

The act would also be effective in combating corrupt lobbying practices, since lobbyists and stock traders ("political intelligence consultants") who haunt the halls of Congress precisely in order to glean insider tips from staff would also be banned from insider trading.

The legislation would require members of Congress and their staff to disclose stock transactions of $1,000 or more within 90 days, and require “political intelligence consultants” to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act and disclose their financial activities.

The time to pass this legislation is now, before our tax dollars pay for any more lucrative insider investments.

There's an action item here on the group's web site.

Sunday digest: news, link farming and Muse Tube as well

It's interesting how the same article by the same reporter is packaged differently by two different nearby newspapers in the same chain. The LaCrosse Tribune chose the headline Minnesota Rep. Walz confirms support for disputed labor bill, while the Winona Daily News picked Business leaders criticize Walz for backing labor bill. The lead (clipped directly from the WND):

American workers would gain leverage to organize unions under a controversial bill that Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., recently confirmed he will support.

Federal lawmakers, particularly in the U.S. Senate, are ginning up for a bruising fight on the Employee Free Choice Act, which supporters say could help reverse decades of declining influence for American labor. Business leaders have fiercely criticized the bill, calling it a “job killer” and saying it would rob some workers of the right to a private vote on whether to unionize.

The act would enable employees to unionize without a secret vote that is now required, if a majority of workers sign cards to support forming a union. It also would set deadlines to force employers to negotiate contracts with newly formed unions or enter binding arbitration moderated by federal labor officials.

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Walz voted for the act in 2007 before it stalled in Congress, but this year, Walz waited until last week to co-sponsor it — causing a business leader in Owatonna, Minn., to speculate earlier this month that the congressman might be undecided. But Walz said Thursday he hasn’t wavered on the measure.

Employees should be able to control their destiny,” Walz said. “We’re just trying to make sure that people have the opportunity to make a living wage.”. . .

You'll have to go read either paper to find out the management view. we're happy Walz is sticking with a campaign pledge and vote during his first term.

Bob Collins at MPR: News Cut:writes about The 'earmarks factory', giving a hat tip to Bluestem for our earlier post about the PMA Group pay-to-play scandal.  We like the post, but commented with a cautionary note about overly dramatic political rhetoric:

Thanks for the hat tip.

However, isn't "ensnaring" somewhat overblown rhetoric?

Can you demonstrate which of the individual contributions from employees of PMA Group clients to Minnesota's federal lawmakers are linked with the corruption probe? As you point out, that probe seems more linked to the big honchos at the PMA Group giving money to others to contribute to campaign and leadership PAC committees. This violates federal law.

The other scandal--which though legal--is the apparent quid-pro-quo of contributions for earmarks. Again, the connection between our lawmakers should be established prior to claims of ensnarement.

Both instances underscore the need for meaningful reform in the appropriations process. How's about a civil conservation about that?

It seems difficult when burdened by loaded language. While the Star Tribune used the Taxpayer for Common Sense's recent report on all earmarks as the basis for an article larded with loaded language like "pork", the careful reader of Taxpayer s for Common Sense documents will note that the organization never uses that sort of language. At the recent Transparency Camp in DC, a thoughtful employee of the TCS explained to me that the group's choice of words was deliberate so as to avoid oversimplification of the debate.

An excellent point, though it seems to have gone over the head of reporters like Kevin Diaz. I hope that MPR will avoid dramatic hyperbole as well. Jeff Rosenberg called for a rational discussion of earmarks at MnPublius recently. Good idea. [final link added here at BSP]

The Albert Lea Tribune has posted answer to questions about public service in Sparks, Dorman and Walz answer questions on service. Interesting read.

Our friend the Political Muse at Liberal in the Land of Conservative: has posted three MNMuseTubes on Tim Walz. The YouTubes are posted below. He writes: 

Over the past few weeks Congressman Tim Walz has given a few one minute speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives. The first came the day after the speech to Congress by President Obama. Walz highlighted how the 1st District would benefit from the investment (energy, health care, & education) priorities laid out by the administration.

Here's the first MN MuseTube:

The second, on veterans :

The third:

We appreciate the Muse's putting together these YouTubes almost as much as his Weekly romp through the Blogosphere.

The New Ulm Journal reports Irish carry on St. Patrick’s Day Tradition. And you thought New Ulm was just about Germans and great beer. A sample:

The Irish in New Ulm are hopeful that the new stimulus package that President O'Bama is working on will finally lead to a 4-lane highway leading into New Ulm. "It will make it easier for the Germans to leave and the Irish to move in," said O'Connor.

It would also ease the traffic jams leading into New Ulm on St. Patrick from all the tourists coming to town to see the parade. The traffic sometimes backs up as far as Nicollet.

Southern Minnesota: To know Mayberry 2.0 is to love it.

Photo: Our friend DJ is tired of seeing our stock pictures of Congressman Walz, so he supplied this gorgeous picture of a 6-lb pot roast from a union meat cutting shop.  Don't you just want a slice of that emblem of the middle class American way of life?

Saturday digest: roads, rest stops, recovery money and urban legends edition

 News is getting out about the projects MNDOT will be funding with Recovery Act dollars. The Jackson County Pilot reports in Stimulus upgrades local rest areas:

Federal stimulus money will pay for repaving of the parking lots at Interstate 90's Clear Lake and Des Moines rest areas in Jackson County, according to a list of state projects announced Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The $320,000 parking lot overlay and rehabilitation of curb and walkway at both rest stops is expected to start in September.

Bridge work in Windom was the next closest state project.

MnDOT earlier announced federal stimulus package projects being undertaken by local governments, of which one was the replacement of the Highway 20 bridge over County Ditch 3 a mile and a half west of Okabena by the Jackson County Highway Department. That project has a price tag of $378,000 and construction is expected to start right away this spring.

Click here for a map and click here for a list of the state transportation projects funded by the federal stimulus program.

Click here for a list of the local transportation projects funded by stimulus money.

In We need solutions, not slogans, an LTE from DFL activist Phil Castrovinci published in the Rochester Post Bulletin, we read:

Just three months into his second term, right wing Republicans have begun their attacks on Rep. Tim Walz, as demonstrated by Mr. Klinger in your paper on March 4.

Shame on them.

Rather than come up with sound solutions for the devastating problems facing our country, they want to use funny names (like "Porkulus," coined by Rush Limbaugh) and associations with tired old rhetoric to describe Democrats (tax and spend).

Sadly, right wing ideologues have made it clear they are rooting for failure that seems to be their only hope.

Mr. Klinger, Rush Limbaugh and the other right wingers should take a deep breath and actually think about proposing solutions rather than partisan slogans.

Thank you to Rep. Tim Walz for standing up for Main Street rather than for the Wall Street banks. Walz voted to create jobs in southern Minnesota and he voted against spending billions on a Wall Street Bank bailout. Clearly, his priorities are to represent and fight for Southern Minnesota.

The comments that follow the letter are instructive, as the Republican line seems to be that none of the funding in the Recovery Act or Omnibus spending bill is destined for southern Minnesota. For ourselves, we can only hope that, whatever the passion that informs their denial, those Republicans slow down for the safety of the construction workers on Highway 14 (Omnibus funding) and I-90 (Recovery Act), as well as using the rest areas as needed when passing through Jackson County.

Kudos to the Pilot and sister paper, the Lakefield Standard, for posting a pdf of the local projects. The Winona Daily news reports that Low I-90 project bids announced in the eastern part of the First.  Local police hope for federal grants because they'll be losing state fudning, the WDN reports. The Money would come from the Recovery Act:

Winona and Goodview police will lose state funding in 2009 but hope to bolster or maintain their forces with grants from a federal program re-invigorated by the federal stimulus bill.

The departments are joining thousands of police forces nationwide vying for $1 billion in the stimulus bill to hire officers through the Community Oriented Policing, or COPS program. Winona police hope a COPS grant will pay to replace an officer position they expect to lose next month, while Goodview police say the grant could fill a longstanding need to expand patrols in that department.

The Rock County Star Herald reports in Luverne HRA gets $92,000 in stimulus money:

Luverne was among more than two dozen southern Minnesota communities to receive funds for the express purpose of modernizing and developing public housing.

In Luverne that translates to more money for maintenance and improvements at the Blue Mound Tower apartments.

Luverne HRA Director Marcia Linssen said the money will be a welcome addition to the capital improvement fund at the Blue Mound Tower.

"Every little bit helps," she said. "We're looking forward to finding good ways to utilize that money, either by upgrading apartments or by making improvements to the building itself."

She said Luverne's HRA has been receiving roughly $72,000 in federal funds for capital improvements, so the $92,287 will allow for extra or more thorough improvements.

HRA owns the Blue Mound Tower apartments, which were built in 1970.

"It's an old building, and there are always capital projects that need attention," Linssen said. "Whether it's air exchange issues, plumbing issues or structural issues."

The Mankato Free Press Dan Linehan reports in Politicians weigh in at Futures Summit:

An ambitious project to identify and seize economic opportunities in southern Minnesota sought advice Friday from hundreds of southern Minnesota leaders from the public and private sectors.

Using hand-held voting devices, 250 participants winnowed six key industries to three: bioscience, health care and renewable energy. It’s in these areas the region has the best resources and opportunity to create jobs, they agreed.

The wider process is called the Southern Minnesota Regional Competitiveness Project, led by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. . . .

. . .Next up was Margaret Anderson Kelliher, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and a Mankato native.

“This is not the southern Minnesota of the 1970s,” she said. No one here is looking back, Kelliher said.

After her address, she said the best economic strategy takes advantage of home-grown entrepreneurs, who are looking at a range of factors, not just tax breaks.

“Relocation is a bit of the Old World of economic development,” she said.

Both Klobuchar, currently the state’s only senator, and Rep. Tim Walz touted the recently passed $787 billion stimulus bill as promoting similar goals.

Walz acknowledged the bill essentially borrows from the future and said he doesn’t like deficit spending.

But doing nothing was a worse option, and the only way out of the recession is creating growth, Walz said.

Read the entire article about the Summit at the MFP.  A biobusiness in coming to Pine Island. The Post Bulletin has published more about the Elk Run project in Elk Run seems to have all the right stuff. along with companion articles, $1 billion in a 'pile' for Elk Run and Pine Island city administrator pleased with infusion of capital into Elk Run.  There's even more in Much to be found under biotech umbrella and Interchange is necessary, but unfunded, piece of the project.

URBAN LEGEND ALERT: Finally, loyal readers know we're always on the lokkout for false urban legends being circulated as if they are factual. The Worthington Globe has published an LTE attributing a prayer to the late Paul Harvey. The text instantly set our bull detector tingling; sure enough, it's an item at the Urban Legends Reference site. The praye, falsely attributed to both Harvey and Billy Graham, wasn't aired on radio, but rather delivered on the opening day of the Kansas State House in 1996.

Photo: A waggish friend sent us this lolcats, recommending it as an allegory of First District Republican efforts to unseat Congressman Walz. We have some really funny friends.

If you've stuck with us and read this whole post, you deserve a song. How about a little Anthony and the Johnsons:

MnPublius: What do we talk about when we talk about earmarks

Radio Winona reports:

Good news for Winona State University's National Child Protection Training Center.

President Barack Obama Wednesday signed an appropriations bill that contains funding for sixteen important projects in southern Minnesota, including for the WSU center.

Congressman Tim Walz says the bill contained $700,000 for the National Child Protection Training Center which will help the center keep operating. The center trains social workers, teachers, and healthcare professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse.

The bill also contains nearly $2.4 million for a four-lane expansion if Highway 14 between Waseca and Owatonna. It contains $200,000 for the Sheriff's Youth Program in Rochester, and another $712,000 for a new 60 bus garage facility to serve as a transit operations center in Rochester.

The Austin Hormel Institute gets $323,000 to develop an International Center of Research Technology to provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers from across the country. And $713,000 goes to Minnesota State-Mankato for its Center for Renewable Energy.

WSU's National Child Protection Training Center is an interesting exhibit in the national debate over earmark reform. One small part of that debate was launched yesterday by Jeff Rosenberg at MnPublius in the post Let’s have a more intelligent discussion of earmarks.

There's a mostly intelligent discussion going on, and we recommend that our readers add their thoughts.

One commenter suggests that all federal funds be doled out according to a competitive grant process, with grant applications being reviewed and scored. The implicit assumption is that an administration or bureaucracy will always be more fair and less corrupt than congressional review.

Administrations too need scrutiny. The recent history of grant applications by the Child Protection Training Center demonstrates that the grant process too can be corrupted. As we've posted repeatedly in the past year, Congressman Walz and others sought the earmarks for the Center after a high-scoring grant application to the DOJ's youth justice program division was turned down--and a Bush administration sent money to a much lower scoring youth golf program.

Last March, in Walz brings DOJ grant process to Waxman's attention we noted Peter Cohn's article in Government Executive:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is investigating how a Justice Department agency awarded grants in fiscal 2007, when most federal agencies operated with a freer hand under the yearlong earmark moratorium Democrats imposed.

Waxman wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey March 13 requesting a briefing no later than Friday -- and related documents by April 4 -- in response to reports that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded noncompetitive grants in fiscal 2007 to less-qualified applicants.

Citing a recent investigation by the trade publication Youth Today, Waxman noted that in fiscal 2007 the the office awarded a $500,000 grant to the World Golf Foundation, even though its application was ranked lower than 38 other bids in a review done by career Justice Department officials. . . .

. . .Waxman said the situation was brought to light by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a freshman who complained that a worthy applicant in his district was unfairly shut out of the grant-making process in fiscal 2007. An aide to Walz said his interest was piqued when OJJDP ignored a request to direct money to the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University, even though it ranked fourth out of more than 100 applicants in the agency's review.

The center trains social workers, teachers, nurses, police officers and others to detect and respond to signs of child abuse. The funding was dropped when the OJJDP administrator made the final decisions. Walz and other Minnesota lawmakers successfully restored about $1.2 million for the center in the fiscal 2008 omnibus appropriations bill, including $446,000 funded through OJJDP. . . .

Murray Waas and others covered the Waxman committee investigations last June.

There's also the case of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System. Though a big-ticket item, the project will provide an essential service for residents and businesses in three states: potable water for people and livestock. After praising the project earlier, President Bush zeroed it out in his budget--without explanation.  Down in Southwestern Minnesota, Cornerhouse Comments reacted at the time.

At Bluestem, we've been writing about transparency and accountibility in the earmark process (see our archived government reform posts), and are please to see more discussion underway on Minnesota's blogshere. Go over and add your thoughts to the MnPublius thread.

More on the background of the WSU's child protection center from the Mankato Free Press.

The Hill: Walz's "common sense" legislation to ban congressional insider trading

Public Citizen legislative representative Craig Holman writes in The Hill's Congress Blog:

Apply Same ‘Insider Trading’ Restrictions on Members and Staff of Congress

It should come as a shock to most Americans, but members of Congress, their staff and many employees of the executive branch may conduct legal “insider trading” on the stock market, that would otherwise be illegal for you and I.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have the authority to hold employees of Congress or the Executive Branch liable for using non-public information gained from official proceedings for insider trading. Under current law, “insider trading” is defined as the buying or selling of securities or commodities based on non-public information in violation of confidentiality — either to the issuing company or the source of information. Most federal officials and employees do not owe a duty of confidentiality to the federal government and thus are not liable for insider trading.

There is some evidence that insider trading by government officials may already be a problem. As part of his plea agreement on corruption charges, Tony Rudy, former staffer to then-Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), acknowledged making 500 stock trades from his Capitol Hill computer in 1999 and 2000, profiting handsomely from the day trading. In another incident, stock prices for companies with asbestos-related liabilities rose dramatically in 2005 just before former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) proposed a $140 billion public bailout for asbestos liability claims, raising suspicion that the information had been leaked to lobbyists or “political intelligence” consultants beforehand.

What are “political intelligence consultants”? They are lobbyists or stock traders who hang around the halls of Congress eagerly seeking information on the stock and commodities markets from congressional staffers, who may have learned of insider information in the course of congressional oversight proceedings. This non-public information can then quickly be turned into a gold mine of stock trading.

Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-NY) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.) have introduced common sense legislation to apply the same insider trading restrictions we face on members and staff of Congress and the federal government. The “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” (H.R. 682) would prohibit congressional and executive branch officials and employees from using non-public information for personal gain. It would also prohibit private individuals and firms that attempt to mine this information from using it for insider trading. The legislation would also require members of Congress and their staff to disclose stock transactions of $1,000 or more within 90 days, and require “political intelligence consultants” to register under LDA and disclose their financial activities.

This legislation is long overdue. And it has become all the more critical today as the Congress and the federal government assume an even greater oversight role of Wall Street.

Photo: Congressman Walz and constitutent in Luverne. Courtesy of Dale at Cornerhouse Comments.

Walz voted against tabling PMA Group investigation resolution

Over at the appropriately named Hot Air, conservative blogger Ed Morrissey writes in House votes to ignore PMA pay-for-play scandal:

Jeff Flake tried his best to get the House to clean up after itself in the wake of raids on the lobbyist group PMA and some of its clients.  Flake got a vote on a resolution to begin an investigation into PMA and the hundreds of millions of pork dollars that has flowed to its clients from Representatives who have financially benefited from them.  Unfortunately, only 21 Democrats went along with Flake — and a few Republicans defected (via Instapundit)...

Morrissey's source article in Politico doesn't link to the Roll Call vote on this one. Congressman Walz was one of the 21 Democrats who voted to begin the investigation. With the exception of Representative Kline, who voted "present" because he is on the ethics panel that would hear the evidence*, the rest of Minnesota's delegation voted along partisan lines.

In Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House, CQPolitics explains part of the issue fairly well. Over 100 current and former House members secured earmarks for clients of the lobbying firm (no current or former Minnesota representative is on the list). The article notes:

“It shows you how good they were,” said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator at the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “The sheer coordination of that would take an army to finish.”

PMA’s offices have been raided, and the firm closed its political action committee last week amid reports that the FBI is investigating possibly illegal campaign contributions to Murtha and other lawmakers.

No matter what the outcome of the federal investigation, PMA’s earmark success illustrates how a well-connected lobbying firm operates on Capitol Hill. And earmark accountability rules imposed by the Democrats in 2007 make it possible to see how extensively PMA worked the Hill for its clients.

In the spending bill managed by Murtha, the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriation, 104 House members got earmarks for projects sought by PMA clients, according to Congressional Quarterly’s analysis of a database constructed by Ashdown’s group.. . .

The Washington Post focused on the FBI probe of PMA in Despite Listing, Donors Don't Work for Firm Being Probed:

These errors, along with other unusual donations linked to the firm, come as the Justice Department examines allegations that PMA may have violated campaign finance laws. The offices of PMA, which ranked last year as the 10th-largest Washington lobbying firm by earnings, were raided in November by FBI agents and Defense Department investigators.

. . .Federal investigators are focused on allegations that PMA founder Paul Magliocchetti, a former appropriations staffer close to  Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), may have reimbursed some of his staff to cover contributions made in their names to Murtha and other lawmakers, according to two sources familiar with the investigation. PMA has long had a reputation for securing earmarks from congressional appropriators, particularly for defense contractors, and it has donated generously to influential members of Congress. Magliocchetti personally gave $98,000 in campaign donations last year, according to campaign records.

Federal election laws limit the amount of money individuals may contribute to candidates, but lobbying firms often show their clout by collecting and bundling contributions. It is illegal for employers to reimburse donors for their contributions.. . .

Walz received one $1000 in 2008 from the group's PAC ( none in the 2005-2006 cycle), but did not receive any contributions from individual PMA Group employees as near as we can tell by looking at the FEC database by the employer search feature of the advanced search option. 

Looking  for Minnesotans in the committee's giving in the 2007-2008 cycle, we see that former Senator Norm Coleman, and Representatives McCollum and Oberstar received contributions. None of the potentially scandalous earmarks or suspicious individual giving involved Minnesotans serving in Congress--at least as far as we know.

We think the investigations of the PMA Group should lead not so  to partisan gotcha, as to calls for the continued reform in the process of earmarking and transparency. We're guessing this vote didn't come easy for Walz, but we're pleased that he's walking the talk about reforming congress.

One additional Minnesota connection with the story: former representative Tim Penny is on the advisory board of Taxpayers for Common Sense.  Unlike Morrisey, this group doesn't use the word "pork" to describe earmarks, one staff member told us at last weekend's Transparency Camp noted that calling appropriations "pork" oversimplifies the issue and impedes real earmark reform. An interesting point we're inclined to agree with. Congress is charged by the Constitution with appropriating money for the federal government: what is the best method for funding worthy projects in districts and regions (such as public works like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System) while avoiding corruption?

As the CQPolitics articles points out:

earmark accountability rules imposed by the Democrats in 2007 make it possible to see how extensively PMA worked the Hill for its clients.

We hope Congressman Walz continues to work for accountability and tranparency.

*The Yahoo/CQ Politics article contains some minor inaccuracies about the vote, so we're relying on the official House Roll Call.

Thursday digest #1: clean congress and recovery request edition

Over a month ago, we posted about Congressman Walz's support for legislation to prevent members of congress and their staff from profiting from "insider" information. The Post Bulletin and other venues picked up on it. The Washington Independent notes that watchdog groups are picking up on the bill in A Congress of Inside Traders?:

You might think that members of Congress and their staffs would be prohibited from using their privileged access to nonpublic information to cash in on Wall Street. But you’d be wrong.

Congressional insider trading is not, in fact, illegal. In a letter to lawmakers today, several watchdogs groups offer explanation:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have the authority to hold employees of Congress or the Executive Branch liable for using non-public information gained from official proceedings for insider trading. Under current law, ‘insider trading’ is defined as the buying or selling of securities or commodities based on non-public information in violation of confidentiality — either to the issuing company or the source of information. Most federal officials and employees do not owe a duty of confidentiality to the federal government and thus are not liable for insider trading.

The letter — signed by Public Citizen, Democracy 21, Common Cause, U.S. PIRG and the League of Women Voters — was drafted in support of legislation to prohibit congressional and White House insider trading. Introduced in January by Democratic Reps. Brian Baird (Wash.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) and Tim Walz (Minn.), the bill would prevent policymakers from profiting from their access to nonpublic information. At the time of the unveiling, Baird pointed to a 2004 Georgia State University study indicating that investments made by members of Congress return 25 percent more than those made by other Americans.

The watchdog groups point out another reason they say Congress should consider the bill quickly: The hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout cash coming out of Washington will provide wonderful investment opportunities for policymakers who know where the money is going before the public does. . . . .

Read the whole article at the Washington Independent. Closer to home, KEYC-TV reports in Walz Office Flooded With Stimulus Requests:

The nearly 800 billion-dollar stimulus plan was laid out in a bill totaling more than one thousand pages.And now Congressman Tim Walz has set up a point person to help decode the massive piece of legislation.News 12's Ryan Gustafson has the story.Meredith Salsbery has been coordinating the numerous requests from city and county administrators for projects ranging from school repair in Rushford to handicap accessible sidewalks in Slayton . . ..

. . .Salsbery wants to encourage Congressman Walz's constituents to call with any questions, because in a thousand page document, it's easy for things to get overlooked.Meredith Salsbery says, "The recovery package also includes a one-time payment of 250 dollars to people who receive social security disability or veterans disability - a lot of them don't know about that."The checks are expected to arrive in May and June. . . .

Sadly, the Senate's reluctance to include money for school construction has left the Rushford-Peterson district out, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports in No construction funding for Rushford-Peterson included in stimulus bill:

Rushford-Peterson school district won't receive stimulus money to help build a new school.

The school district had hoped to receive some money to build a $25 million replacement for its century-old high school, but the money wasn't included in the final stimulus bill.

Superintendent Chuck Ehler had traveled to Washington, D.C., with 1st District Rep. Tim Walz last week to lobby federal education officials for funding, but no money was set aside for new school construction.

"It's a little disheartening, but we are hopeful that our new school initiative will move forward," Ehler said. "We're not real optimistic about the stimulus funds, but we'll explore other avenues."

Ehler said when the House and Senate met, they had to compromise and the Senate advocated for the removal of new construction funding. . . .

According to the New Ulm Journal, Stimulus funds go to roads, bridges rather than the local short line rail, but Senator Klobuchar and Cognressman Walz are working on securing other federal funds to assist the rail rehab:

On Feb. 26, Minnesota House File 660, authored by Morrow, appropriated $10 million in bond proceeds for a grant to the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority (MVRRA) to rehabilitate track.

He added that a separate pot of money will be available for nationwide rail projects.

Morrow said Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Tim Walz helped appropriate $950,000 in federal railroad improvement funding.

He said his office expects to receive federal guidance on funding criteria and application procedures in the next few months.

The project is already attracting businesses to the area. According to the article, Land O' Lakes will be building an 80,000-square foot distribution facility in Winthrop.

Not all job losses are cuased by cuts; some are triggered by off-shoring work. In Moving to China?, KTTC looks at the corporation's transfer of jobs to other countries:

In the last month, hundreds of high-paying jobs have been slashed at IBM/Rochester. Tonight, how jobs with very similar descriptions are now popping up a half a world away.  In places like China, India, and Brazil.

IBM stands for International Business Machines, and IBM has facilities around the globe.

So it should be no surprise that a world-wide company would come up with something it calls "Project Match."

It's a program that offers those recently laid-off in Rochester and other U.S. sites a chance at jobs opening up in countries that have developing markets. . . .

. . .If you would leave IBM Rochester to go to IBM China, you would be paid at the IBM China rate.

"It's a real concern. We're not opposed to trade but one of the problems we see in this country is that if we have a race to the bottom on wages, we aren't going to beat the Chinese to the bottom. They're going to continue to undercut us," said U.S. Representative Tim Walz.

"It's the job you thought you would retire from but now have lost," said President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama addressed the issue of offshoring jobs in his address to Congress, promising to restore a sense of fairness and balance to the tax code by ending tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas.

It's certainly not illegal for a company like IBM to bulk up its work force in China or Brazil, but it might seem like the "end of the world" if you've lived and worked at IBM Rochester for decades and then suddenly see your job popping up on the other side of the globe.. . .

Read the whole article at the station's web site. We'll be back later with part two of the news digest.

Tim Walz, troublemaker: making noise about raises blocks 2010 pay hike

In an earlier version of the article, House Dems to give up pay raise, Politico reported that troublemaking Democrats have succeeded in getting House leadership to stand down on an automatic congressional pay raise in 2010.

The new version posted today takes a different slant, but here's the first version, published yesterday afternoon:

With the economy in deep decline, members of the House will also feel some of the pain, forgoing their annual pay raise next year.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Democrats in their closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday that party leaders would tell members of the Appropriations Committee not to include a cost-of-living increase in members' salaries for 2010. Lawmakers will make about $174,000 a year in 2009 – but congressional leaders like Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid make more than that.

In a further bid to shore up the exploding debt, the speaker said leadership has asked committee chairmen to hold hearings on how federal funds are being spent – a priority of President Barack Obama.

"We'll be looking at everything from entitlements to defense spending, student loans to every dollar that the federal government spends," she told reporters afterward.

Rank-and-file Democrats had been making noise about blocking the annual pay raise in next year's spending bills had leaders not made their recommendation. [emphasis ours]

"It would not be appropriate for us to do COLA next year," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who typically advocates for the annual pay raise.

We've been reporting about this issue since we posted More on those raises: Walz is co-sponsor of H.R.156 back on January 14. The First District congressman was an original co-sponsor, having signed on when the bill was introduced on January 6. (He also has returned hos 2008 and 2009 raises to the Treasury).

The Political Muse is going to have a field day with this development in his Weekly Romp through the MN Blogosphere. Last weekend, he had the cheek to suggest that Walz should sponsor a "Make Congressmen Beg for Food Week" bill.

Walz "making headlines" in district for co-sponsoring congressional pay freeze bill?

We'll file this one under the "could have fooled us" category.

The Niles (MI) Daily Star reports in Upton sponsors raise freeze, that a Michigan Republican has signed on to the bill to stop an automatic raise in 2009 for U.S. representatives.  A couple of Minnesotans show up in the coverage:

Those lawmakers adding their names to the list are making headlines in their respective districts, including Democrats Tim Walz and Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Michigan's Rep. Mark Schauer, a Democrat representing the state's Seventh District.

The news that Upton added his name to the list of co-sponsors came late Thursday afternoon.

"Nobody is hurting more than folks in Michigan," Upton said.

"As our unemployment rate continues to rise, Michigan's families are desperate for Congress to pass a bipartisan stimulus package that will actually help our small businesses, put folks back to work, and put more money in the pockets of those who need it most," Upton said in a statement to the Star.

Neither Walz nor Peterson put out statements when they signed on as co-sponsors (Walz was an original co-sponsor on January 6 and Peterson followed a little over a week later) and this reticence didn't exactly cause the district press to trumpet the news when it was timely.

Nope: blame the bloggers for this story in Minnesota: the Strib picked up on the news two weeks after both Bluestem Prairie (Walz) and the Minnesota Independent (Peterson) noted on January 14 that the Minnesota representatives had become co-sponsors. We didn't exactly see hordes of headlines in First district papers about it.

Much later, Second Distrist Republican John Kline managed to get coverage in the Post Bulletin a couple of days after he signed on and put out a press release in late January. As we noted at the time, the article's writer phrases her report in a way that puts Kline out in front of Walz and Peterson on this issues. It's press release journalism at its most dreadful.

There's even more to the story. Many Minnesota newspapers wrote editorials scorning the automatic increase this year; until very recently, none except the Mankato Free Press noted Walz has refused this raises (and continues to decline old increases along with new), nor did they mention his sponsorship of the bill until the Strib brought it up. as Bluestem  and the MnIndy reported in late December--and again without the aid of a press release).  Perhaps Minnesota's press corps simply depends upon readers to look things up in Thomas for themselves.

 Speaking of Thomas, we have to hand it to the Niles, Michigan, paper for being ahead of the curve in its reporting, unlike the legacy press in Minnesota. Upton became a co-sponsor yesterday, and the article is online today even before the congressional staff has entered Upton's name in the list of co-sponsors (see the screenshot posted as a thumbnail in this paragraph; Upton' name did not yet appear among those of the bill's co-sponsors).

A short delay between signing on as a co-sponsor and having one's name appear on the list of co-sponsors on Thomas isn't unusual. What seems too rare among some of Minnesota's "real" journalists is simply looking at Thomas to see what the state's representatives are co-sponsoring.

Especially if it's an issue--like the automatic pay raises--for which representatives are being scolded in editorials. For more background, see our post, More Minnesota media mum on Walz when kvetching about congressional raises, which ironically enough was posted on January 6, the day that H.R. 156 was introduced and Walz became a sponsor.

Tuesday digest: Rosie, wind, credit and a good dive edition

Must see TV: We're listening to the Ag committee hearings on regulating credit swaps while putting together our daily digest. Now that the canned statements are given, the witnesses and committee members are conducting a lively debate over the issues. We'll be reviewing the transcripts' this is feisty stuff.

Elsewhere, in a letter to the editor of the Pipestone Star, her son-in-law tells of one real Rosie the Riveter's response to the inauguration of the 44th President. His Rosie wasn't the model for the icon, but she certainly embodies the spirit of the women who worked in the nation's defense industry in WWII.

The Strib and other venues are reporting Daschle withdraws as nominee for HHS secretary We're happy he came to his senses.

In the First, the Dodge County Independent proclaims America needs wind energy, Nature Energies responds! and Triple Creek Wind Farm coming to rural Kasson. Finance and Commerce reports Minnesota wind power development stalled due to a logjam of wind projects, "a power-transmission system in need of repairs and a shortage of adequately financed wind farms." North American Windpower says US, China Lead Global Wind Installation.

The Mankato Free Press editorial board writes against coal and for wind and other renewables in Big Stone II the wrong plan at the wrong time.

There's an update on B.J. Sprenger, the Sleepy Eye National Guard soldier who was badly burned in Iraq, in the New Ulm Journal. The article notes organizations that help service members and their families. We'd like to see members of congress donating their frequent flyer miles (earned on the taxpayers' dime) to the families of hospitalized military personnel, rather than taking the upgrades to fly first class. Private citizens should consider donating their miles, too.

Former Congressman Tim Penny, is crtical of the stimulus bill in his column in the Waseca County News, Community Perspective: Business as usual (again)?.

And now, an inspiring dive by America's top soldier, Fairmont-area native and WSU student Sgt. David Obray and the Golden Knights:

Monday evening digest: reform edition

The Post Bulletin picks up on the congressional insider trading issue in Proposal would restrict insider trading:

Aiming to crackdown on political corruption, 1st District Rep. Tim Walz is cosponsoring a bill that would make it illegal for members of Congress to engage in insider trading.

Under current law, nothing prevents a member of Congress from trading securities and commodities based on nonpublic information they receive, Walz said while visiting Rochester last week. If a member abuses this by selling stocks based on insider knowledge, it can also be a way to alert friends to sell to avoid losing money.

"The idea of this is just outrageous," the Mankato Democrat said.

So far, Walz has had a tough time finding other members of Congress willing to sign on to the bill. There are two other sponsors -- fellow Democrats Rep. Brian Baird from Washington state and Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York.

Walz said the bill "isn't about trying to point a finger." Rather, the Democrat said it is an effort to bring transparency to Congress.

In Midwest states split, the Forum's political reporter Don Davis looks at divisions between states in the Upper Midwest on how to handle the stimulus bill. Congressman Walz's take on seniority and the appropriation process gets some space:

Walz and Kind are two congressmen who oppose the long-standing system of allowing federal lawmakers — especially those in office for years — to designate more projects for their states than others can.

“We think it is a new day,” Walz said. “The folks with the most seniority have the most say. It is clear that there is going to be more of a needs-based assessment in some cases and a rewarding of performance.”

KEYC-TV reports Stimulus Package Could Give Money To HWY 169 Project that would address concerns caused by the four-lane road running through St. Peter. 

How about a little Marley to wind up the post:

John Kline sees shadow, climbs on pay freeze bandwagon

We had thought that Heather Carlson, the Post Bulletin's new political reporter was improving. Guess not.

A Political notebook entry reads:

Kline cosponsors pay freeze

Second District Rep. John Kline is cosponsoring legislation to freeze congressional salaries by halting the scheduled cost-of-living pay increase for 2010.

"Men and women across Minnesota -- like many Americans -- are struggling to make ends meet and learning how to do more with less," Kline said in a release. "With our nation facing economic distress, freezing congressional salaries is simply the right thing to do."

He's joined by DFLers Walz and Minnesota 7th District Rep. Collin Peterson in cosponsoring in the legislation.

Alas, the reporter confuses the issuance of a press release with leadership on an issue, and the implication of the final sentence, "He's joined by DFLers Walz and Minnesota 7th District Rep. Collin Peterson in cosponsoring in the legislation" is that Kline is out in front on this issue, with Peterson and Walz  the ones getting on the bandwagon.

However, that impression is bass-ackwards. It's surprising how much information Congress puts online via Thomas.

In it, we find all sorts of useful facts. One of these useful tools concerns bills. Ordinary citizens can discover who introduced a bill and when each co-sponsor signed on. 

So who is joining whom in co-sponsoring H.R. 156? When we enter H.R. 156, in the "Bill Search Summary and Status" box right in the middle of the page today, we (and anyone else using the online tool) find that the bill was introduced on January 6 by Harry Mitchell (D-AZ-5).  Tim Walz joined Mitchell that first day as one over 50 co-sponsors; Collin Peterson joined Walz on January 14.

Jumping the gun on Groundhog's Day, Kline saw his shadow on January 27 and signed on. Oddly enough, the very next day, the Star Tribune ran a short article about Peterson and Walz being co-sponsors. Kline isn't named in the  version updated at the Strib on the 29th, nor in the one we posted about here on the 28th. See the last listing in this google search for the topic; it is dated January 28).

Was the story turned in, held, and then printed as space permitted, without the editors checking to see if the copy was still accurate? Did John Kline know the article was in the works? Or had he or his staff seen the light earlier when Bluestem Prairie and Minnesota Independent reported about the DFLers sponsoring the bill in our January 14 entries.

Whatever the case, Kline put out a press release boasting about becoming a co-sponsor. Walz quietly did the right thing on the day the bill was introduced; there's no press release about it--or his refusal of his pay raise--on his congressional web site. We were not able to find a release from the Peterson office, but have left a call to verify that no release was indeed sent out. [Update: Congressman Peterson's press secretary confirmed that his office did not put out a press release about  the fth CD DFLer becoming a sponsor of  the bill. [end update].

Whatever the case, the bill now has 93 co-sponsors, so it's gaining momentum.

Photo: Okay, Mr. Goundhog, I guess I'd look cross too if someone compared John Kline to my species.

Walz co-sponsors H.R. 682 to prohibit congressional "insider trading"

Via Govtrack.us, we've learned that Congressman Walz is a co-sponsor of H.R. 682, along with Louise Slaughter. Introduced by Washington State's Brian Baird, the legislation is intended

To prohibit securities and commodities trading based on nonpublic information relating to Congress, and to require additional reporting by Members and employees of Congress of securities transaction, and for other purposes.

Essentially, it's an anti-corruption, good government measure. The text of the bill is not yet available online, though we're guessing that it's probably close to the Baird bill introduced in 2007, H.R. 2341.

Sunshine in governing: Walz wins one, Dodd snuffs one?

As we noted earlier in the month, Congressional appropriations committees have adopted Walz earmark reforms. This week,  we linked to a post at Sunlight Foundation, Good TARP Transparency Amendment, which noted how the Congressman Walz had circulated a letter promoting his amendment designed require the Treasury Department to post online reports on how funds are being spent.

The Winona Daily News praises the first in an editorial, Law will help identify congressional porkers. They write, in part:

. . . Last week, Congressman Tim Walz helped to pass legislation that doesn’t necessarily stop pork barrelling, it just makes it more transparent.

We wouldn’t argue that Congress’ power is one of purse-strings. We elect leaders to decide how government can best serve the people. And, it’s hard to serve people without cash.

But let’s be honest, for too long Congress has placated voters and bribed good feelings from constituents with projects that are more want than need. And, it’s certainly questionable whether many of the projects in omnibus spending have a clear public purpose.

What Walz’s plan does is make members of Congress sign on to the funding requests they make. It means that people should be able to see what earmarks members request and who’s bargaining for the most.

It used to be that all requests were done anonymously, meaning it was hard to pinpoint the source of the most egregious pork barrel spending.

Now, there’s the benefit of having the public scrutiny to keep federally elected officials in check.

It’s good reform especially in tough times, when our spending priorities have to be strictly need-based, not just some kind of government wish list.

Keep in mind, Walz is a Democrat. This isn’t just the typical tax-and-spend approach that so many Democrats have been accused of.

Also, it’s important to understand this has been an ongoing three-year mission for Walz since he started campaigning for office. In fact, it’s been something so important to him that even without these rules, Walz has always disclosed his earmark funding requests along with the dollar amount he’s sought.

That speaks volumes about what he believes — he started following the rules before there even were rules. . . .

Go read the entire opinion at the WDN. Unfortunately, it's possible that the future for the Walz TARP transparency amendment [pdf file] might not be as bright as his efforts to promote sunlight on the earmark process.

Paul Blumenthal writes in No New TARP Accountability Requirements at the Sunlight Foundation's blog:

Yesterday, I looked at an amendment to the 2nd round of TARP (read: bailout) funds from Tim Walz that sought to increase transparency by requiring public disclosures mandated in the 2nd round bill be posted online. Unfortunately, it looks like none of these public disclosures or their online posting will happen, or at least be mandated. According to Chris Bowers at Open Left, Sen. Chris Dodd is not going to introduce mirror legislation to the 2nd round bill introduced in the House.

Go read the rest for the discouraging details.

More on those raises: Walz is co-sponsor of H.R.156

Not only has Congressman Walz turned down his last two pay raises, but he signed on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 156, legislation authored by Harry Mitchell (D-AZ) and Ron Paul (R-TX) that would prevent an automatic raise in 2010.

Walz, the only member  one of two members of Minnesota's congressional delegation among the 72  77 sponsors, was on board when the bill was introduced on January 6. [Update 1/14] since we posted this earlier in the day, Congressman Collin Peterson's name was added tothe list of co-sponsors [end update].

 This fact makes the pontificating about automatic pay raises by the state's media--without mentioning Walz's refusal of the raise--even more baffling.

We'd posted about the editorials on January 6,  but didn't realize until today that he was co-sponsoring the bill as well. From the looks of it, his office didn't send out a press release on it---and we've been slacking off on our due diligence at this blog.

And so yet another reader writes the New Ulm Journal to note how the paper failed to acknowledge that Walz had refused his automatic COLA pay raises.  DFL activist Charles Zea (who has forgotten more about bean feeds than most people will ever know) writes in Walz lives up to his pledge:

On the Opinion page of the New Ulm Journal, posted January 8, 2009, there was an article addressing the automatic pay raise for members of congress. In this article it is stated that the automatic raise would affect the pay of 535 lawmakers. This number is incorrect, it should be 534. One congressman, which I know of, refused the raised and turned it back to the US Treasury, both this year and last year.

Rep. Tim Walz pledge to return his congressional pay raises to the US Treasury until the Federal budget is balanced. Rep. Walz is living up to his pledge.

It was stated in the article that "Members of Congress should set a good example by refusing the raises." One Congressman did refuse the raise, our congressman, Rep. Tim Walz, yet it went unmentioned by the author of the opinion piece. Was this an over sight on the author's part or was the author too busy painting every lawmaker in Congress the same color with a right-handed broad brush.

There are other members of Congress turning those raises down, Mr. Zea, and they are seeking to block another automatic raise in 2010. It's just that in Minnesota, you'll have to read obscure regional bloggers (and the Minnesota Independent) to know that. 

Last month we posted an entry about how Congressman Walz [was] to continue returning pay raises to U.S. Treasury, just as he did in 2008.  The Minnesota Independent picked up on our post in Walz returns congressional raise, again.  A Worthington area resident spoke up on January 7 in Worthington Globe LTE: Walz won't be taking a pay raise and a Sleepy Eye resident's LTE to the New Ulm Journal about Walz turning down the raise was published on January 10, before Mr. Zea's epistle.

Monday blizzard digest: school's out edition

Now that the blizzard has subsided and we can once again see our computer screen, we'll try to squeeze out a post before our hooves freeze.

Pat Lowther of Sleepy Eye writes the editors of the New Ulm Journal to say Walz refused pay raise:

TO THE EDITOR:

A recent editorial in the Journal (January 8, 2009) rightly criticized members of Congress for accepting pay raises, ending its critique with the following advice:

"Members of Congress should set a good example by refusing the raises."

That's exactly what First District congressman Tim Walz has done. In fact, Walz has refused a pay raise for two years in a row.

The Rochester Post Bulletin's political reporter Heather Carlson writes in her Political notebook: Congressmen focus on wasteful federal spending:

With the nation's economy in a tailspin and the federal deficit ballooning, two area congressmen are focusing on wasteful spending. . . .

. . .1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz last week applauded the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees for approving earmark reforms. Every member of Congress will have to list their earmark requests on their Web sites beginning in fiscal year 2010. Walz has been voluntarily releasing a list of his earmark requests since his first term in 2007.

The Rochester Democrat notes that MoveOn.org will be staging a Political Action at the representative's Rochester office.  MoveOn.org and Walz have had a rather chilly relationship since September 2007, though we don't know--since we're not on the group's email list--what specific items the group will be pushing on this particular visit, focused on federal economic recovery efforts.

And given the weather today--much of Southwestern Minnesota is closed and snow plows were pulled from the roads, the Worthington Globe reported this afternoon--what better song to close this post that a favorite Jim Reeves classic:

Photo: The AP picked up this Mankato Free Press photo of Washington grade school students waiting for a bus after the snowstorm prompted officials to dismiss school early. 

Sunday digest: catch-up edition

We've been preoccupied by chores and research, so today's digest will catch up on the news since Thursday.  There's lots to post.

Friday's Owatonna People's Press reports in Council: Federal money for flood projects too slow, unstable:

So, the city has applied for $900,000 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Johnson said — a long, complex process that involved tallying damages to homes in Owatonna dating all the way back to 1965. But, FEMA is now asking for other materials — photos of the projects site and other documentation.

Congressman Tim Walz scored a $400,000 earmark for the city in October 2008, which could count toward the $1.3 million project. However, though Owatonna no longer must compete with other cities for the money, it is essentially a grant through FEMA and there are a number of hoops the city must jump through before any of the much needed funds arrive.

All in all, if the council wants to use federal dollars they will have to wait 10 to 24 months. Another catch-22 is that if they want help from above, they cannot start the project until FEMA approves the grant, which would further delay the storm pond. The council hoped to complete the pond in fall 2008, but it has been stymied by negotiations with landowners and the question of funding.

Winona and Rochester have competing visions for high-speed passenger rail projects. The Winona Daily News tells readers High-speed rail route through Winona gets more support while the Post Bulletin asks Is Rochester out of the high-speed rail loop?  

From the WDN:

Fast action on a proposal to study and build a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Paul via Winona has been endorsed by another St. Paul-area elected official.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum joins St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Ramsey County commissioners pushing for a high-speed line along Amtrak’s Empire Builder route, which stops in Winona on a route up the Mississippi River to St. Paul. The announcement comes as Rochester, Minn., leaders campaign to ensure they’re included in high-speed rail talks mounting as federal lawmakers mull transportation projects in 2009. 

The newly formed Southeast Minnesota Rail Alliance, backed by Rochester-area elected officials and the Mayo Clinic, is encouraging federal lawmakers to study a high-speed route that runs through their city. But McCollum said Friday that the Federal Railroad Administration has identified the Mississippi River route from La Crescent to St. Paul as the final leg of a potential high-speed corridor from Chicago. . . .

. . .Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., who represents both Rochester and Winona, hasn’t taken a position on what route the potential line should take. A spokeswoman said Friday that Walz supports acting quickly on the proposal if federal dollars become available, but added that “we also need to think carefully about what our state’s transportation needs will be 25 or 50 years in the future.“

The Cottonwood County Citizen and Worthington Globe report that Windom students to witness inauguration. They'll be meeting with Congressman Walz and Senator Klobuchar in their repsective offices. The students had followed te election closely in their government class, and the exchange student reports that her friends back home are deeply jealous (as are we).

Winona Radio reports on Walz and earmark reform.

Congressman Walz received nominations for the The 2008 Politics in Minnesota Politician of the Year honor, but the editors selected Secretary of State Mark Ritchie instead. We applaud the choice. One email nominating Walz is cited:

Wrote one reader about Walz, "school teacher, veteran, common person...what more can I say?"

In Southern Minnesota is a good example for the country, Leigh Pomeroy notes at Vox Verax that Congressman Walz isn't the only ordinary citizen stepping up to the plate, citing the sterling example of State Rep. Terry Morrow in a recent Capitol Report profile. Pomeroy observes:

The article . . . gives a good indication of why southern Minnesota should be a hopeful example for the nation, showing how quality people can become involved in the political process not for the sake of the political "game", for an ideology or for the desire to hold office, but because they truly feel they can can make a positive difference.

Two of our favorite bloggers are posting again. Minnesota Central believes the GOP Not Serious About Earmarks; Dems Not Serious About Reform.The Blueman is back to blogging at his own place, and the Barkley supporter scolds Republicans for trying to pain Al Franken as Public Enemy #1. Hal's on to something: we think that Franken will be more policy wonk than comedian should he serve in the U.S. Senate--as looks increasingly likely.

The DFL notices another civic-minded teacher joining the ranks of elected leaders, excerpting the Mankato Free Press profile of the young educator from Owatonna. Kath's two-year-old daughter Norah is captured in photo #7 in this MN House slideshow. The slideshow's toddler cuteness is completely nonpartisan, however since we can't resist nine-month-old Everett Sanders' little dimples (#1) or the adorable two-year-old Westrom twins (#5).

Speaking of cute, Phoenix Woman looks at Dick Day's latest star turn in Franken-Coleman Update, 01/10/09: Annals of WTF!?'

After all that material, BSP readers deserve a song. How about a ditty from The Dead 60s, in Senator Day's honor (remembering the ramp lights and everything after):

Congressional appropriations committees adopt Walz earmark reforms

A press release from the Walz congressional office:

Congress Adopts Earmark Reforms Championed by Walz

Says reform will help restore the American peoples’ trust in their government

(Washington, DC) – Today, Congressman Walz applauded the House and Senate Appropriation Committees for moving to implement increased transparency throughout the earmarking process, changes Walz strongly advocated for during his first term.

Walz said that every member of Congress will now be required to publicly release a list of their earmark requests, something Walz has done since he first arrived in Congress. In 2007, Walz pushed for increased transparency and publicly released the list of projects he submitted to the Appropriations Committee on behalf of southern Minnesota. In 2008, Walz went a step further, publicly releasing his requests as well as the dollar amounts he requested. He also co-authored legislation that required his colleagues to do the same.

“This is a giant step forward for transparency and openness in government,” said Walz. “Last year Members of Congress were required to put their name by each of their requests that were funded. I went two steps further and released a list of each project I asked for, and the amount requested. I am thrilled that from now on, everyone in Congress will be required to follow suit.”

The new reforms, implemented by the chairman of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, will affect FY2010 requests, requiring Members post their earmark requests on their websites and explain the purpose of the earmark and why it is valuable to taxpayers. This increased transparency and accountability will provide more opportunities for public scrutiny of member requests.

We're off to do some chores, but we hope to be back soon with a sledge full of news.

Davis makes sudden lane change on federal earmarks...

. . .and unfortunately, much of the highway is still a two lane road. If this guy isn't careful, he'll have a head-on collision with himself.

We look forward to some more interesting moves from Brian Davis and his Campaign That Can't Shoot Straight as he tries to steer his way out of his latest "straight shooting."

Just in from the Walz campaign:

Brian Davis Flip-Flops on Funding Highway 14
His website calls for “elimination” of earmarks, while he tells Owatonna newspaper the exact opposite

( Owatonna , Minn. ) – In an interview published yesterday in the Owatonna People’s Press, Republican Congressional candidate Dr. Brian Davis completely reversed his long-standing opposition to the use of ‘earmarks,’ or spending on specific projects directed by Members of Congress.

Davis, who has previously said that Congress should “eliminate the practice of Congressional earmarks,” has now taken exactly the opposite position.  The Owatonna People’s Press reports that Davis committed in an interview that “he would secure funding [for Highway 14] ‘any way possible,’ whether it’s a stand alone bill or through federal earmarks.”

“Dr. Davis has flip-flopped on some big issues before, but this one really takes the cake,” said Chris Schmitter, campaign manager for Tim Walz.  “Over the last 14 months, Dr. Davis has repeatedly said he doesn’t believe in funding transportation projects like Highway 14 with Congressionally-directed spending.  But with three days to go before the election, Dr. Davis has decided he doesn’t believe that any more.”

“There’s nothing harder than getting a straight answer out of Dr. Davis,” continued Schmitter.  “He said a new 23% national sales tax is ‘a good idea,’ before backtracking and saying he doesn’t necessarily support it.  He says he’s proud of southern Minnesota ’s farm and ranch families, but refuses to say if he would have supported the Farm Bill they rely on.  Who knows what he’ll change his mind about next?”

As of this morning, Dr. Davis’s website still says he believes “we need to eliminate the practice of Congressional ‘earmarks.’”

Davis’s Website Calls For End To Earmarks.  "There are three simple steps Congress must enact. First, Congress should pass a new federal Taxpayer Bill of Rights, limiting the growth of spending. Second, we need to eliminate the practice of Congressional 'earmarks'. Third, the President must be given line-item veto authority to cut out wasteful Congressional spending." [briandavisforcongress.com, accessed 2/05/08]

Davis Said We Need A Line Item Veto To Eliminate Earmarks. Davis said, "We should make sure that government lives within its means….We need first off on a national level, a line item veto. That's where when someone say like Tim Walz puts an earmark, or one of his buddies puts an earmark, into a bill late at night. The president has to decide whether to sign the whole bill or not and there is some extra spending in there it gives the president a difficult decision right now. It'd be nice if the President, whether it's a democrat or a republican, or an independent, could go in their and just cross it out and make it much easier." [Winona Youth GOP Debate, 2/7/08]

Davis Criticized Congress For Failing To Eliminate Earmarks.  "Davis says one of his biggest complaints of the current Democratic-led Congress is its failure to eliminate pork-barrel spending. Democrats campaigned on a pledge to clean up earmarks and wasteful spending, yet pork barrel spending continues, he said." [Rochester Post Bulletin, 8/16/07]

Davis Says He Would Use Earmarks to Fund Highway 14. "Davis said Highway 14 is impractical to drive on currently and would consider it the most important transportation issue he would improve. He would secure funding 'any way possible' whether it’s a stand alone bill or through federal earmarks." [Owatonna People's Press, 10/31/08]

A Republican friend tells us that Brian Davis supported his claims of support for gun rights by telling the GOP activist base that he would go down to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to shoot skeet with a friend. We had no idea that people in that region had such a different definition of straight shooting. 

Photo: Highway 14. Photo by Minnesota Public Radio. Does Davis even know what lane he's driving in when it comes to his own positions?