A Bluestem Prairie

Walz will vote for House FISA bill

Congressman Walz just concluded his weekly press call. He talked about the new House rule that created the independent House ethics panel, the new house FISA bill that will be voted on later today, and (briefly) the Farm Bill.

Walz stressed that a vote against the new  House rule shouldn't be politicized to suggest that a "no" votes was a vote against ethics, but that representative's concerns about the rule. He disagrees (obviously) with their position, but respected that difference.

He's pleased with seeing the reform move from a small "lonely" group of ten supporters last April to being a rule in the House.  Since minority leader Boehner and Speaker PElosi both need to agree on all six panel members, it may take time for the panel to be up and operating, but  Walz hopes it will be at work in two months. 

Some Minnesotans are being asked if they'd like to serve on the panel, Walz said, though he mentioned no name for potential nominations. A press member brought up one former elected official, but we'll let our colleague pursue that lead.

The 2002 Farm Bill has been extended until mid-April; Walz hopes that the new bill will be completed by then since many constituencies around the country have worked to get the legislation to this point.

Most importantly, Walz said he will vote for the new FISA bill when it comes to the House floor, mostly likely this afternoon.  We'll post more about this important legislation in a bit.

Walz statement on creation of independent ethics office

This just in from Congressman Walz's office:

Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced the passage of legislation to create an independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) within the House of Representatives.  Walz, the former president of the Democratic freshmen class, said that the legislation was based on proposals the freshmen Members of Congress had called for to enhance transparency and accountability in Congress.   

The new OCE will be comprised of six board members who are not current Members of Congress, lobbyists or federal government employees. Together, two members of the OCE can initiate a review of allegations of
misconduct against a member of the U.S. House.  Currently, only a Member of the House of  Representatives may file an ethics complaint against another Member of the House or House employee. 

"The fundamental problem in our democracy is not a conflict of political opinion, but the fact that too many Americans have lost faith in their government," said Walz.  "I believe that creating an independent Office
of Congressional Ethics in the U.S. House will help restore some accountability and openness to our government."

Walz said that the establishment of an independent ethics office was a priority that he and other members of the Democratic Freshmen class had pushed for.  "I came to Congress last year because Americans were tired of business as usual in Washington, D.C. and they demanded change," Walz said.  "I have been working with my colleagues in the Democratic freshmen class to push for additional ethics reform to restore faith in our democracy and end the culture of corruption that has taken root in Washington, DC.   Last night's vote is a big step forward, and I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish."

The resolution lays out the procedures for members of the OCE to initiate investigations into misconduct, as well as the process by which any complaints will be reviewed and referred to the House Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct, frequently known as the Ethics Committee.

Because the legislation pertains only to the House, today's passage is sufficient to create the new Office of Congressional Ethics.  The resolution, H.Res 895 passed the House last night by a vote of 229-182.

The Mankato Free Press wrote and editorialized about this issue back in
April of 2007:

"Walz wants independent Ethics Committee," by Mark Fischenich

"Our View - A sound idea on guarding ethics"

Photo courtesy of Joe Lencioni's shifting pixel.

House passes ethics measure, 229-182

Last April, the Mankato Free Press reported:

Congressman Tim Walz has joined a group of other congressional freshmen in pushing for an independent ethics commission to judge wrongdoing by lawmakers. . . .

. . .While just 10 of the 435 House members have signed on as sponsors, Walz is hopeful the changes will be adopted.

“I’m going to push it,” he said. “So we’ll see if the numbers go up.”

Today, the Washington Post reports:

The House last night approved one of the most significant changes to its ethics rules in decades, creating for the first time an independent panel empowered to initiate investigations of alleged misconduct by members of the chamber.

The six members of the new Office of Congressional Ethics would have the authority to initiate preliminary reviews of allegations against House members, conduct investigations and refer their findings to the House ethics committee along with a public report.

The new measure is an internal reform by the House and so does not need Senate approval. Some changes were made in the proposal between April and last night's vote, but the vote still marks a major milestone in ethics reform.

Photo courtesy of Joe Lencioni's shifting pixel.

 

The Hill on talk of suspending earmarks

In The cardinals claim they’re being cut out, a new article in the Hill, there's more talk of a moratorium on earmarks:

Senior Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee claim that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has left them out of discussions about a moratorium on earmarks, marking a departure from the inclusive leadership style she has employed for much of her reign.

As some appropriators grumbled, Democrats on Tuesday inched closer to an earmark moratorium, a move that would infuriate many appropriators.

“It’s going to happen,” said an irritated Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. Others were more circumspect.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has been in leadership meetings on earmarks, but on Tuesday would say only, “No final decision has been made.”

“I’ve been consulting with members,” Van Hollen said. “It’s safe to say there’s a difference of opinion.”

Pelosi has discussed suspending earmarks with Reps. David Obey (D-Wis.) and John Murtha (D-Pa.), two of her closest lieutenants and the two most senior members of the Appropriations Committee, but she has otherwise limited talks to an extremely small circle.   

Pelosi and Obey have told members they want to call the bluff of Republicans who have called for an earmark ban while pursuing pet projects from the spending panel.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Mike Soraghan talked to Congressman Walz about the proposal:

Rep. Tim Walz (Minn.), the outgoing president of the Democratic freshman class, said he would support an earmarks ban if it goes to balancing the budget.

“If it’s done in that sense, and not political theatrics, I’m supportive,” he said. “If we return it to the bureaucracy, which spends it even more irresponsibly than us, then it’s a gimmick.”

This could get very interesting.

New House strategies for FISA and earmarks

CQ Politics reports in House Carves a New Path on FISA:

House Democrats plan to take up surveillance legislation this week that would reject White House insistence on retroactive legal immunity for telecommunications companies that have cooperated with the government in warrantless wiretapping.

The draft legislation also would establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the president’s warrantless surveillance initiative, according to a House Democratic official.

House Democratic leaders, under election year pressure from the right to give in to the White House and from the left to stand firm, hope to pass the draft bill before they leave for the two-week spring recess.

The latest proposal would sidestep stalled House-Senate negotiations over an overhaul HR 3773 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL 95-511). But most aspects of the new legislation were developed without Senate consultation, so it is unlikely to break the logjam.

Details of the new bill, and the House Democrats’ plan, were still tentative late Monday after House leaders met to discuss how to proceed.

The White House and congressional Republicans have pressed House Democrats at every turn to take up the Senate version of FISA legislation, which would grant the telecommunications companies legal protections. House Democrats have resisted providing retroactive immunity.

A new ad campaign by an outside group is the latest in a volley of Republican efforts to batter House Democrats into submission and raise the stakes in an election year. . . .

The Republican front group, Defense of Democracies, is behind the ads:

Defense of Democracies, a newly created advocacy organization that is an offshoot of the neoconservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, kicked off a new ad campaign Monday designed to pressure Democrats into taking up the Senate bill, this time criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The group also has run ads in the districts of freshmen Democrats.

Democrats plan to unveil their new legislation Tuesday.

The New York Times has more in House Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps. It's a few weeks old, but US News and World Reports put together a Fact Check on Wiretapping Law Claims,

We're curious to learn the details and where Congressman Walz stands on this new proposal.

Matt Browner Hamlin takes a critical look at the proposal at the CREDO blog, a project of Working Assets.

CQ Politics also reports Presidential Candidates Set to Cosponsor DeMint's Earmark Moratorium.  This  news first came to our attention yesterday, when Ed Felker asked the question Earmarks on the chopping block?at the PB's Political Party blog.

Felker's question was prompted by this item at Politico, Obama, Clinton embrace earmark moratorium. David Rogers wrote:

After months of partisan sniping, the great earmarks debate in Congress may be collapsing in a marriage of political convenience between conservatives and leading Democrats.

Late Monday, presidential candidate Barack Obama, quickly followed by rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, joined Senate efforts to ban all such home-state projects next year, and the anti-pork camp also hopes to pick up some unexpected help from a third Democrat: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The back-to-back endorsements mean the entire presidential field will be on board the budget amendment already co-sponsored by the likely Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain. Pelosi has not yet gone so far as to embrace such a broad moratorium on earmarks, but she also has signaled a growing weariness with the debate and a desire to take the issue off the table going into the November elections.

Back at Political Party, Felker observes:

The Politico's David Rogers notes that a one-year moratorium may be something of a freebie politically.  Bush's vow to veto spending bills that exceed his budget targets, combined with the elections, appear to set the stage for the Democrats to extend the 2008 budget year into 2009 without new appropriations bills and new earmarks, though they will likely pass defense spending bills.

Where's Walz on this? Felker writes:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last week raised the idea of the House also forgoing earmarks as a way to pay for a big infrastructure stimulus bill, to muted response so far. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, said Thursday he would look at the idea but said he had not registered his support or opposition with Pelosi.

CQ Politics notes that the Senate has had little enthusiasm for earmark reform, but the dynamics of  a presidential election may spur its attention:

Many senators, particularly appropriators, have shown little interest in an earmark ban, arguing that it is Congress’ job to decide how federal money is spent, and that eliminating earmarks cedes too much power to the executive branch. But with McCain, Clinton or Obama on track to be the next president, that dynamic could change.

Walz voted for earmark reform early in 2007 and publicly disclosed his earmark requests last summer in an effort to make the process more transparent; he did add two later that dealt with the costs of the August flooding in SE Minnesota.  Those who chide Walz about earmarks neglect this history, favoring instead a Club for Growth scorecard of "gotcha" votes (we critiqued the conservative group's approach here when the scorecard was released last August).

We're not sure if a gimmick like a moratorium is such a good idea if it means delaying projects like the Lewis and Clark Rural Water system--true earmark reform would make sure the projects like the water system, which received high scores by independent reviewers,  are not dropped in favor of other projects with less merit.

Early evening news digest: sickness and health edition

We have been battling a cold since this morning, having resisted succumbing to the various bugs floating around all winter. With the temperature drop following the arctic clipper that brushed the area with snow, it's a good  night to stay in, blog, sneeze and administer the folk remedies recommended in David Bradley's second novel, The Chaneysville Incident.

We're happy to report that one of Representative Ramstad's and Paul Wellstone's legacies has come closer to reality. From the Speaker's office:

The House has just passed H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act by a vote of 268-148. This bipartisan legislation will end discrimination against patients seeking treatment for mental illnesses by prohibiting insurers and group health plans from imposing treatment or financial limitations when they offer mental health benefits that are more restrictive from those applied to medical and surgical services.

Here's the roll call vote. All of Minnesota's representatives voted for it, save Michele Bachmann and John Kline. We find it sad that Kline, who represents the late Paul Wellstone's adopted home town of Northfield, offered a motion to recommit the bill back to committee.

The Drum Major Institute takes its name from another American writer (and leader in this case), Martin Luther King who famously said, "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice..."  It has launched TheMiddleClass.org a new site that enhances its more traditional once a year scorecard:

We need to understand what Congress is voting on as they are voting on it if we truly want to hold them accountable. And so we’ve created themiddleclass.org, a dynamic site that will update throughout the year as members of Congress vote on legislation of significance to the current and aspiring middle class.

Representative Walz has received a 100% rating for the 2008 votes so far, as has Jim Ramstad. The rest of Minnesota's delegation? Go check them out here. It looks like the scorecard for 2007 is forthcoming shortly.

The American Health Care Association has sent out a press release, Budget Committee Urged to Strongly Oppose Administration's Proposed $24 Billion, Five-Year Cuts to Medicare. The opening:

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today praised the seventy-six (76) members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have signed onto a letter led by Representatives Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt (D-SC) and Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-WI), asking them to reject the five-year, $24 billion cuts to Medicare-financed nursing home care proposed in the Bush Administration's FY 2009 budget.

"The number of champions in Congress opposing these cuts in a consistent, effective, and bipartisan manner indicates the necessity to ensure that America's oldest seniors who require intensive skilled nursing care receive the vital care they need," stated Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA. "This letter draws attention to the chronic Medicaid under funding crisis, which becomes still more problematic for patients and facilities when Medicare-funded nursing home care is cut in the manner proposed by the Bush Administration."

Tim Walz is a signatory to the letter. For ourselves, we are happy to see the American Health Care Association has chosen to keep better company than it did back in late August 2007, when it teamed up with the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care to run ads attacking Walz in the First.

We've been watching the on/then off/then on battle in the last two weeks over the establishment of  an outside ethics panel.  Last week, it made it to the rules committee--one of the final steps bfore a bill hits the House floor, only to see it pulled when Republican legislators released a counterproposal. Today, CQ Politics reports House Proposal to Create Outside Ethics Panel Remains an Uphill Battle. The lead:

House Democrats are struggling to line up votes within their own caucus for creating an outside ethics investigative body — a proposal so strongly resisted by Republicans that the majority may not be able to rely on crossover votes.      

In an unusual evening caucus Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi again made the case for putting early ethics reviews in the hands of trusted outsiders rather than sitting House members. And in response to complaints from the rank and file about the initial ethics proposal (H Res 895), she walked the caucus through proposed amendments.

Congressman Walz is quoted:

“It sounds like there are a lot of undecideds,” said Tim Walz , D-Minn., who supports the leadership’s proposal.

We're surprised it has gotten as far as it has. Back in April 2007, the Mankato Free Press reported in Walz wants independent ethics watchdog:

While just 10 of the 435 House members have signed on as sponsors, Walz is hopeful the changes will be adopted.

“I’m going to push it,” he said. “So we’ll see if the numbers go up.”

Apparently that pushing has gotten things this far. For other assessments of the uphill battle see the Washington Post's House Ethics Bill Inching Back to Life.

 

Mid-morning news digest: ambush protected edition

The LaCrosse Tribune reports in  As Bush targets earmarks, area lawmakers defend their spending:

. . .Area lawmakers tend to agree the process needs reform, such as new rules that require sponsors put their names on earmarks and attest they and their families won’t directly benefit.

Still, they claim they — not Washington bureaucrats — are best qualified to determine the needs and merits of projects.

“I’m not one who subscribes to the notion that all earmarks are evil,” said Rep. Ron Kind,

D-La Crosse. “The (Congress-ional) representative knows the community and what the needs are. The president doesn’t know that. Bureaucrats don’t know that.”

Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, cites the example of the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University.

The first-of-its-kind program, which trains prosecutors and others in handling child abuse cases, had applied to the Department of Justice for funding. It was ranked fourth on a list of 137 programs deemed worthy of funding, but an administrator passed it over for a lower-ranked project to use golf to teach children life skills.

In 2007, Walz sponsored a $1.22 million appropriation for the center.

While the president has targeted the issue under a Democrat-controlled Congress, earmark spending actually peaked in 2005 when Republicans were in charge, according to the White House budget office.

“It’s a bipartisan problem,” said Kind, who is working on legislation to create a bipartisan commission to crack down on earmark spending.

In the Worthington Globe, Congressman reviews trip to Iraq. Walz writes:

A few weeks ago, as I landed in Afghanistan during a nine-day visit to the Middle East and Central Asia, I saw Army engineers unloading some important cargo from the plane I’d traveled on: the first Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle to arrive in Afghanistan.

Because an ambulance can’t carry heavy armor the same way a Humvee can, injured soldiers in Afghanistan were being transported from the battlefield to the medic’s station in vehicles that were insufficiently protected. The plane I hitched a ride on was carrying new MRAPs that will serve as battlefield ambulances, ensuring that our soldiers get the best care possible, from the very moment they are injured.

The soldiers at Baghram Air Base were clearly excited to finally be getting their hands on these state-of-the-art vehicles that they had been waiting for. What wasn’t so clear to me was why—nearly six and a half years after the war in Afghanistan began—we are just now getting around to providing them with armored vehicles to serve as ambulances.

It occurred to me that the delivery of that MRAP was emblematic of the changes that are taking place within military health care: we have all the resources our injured soldiers need, but unacceptable delays and needless bureaucracy have made the recovery process longer than it should be.

My visit to Afghanistan was part of a longer trip, which also took me to Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, and Germany. I traveled with two of my colleagues – a Democrat and Republican, as well as the Surgeon General of the Army, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the military’s health care system. . . .

We look forward to the Owatonna People's Press condemn the delivery of the ambulance as a waster of jet fuel.  After all, the paper got pretty pissy about any money or jet fuel being spent on that trip. We anticipate Dick Day's promises he'll walk everywhere if elected to Congress since his hometown paper decided that flying is naughty. In the Political Party blog, Ed Felker wonders About Walz's border trip.

In a letter to the Hastings Star Gazette, Second DFL contender Steve Sarvi contrasts Walz's and Kline's approach to earmark reform:

. . .Last year, when the new Democratic leadership took office, the process underwent review. The new leadership sought reform. Strangely, in light of his current position, Rep. Kline opposed reform. Now, he has simply opted out altogether, leaving his constituents to dig deeper into their own pockets for the necessary resources to get urgent work done.

On the other hand, Minnesota Rep. Tim Walz provides an example of how to work for change while still serving his district. Rep. Walz attaches his name to all funding requests and supports greater transparency in the process on the whole. This kind of needed change will be wrought by pulling people together to agree to solutions. By contrast, Rep. Kline’s position is to simply push away from the table. This is not leadership. . . .

The Minnesota Daily reports in Faculty donations buck trends that:

According to the data, in the first three reporting quarters of 2007, University faculty and staff donated $13,600 to Democratic Senate hopeful Al Franken, $5,800 to Democratic Rep. Tim Walz and $5,000 to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Mountain Lake Observer/Butterfield Advocate editor Kris Langland asks How low can they go? in reviewing one of FOX's John Gibson's radio shows.  Answer: pretty low.

The Winona Daily News decides anti-chicken ordinances are nothing to crow about in Winona, don’t fence us in.

Finally, in Class honoring their hero, the Marshall Independent has news of ways former high school classmates plan to remember Matthew Kahler and help his family. Killed by suspected friendly fire in Afghanistan, Kahler leaves behind a wife and four-year-old daughter.

 

Mid-morning news digest: on the run edition

We have to run to the Cities for a meeting today, so our digest will be hurried.

Much of this morning's news centers on comparing fundraising figures now that the Walz and Demmer information is available. There's MPR: Walz raised over $1 million last year in 1st District race, Minnesota Campaign Report:: Walz Campaign Rocking the Fundraising ...,, KSTP.com - Walz raised over $1 million last year in 1st District race and more of the same.

Walz was in Owatonna for a celebration of Minnesota's birthday, KEYC-TV reports in       Owatonna Kids Say "Happy Birthday Minnesota". Local  state representative Connie Ruth  participated as well.

The Bemidji Pioneer reports Interest high in Minnesota caucuses. Republican GOP Chair Ron Carey brings up his jonesing for a Walz defeat.

The Mankato Free Press's editorial board, which does not like earmarks, approves on Congressman Kline's position.

While Senator Day's grandstanding might make it appear as if he is the only GOP contender for the endorsement on March to naifs from outside of Minnesota, such is not the case. Indeed, preliminary reports suggest that Rochester's Brian Davis has raised more money in the last two quarters.

Moreover, Dr. Davis's position on immigration is every bit as punitive as that advanced by Senator. A YouTube of his remarks at the January 10 Rochester candidate forum is here. Dr. Davis is familar with the border region, but not from hobnobbing with the Minutemen.

Unfortunately, Davis does repeat a common misconception about 287(g) Memos of Agreements in his remarks  We willing be posting some basic information about ICE's ACCESS program and 287(g) agreements that might surprise our readers on both the right and left later this evening, but now we must head out.

As goes Elysian, so goes Senate District 25: Dahle is winner!

One of our esteemed brethren bloggers on the right mistakenly thought that Senate District 25 was in the heart of Minnesota's First Congressional District. Actually only two precincts in SD25 lie in the First.

However, the combined vote of Elysian and Elysian Twp P-1 put voters in the First on the side of the winner: Dahle garner a 3 vote margin, taking the tiny slice of Tim Walz's country by 35-32, with Independence candidate Norgaard scoring 9 votes.

Dahle wins the special election, 6802-5225.

We did field work in that district in 2002, so seeing a DFLer take the seat means a great deal to us.  Hats off to the great volunteers in SD 25, and to all the forces Kenner and others marshalled for this sweet victory.

Sunday morning news digest: Iowa Caucus drive-by reporting edition

A Strib political reporter has actually travelled to (or should we say through?) Southern Minnesota, rather than just relying on GOP press releases for story ideas.  However, the published report ends up covering perceptions of the Presidential race in the Iowa caucuses, rather than the Congressional contest in the First.

Pat Lopez drives down I-35, visits a donut shop in Albert Lea, and turns in Ringside seats to Iowa campaigns. Meanwhile, the House sections headlines in Political Connected are still all-GOP. We suspect Lopez was just stopping for coffee on the way to Iowa.

The Rochester post Bulletin looks at local DFL and Republican efforts to send volunteers into Iowa in Area residents aim to influence caucus results.  Matt Stolle reports:

Lynn Wilson, chairwoman of the Olmsted County DFL Party, said most people make up their minds about who they will vote for within the last 72 hours of a campaign, thus making the final week important for get-out-the-vote efforts.

"People have been planning for weeks. They've been lining up their work schedules, taking vacations or taking days off from work, so that they can travel to Iowa," said Wilson, who, along with a dozen Rochester residents, is heading south this weekend to support Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Volunteers in Iowa

Rochester volunteers for the various Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are making phone calls and canvassing neighborhoods in Iowa. And even if they don't make the trip south, they are lending support by making calls from Rochester, urging Iowans to support their candidates. . ..

. . .On Jan. 1, a bus occupied by supporters of GOP candidate Mitt Romney will leave Rochester for Iowa and three days of volunteering. Duane Quam, GOP chairman of the 1st Congressional District, said three or four Republican candidates have "fairly representative support in the area."

In the PB's Political Party blog, Stolle mentions Ron Paul's supporters heading south as well.

Since the editorial is about earmarks, we had to smile at the headline for the latest Mankato Free Press editorial: Our View: For fiscal fix, eliminate bookmarks. They *heart* Obey.

Via Lexis-Nexis, we read a profile of Randy Demmer from Finance and Commerce (subscription required). We've joked about Demmer's backbench status, and it's named as a liability in the article:

Whether the low-profile Demmer has a legit chance to become a congressman remains an open question, even among Republicans.

Sarah Janecek, a GOP analyst and publisher of Politics in Minnesota, believes Walz may be beatable due to a few "lefty votes" and recent revelations that he asked for babysitting reimbursements from Congress.

Janecek must have the fact retention of a gnat: the reimbursements, which totalled less than $600 and were okayed by the FEC, were campaign-related expenses covered by the Walz campaign committee rather than Congress. If this is what the GOP thinks it's got on Walz, it's thin gruel indeed. She continues:

She's not sure Demmer, however, is the candidate to beat Walz. Two other GOP candidates, state Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna and Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis carry big names and big war chests, she says.

Davis, in particular, has garnered the influential support of former GOP U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz. (The fourth and least prominent contender, Mark Meyer, works as an employee benefits consultant and serves on the Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial school board.)

Meyer has since dropped out and endorsed Demmer.

"It's a strange race," she says. "Demmer's a nice guy and a good legislator, but it's going to be hard for him to distinguish himself from Dick Day and Brian Davis. "

State Sen. Dave Senjem, GOP minority leader from Rochester, praises Demmer's "character" and "quality" but points out it will be a tough race because Demmer has held no leadership posts in the party. Senjem finds himself in a hard place, as a friend to both Day and Demmer. With that in mind, he has endorsed neither candidate. "Randy's a good guy," Senjem adds.

One sitting Minnesota House members--Rod Hamilton--and one retired member--Fran Bradley--have endorsed Demmer.

 

Early evening Walz news digest: potluck and politics edition

The Post Bulletin adds an additional Veterans Day event featuring Tim Walz to Sunday's schedule:

• Veterans Day program, 8 a.m. Sunday, at New Life Worship Center west of U.S. 52 near 65th Street Northwest. Special guests are Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz. Free breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Program begins at 10:30 a.m. For information call 282-7201 or visit www.newlifewc.org.

• Honor the nation's veterans with U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Christ United Methodist Church, 400 Fifth Ave. S.W. Potluck lunch and Walz will speak about veterans issues and take questions. For more information call 288-7616.

Mankato's CBS affiliate reports in Walz Talks on Veterans Legislation:

The United States House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act. The legislation is aimed at making it easier for veterans to become homeowners.Congressman Tim Walz says he's worked particularly hard to get these benefits for veterans. Congressman Tim Walz says, ''If you're going in as a first time home buyer, you get away from a few of the requirements and once you've used that, if you've owned a home or invested in a home in the past five years, you don't get a chance to use that. We're saying, if you're a veteran, you can continue to use that each time you buy a home. ''

There's also a bit about legislation to ease the burden of the alternative minimum tax from falling on the middle class:

Congressman Walz also spoke about a bill that will likely be up for discussion on the House floor tomorrow. He hopes the bill will correct the Alternative Minimum Tax by extending relief and increasing exemption for joint filers and for individuals. Walz says about 49-thousand people in the first Congressional District will be hit by the AMT if the bill isn't passed.

The Rochester Post Bulletin notes US House OKs bills with funding for Hormel Institute:

In May, local residents had raised more than $1.4 million for the institute's project through the "Grow Science, Grow Austin" campaign, which topped a $1 million goal.

Walz said in the release he's proud his colleagues agreed with him that the Minnesota projects are a priority for federal funding.

"The appropriations process can be long and tedious," Walz said. "Due to the stringent new ethics rules put in place by the new leadership in Congress, every project that receives funding has undergone additional scrutiny this year."

The congressional district also would receive $125,000 for the Sheriffs Youth Programs' chemical-dependency program in Rochester. Funds will allow the program to expand its chemical-dependency outpatient treatment services for at-risk youth.

Pesky blogger D.J. Danielson beat us to the punch in posting about the override of President Bush's veto of the WRDA in Whacked! First override of a Bush veto today.  It's prime DJ:

While all nearly all municipalities provide services people generally like such as fire, police and schools, others have unique challenges.  One of those is Goodview, Minn., which was told to reduce radium levels in its drinking water.  To help pay for the $4 million treatment plant when other funding fell through, they had to goto the federal government.

They asked Rep. Tim Walz and Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar to secure funding under cries from fiscal hawks like Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, of “NO! NO EARMARKS! NEVER! IF THEY WANT IT BAD ENOUGH, THEY CAN PAY FOR IT THEMSELVES! FISCAL CONSERVATISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!!!!”

Yes, the sprawling metropolis of Goodview, already saddled with tremendous hardship following this year’s flooding and with a booming population of just over 3,000 is going to afford to pay for a $4 million treatment facility to meet an otherwise unfunded mandate on its own?

That brand of conservatism is quite compassionate, indeed.

Walz, who has shown his list of earmarks with almost unmatched transparency, released the following statement today.  We say “Well done!” for coming through for a community in your district.

“I am pleased by the overwhelming bi-partisan majority that voted to override the President’s veto on this important legislation. President Bush has shown he is not serious about addressing the significant infrastructure problems facing this country.  This is the first WRDA bill in more than seven years and this legislation authorizes important projects like an upgrade to the locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River and a water treatment facility in the City of Goodview.  I’m thrilled to see this important legislation become law."

Jeff Flake's Democratic opponent Richard picks up on DJ's post in Fanatical Ideologue Jeff Flake Votes Against Vital Water Projects Supported by the Vast Majority of Republican House Members.  That's pretty far from home for our friend DJ, but people in sunny Arizona are reading the up-and-coming young Minnesota blogger.

DJ's post Brian Davis: negative toward GOP opponents already? is another hit on the  trolling 4-pak member:

I must wonder: why would Davis take up prominent real estate on his home page going negative toward his Republican opponents as opposed to using that space for something which would highlight his ultimate goal: defeating Tim Walz?

As we have previously pointed out, Davis has struggled to collect campaign contributions within the First District. Will delegates to the GOP First District convention appreciate Davis’s negativity?

Finally, Walz was on the visit list today of Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). Though raised in a Catholic tradition, Walz is now a Lutheran.

BREAKING NEWS!!!! PER DIEMS!!! BREAKING (come on, it’s BREAKING!) NEWS!!

This past week, I Don't Hate America's DJ Danielson and Bluestem Prairie posted investigative work on State Representative Randy Demmer taking per diem payments for two days in May during which he missed votes in exchange for learning how to be a congressional candidate from the NRCC.

DJ's post, Demmer takes per-diem to attend candidate school in D.C., misleads public about votes missed, is a stemwinder.

In Who Took the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?, Charlie Quimby over at Across the Great Divide pointed out:

The specifics of Demmer's transgressions may be of interest mostly to political junkies and First District voters interested in comparing the man's words to his actions. But such casual cookie jar dipping should concern all Minnesota taxpayers.

Legislators of both parties would rather collect automatic per diems for days they don't work rather than vote themselves a fair salary with reimbursement for appropriate out-of-pocket spending. It's unseemly to have our elected officials essentially fudging their expense reports — which require no actual reporting — at the same time they're demanding more accountability from government agencies.

He's right. The thought is echoed in several First District editorials this past week.   The Mankato Free Press editorial board concluded in Apply fiscal standards to pay for legislators:

Most legislators don’t take on the public service and headache of being a legislator for the money. But if we want to make sure they are getting fairly compensated for their time, we should consider regular pay raises. Then the debate can be decided by sound fiscal principles instead of politics.

Our paths crossed in Winona this weekend, and we learned the shocking truth about DJ Danielson: he really does know more about legislative procedure than we do, and he's right about the correct pronunciation of notorious per diem refuser Larry Hosch's name. We were wrong.  And now that he's studied that 1962 party history, he knows more about it now, too.  Pesky kids these days.

On Tim Walz, and Rahm Emanuel's column on earmark reform

Via the Wege, we read a column by Rahm Emanuel in today's New York Times. It begins:

DEMOCRATS made earmark reform a campaign issue in 2006 — and a reality in 2007 — because earmarks were at the heart of corruption scandals in Washington. Democrats never promised to eliminate earmarks. We promised to reform them.

Putting all earmarks in the same boat, as critics often do, distorts the debate and does a disservice to the public. Not all earmarks are equal. For six years, some members of Congress provided secret earmarks for lobbyists in exchange for campaign contributions, foreign trips and, in some cases, outright bribes. The core of the problem was that the earmarks were hidden from the press and the public. There was no opportunity to review either their sponsorship or their merit before their passage.

This was most certainly the case. We recently stumbled over a case of this sort of thing in the First when we were reviewing off-year coverage of congressional races.  On August 8, 2005, the Mankato Free Press reported in: Victory Drive funding comes without anyone taking credit:

If members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation know exactly how it happened that $4 million was put into a federal transportation bill for Mankato’s Victory Drive extension project, they’re not saying.

And there's this:

Political possibilities

People who cynically think everything in Washington centers on politics could argue the inclusion of the Mankato project serves a political purpose for the Republican Party, which controls Congress. Gutknecht’s likely Democratic challenger next year is Mankato’s Tim Walz, who will now have a tougher time arguing that Gutknecht doesn’t deliver for his district.

The long-sought construction project will be under way in Walz’ home base as early as next summer. At the same time, Gutknecht has won comfortable victories in recent elections and probably isn’t overly concerned about 2006.

The article stresses, though, that no one in Minnesota's congressional delegation was able or willing to comment on how that money got there. Was the project a good one? From what we can tell, yes. Was there open discussion about its merit or how the money came to flow to Mankato? No.

Emmanuel continues:

The new Democratic Congress now requires that each earmark be fully described and its sponsor identified. Members of Congress who sponsor earmarks must certify that they have no personal financial interest in them. Any private entity that might benefit must be clearly reported. Each of these reforms is now mandatory, in stark contrast to previous practices. . . .

We pledged to clean up the abuses in the earmark process, and we kept that promise. I’ve been in politics long enough not to wait around for a pat on the back, but our reforms do not deserve a kick in the pants either. To ignore our reforms as if they never occurred and to criticize us for not ending a practice we never pledged to end is disingenuous. . . .

. . . I’ve voluntarily gone beyond the requirements of our reforms by posting on my Congressional Web site all the earmarks I’ve requested, not just those that have been approved. I’m gratified that a number of colleagues from both parties have followed that example.

We can't find Walz's list of earmark requests on his website, and have written the communication staff to see if it's posted.  However,  in June, Tim Walz did release his list of earmarks to the public and newspapers in the First widely disseminated that information. The Mankato Free Press published the list here.  As we noted in June, the Post Bulletin published the list, but now the PB article is stowed in the paper's subscription archives.

The Big Question noted that Walz was the only Minnesota legislator to release a list of his earmark requests.

We have found that some First District Republicans want to start whine-o-thons about the Congressman's earmarks. We respond by asking which ones they don't like: the one for the ailing Rapidan Dam, the ones for Highway 14, for a bridge on I90? The one for returning veterans education? The Lewis and Clark Water system?  These days especially, they're hard put to argue against those specific projects.

Emanuel concludes:

Past Congresses helped turn the people’s house into an auction house. The old earmark process empowered the special interests. Now, in the space of a few months, the new Democratic Congress has taken earmarks out of the shadows while cutting their cost by half. We have preserved Congress’s power of the purse and given our constituents, the news media and even our political opponents the most useful tool to guard against corruption: sunshine.

 

Step right up: Club for Growth shrieks, MNGOP echoes

On Saturday, we noted the Star Tribune being played by DC beltway talking points in Strib: Homage to the Club for Growth's script.  We'll review some points from Saturday in a bit.

The Club for Growth got pretty ticked off at Walz for listening to farmers in Minnesota rather than big buck-backed ideologues in DC.  We predicted they'd be loud and angry, and sure enough, right on cue, their carnies have pranced onto the stage. 

It's Fair time, the spin is on, and the Republican Party of Minnesota  and its bloggerific minions are dutifully echoing the conservative well-funded Beltway's ideologues in Minnesota. The Club for Growth and the Republican Party of Minnesota would like to treat Southern Minnesotans like marks at a side show.

The source of the money backing this PR war isn't the only thing the Club for Growth and its poodles at the MNGOP have to conceal behind the scenery in order to make this scenario play from Pipestone to Plainview. It's the items in the Club's report card and the nature of earmark reform itself.

The anti-pork benchmarks in the report card are amendments Republicans ideologues offered on the floor, moves intended to create the report card and similar political talking points. Now the Club for Growth denigrates the work that Congress is doing on real earmark reform and bids (very loudly) the audience to focus only on its banter as it shuffles the deck.  Think that deck might be stacked?  Hmm.

The Club for Growth would have you think that all earmarks are bad, without asking you to take at closer look at any of the facts of the matter. It's a basic tool of the propagandist/con artist.  But why would citizens would think staying ignorant is in their best interests?

So, let's take a calm look at the biggest money item on the report card, one which sends money to Minnesota and eight other states:

House Vote 813 - Bars funding of $6,371,000 for the wood utilization grant in Mississippi, North Carolina, Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Idaho, Tennessee, Arkansas and West Virginia. Amendment failed, 68-363.

Note that only 68 legislators voted against this "pork."  What was the funding for?

It's part of the  Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 (H.R. 3161), according a description to Mississippi Republican Congressman Chip Pickinger's web site:

• Wood Utilization - $6,371,000:  Mississippi State University and   universities in Oregon, North Carolina,  Minnesota, Michigan, Tennessee, Arkansas, and West Virginia share in these funds to research technologies to maintain America’s worldwide   timber industry competitiveness.

The OMB lists specifics here.  The University of Minnesota-St. Paul receives $249,000.

Let's turn to the floor debate for more details. In the Congressional Record ( Page H9637--H9639 , 110th Congress),  Amendment #12 sponsor Jeff Flake praises the country's timber industry but questions the money for the earmark:

I sincerely question why the Federal Government needs to involve itself in a program that educates students about the utility of  wood as a renewable resource.

Pretty slick, sport.  Flake is pretending that money to universities is just for educating students, while the appropriation is for research. America's land grant colleges have been a place for practical research in agriculture and  ever since their creation in the Morrill Act of 1862.  They're not some wild new pork project, but a long-standing tool for America's economic development.  Much of the research in the United States takes place at universities, which then transfer technology to industry.

Next:

What happened to the free market? What happened to common sense? I think we have had it out there for a while. After 1985, we have been doing this same earmark or this same program for the past several years, or it has been earmarked for the past several years. I would say it's time to reconsider the project.

Not a bad question.  So what's the project all about?  Several gentleman from both parties rose to explain.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, the wood utilization consortium is made up of 10 universities in 10 different States around the country with varying missions.

I am familiar with the program mainly because of the involvement of North Carolina State University. NC State's contribution to the consortium is focused on wood machining and tooling. The programs help develop innovative production methods and use stronger, longer-lasting tools which are allowing U.S. manufacturers to maintain domestic production and compete in the global economy.

   Such work is critical to support the U.S. furniture and lumber industries. North Carolina's furniture industry alone is estimated to contribute $10 billion to the economy.

   North Carolina State University's contribution to increased manufacturing efficiency and global competitiveness within this major industry represents only a small component of the wood utilization  program. Continued funding is a wise national investment.

   I urge defeat of the amendment.

   Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to my colleague from North Carolina, who represents the main campus of North Carolina State University (Mr. Etheridge).

So why fund a technology program that helps American furniture manufacturers?  Can't they do the research themselves?

Mr. ETHERIDGE. I thank my friend for yielding.

   Mr. Chairman, my friend from Arizona has already made a statement why this earmark ought to stay in here. It really is making a difference for the industry, and it's employing people. I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

   The funding for this wood utilization  grant helps fund the Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program, as you have just heard. Part of it is really on the campus of NC State University, a land grant university. It has been matched more than dollar for dollar, every Federal dollar by private dollar. [emphasis added]

   This is not a giveaway program but, rather, one that has been designed to work to make the Southeastern furniture industry more competitive, as you have heard, in the global economy. This research program investigates and solves problems related to manufacturing tools used in the wood machining and manufacturing operations.

    Other than Wood Machining and Tooling Research Program, there is no other Federal research program to support U.S. wood manufacturing and tooling companies who are competing with low-wage jobs on the other side of the world with other countries. It is only right to invest in the industries we have remaining in our rural parts of this country when outsourcing these industries overseas has hurt States all across America. [emphasis added].
 

Given America's high wages, we could race to be bottom and pay workers less. Yeah, that'll work. Another solution is to use our brainpower to develop cutting edge technology that keeps good jobs here. That's the sort of thing the Club for Growth would like you to think is wrong.

And there's more technology coming out of the project.  Government often partners with universities to solve problems.  Congressman Allen from Maine points out one problem solved by project dollars in his state:

At U-Maine, every dollar appropriated to the Center generates an additional $7 in economic output. The research has promoted important advances in fields as diverse and important as biofuels and advanced wood  composites.

  I want to highlight one program in particular that was born from this funding. The Modular Ballistic Protection System, developed at the U-Maine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, is a series of lightweight, strong-as-metap wood composite panels that are inserted into tents to protect our soldiers from mortars and other incoming fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. This lifesaving technology would not have been possible without the initial investment from the Wood Utilization funding . [emphasis added]

   I appreciate the gentleman's intent but I believe it is misguided. In offering these kinds of amendments, the gentleman has frequently asked: what is the federal interest?

   Well, in this case, it is clear. This is a project with national implications that helps our competitiveness, our industries, and our national defense. It is an investment that the federal government should be making so that America can lead the way in a variety of important R&D fields, create jobs, and in some cases, save American lives.

One man's pork, another man's shield against mortar rounds in Afghanistan. Now, why isn't the Club for Growth telling Southern Minnesotans that detail?  All those troops coming and going from Iraq?

The Club's short on a lot of details and don't want you to ask. Look beneath the fold for more.

The Hill: Beltway Republican talking points coming to a distributor near you

While our conservative brethren in Right Blogisota are spending a lot of time branding the current Congress as unpopular because it is Democratic, Tom Reynold (R-NY) the leader of the NRCC in 2006, told The Hill that the public blames both parties:

. . .[Reynolds] sees the distant shape of an anti-incumbent wave that has just as much risk for Republicans as Democrats.

“The current numbers are anti-incumbent. My Republican colleagues shouldn’t take too much comfort in these numbers. They’re mad at the current Congress, not just Democrats,” he said.

We know what the right will be saying this coming week, according to The Hill article:

Republican political operations are hoping to capitalize on those perceptions with a media blitz during the Independence Day break. They’re not putting any money into television time, but they’re developing a Web ad campaign and blasting talking points to Republican leaders to bring home to constituents and talk radio about the “do-nothing Congress.”

Hear it once, hear it a thousand times, and know that it came from within the Beltway from people who probably have to use a search engine to learn the names of the towns in Southern Minnesota.

In The Hill article, Walz uses his usual bluntness to assess the situation:

Freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) says he thinks Democrats failed to communicate well with the public on the issue of pork and earmarks. But he also sees cause for hope.

“The silver lining is that people expected a lot. On Nov. 8, I think people thought the troops would be flying home and these investigations will be in full swing.”   

Walz remains the only Minnesota representative who released a list of his earmarks.

He'll be meeting with his constituents during the Independence Day district work break. Four listening sessions are planned in Mankato, Kasson, Wabasha and LaCrescent on July 5 and 6. They are free and open to the public and the press. Walz knows his constituents expect a lot.

Walz knows Southern Minnesota from his many meetings, visits, and listening sessions since he was elected. He knows the district from his energetic campaigning last in 2005 and 2006, from his years as a football coach and a National Guard leader, when he trained men and women from across Southern Minnesota's small towns, from Courtland and St. Peter and New Ulm and beyond.

Are DC insiders' attacks the equal of a Farm Bill listening session in St. James, Minnesota, a veterans listening session in the Winona VFW, or the Saturday stops at grocery stores, food co-ops and farmers' markets?

Can talking points generated by Beltway Republicans compete? 

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: A blogger in the MN-06 compares two of Minnesota's three freshman representatives. Perhaps those who hear about a "do-nothing Congress" can ask, as the blogger does, which representative is doing nothing.  And that's just what each does in Washington, without counting work in the district on weekends and district work breaks.  [/end update]

Wednesday morning news digest: oversight and earmarks edition

In the House today:  meeting on internal VA contracting
Tim Walz sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee's subcommittee on investigations and oversight. Today, the subcommittee will be looking at Internal Contracting Oversight Deficiencies at 9 a.m. Central time. Those who want to listen in can find audio feed here.

In the district: Mobile office in Austin
Representative Walz's mobile office will visit Austin today:

Austin Municipal Building, 500 Fourth Ave. N.E., Austin. (507) 388-2149. 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Staff will meet with interested groups, take comments and answer questions.

The Big Question: Earmarks
The Big Question looks at the only Minnesota Pol to disclose his/her earmarks. Yep, it's Tim Walz. According to CNN, only 50 lawmakers nationwide have released their list of earmarks.  The Big Question guest blogger writes:

The network, styling the inquiry as a kind of test of the new Congress’s stated commitment to openness, said it asked all members of the House for their earmark requests and fewer than 100 have responded.

Rep. Tim Walz, first-term Democrat from Minnesota’s First District, released all of his 38 earmark requests

Strib: EFCA stalled in the Senate
Progress on the Employee Free Choice Act has been stymied in the U.S. Senate: Senate Republicans block union organizing bill. 

Dodge County Independent
A couple of headlines caught our attention.   After she saw pictures of soldiers using table legs as bats, an Army mother started collecting sports equipment to send to Iraq.  Learn how to help in Garage sale raises money to ship bats to Iraq.

The papers are filled with news of summer festivals, local beauty queens, and parades.  We were puzzled by the Beavis-flavored headline Cornhole tournament at Kasson Festival; our curious click to the story led us to learn that it's a form of beanbag.

CQPolitics: Rural America Appears Less Vivid Shade of Red Heading Into ‘08
We hicks kinda sorta knew this already out here on the wind-swept prairies, but now experts are telling us about it:

The possibility that rural America could be a battleground sector in the 2008 election was a major finding of a bipartisan poll sponsored by the Center for Rural Strategies and conducted recently by the Democratic polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner in consultation with the Republican media firm Greener and Hook.

New York Times: Kids these days
New Poll Finds That Young Americans Are Leaning Left, the NYTimes reports.  A sampling:

They have continued a long-term drift away from the Republican Party. And although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found.

More than half of Americans ages 17 to 29 — 54 percent — say they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008. They share with the public at large a negative view of President Bush, who has a 28 percent approval rating with this group, and of the Republican Party. They hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans.

Sleeping in Saturday news digest: earmarks edition

We're being pretty lazy today, sleeping in and dawdling.

The Mankato Free Press reports Walz releases earmarks and the Post Bulletin, Walz provides funding 'wish list' minus specific dollar amount. An interesting write up on the issue at The Back Story.  CQ Today adds more information.

Friday evening: Lake City soldier dies in Iraq and other news

Lake City, Minnesota is a small town in Wabasha County, in the extreme upper southeast part of Minnesota. Sad news today from Iraq for Lake City residents:  Tony Hebert, 20, a 2005 graduate of Lincoln High School in Lake City and a member of the Airborne, has died in Iraq. A high school teacher remembers in the MPR report:

"He always had a smile, he had a great attitude, he was a hard worker," [Jim] Heise recalled. "I think he went into the service, I think it was part, patriotism, also he wanted to challenge himself. He wanted to push himself. Obviously he was going into the Airborne; he was going to do that."

Heise believes this was his former student's second tour of duty. He says Hebert was a character straight out a Garrison Keillor story.

"I think he was composed of what was best from being from Minnesota. He had a quiet dignity to him. He was honest, he was too young to die in the sand, I'll tell you that. Way too young."

Heise says a lot of kids in Lake City have joined the service recently.

"There's a lot of small towns in America that are dealing with this," he said. "I knew we had so many kids in the service, it was a matter of statistical time that one was going to fall, and unfortunately fate took Tony".

Walz releases earmarks
We were away from home today meeting with some friends about a media project and so we haven't had time before now to post the list of earmarks Tim Walz's staff released today.  Here they are, as promised:

As Congress begins its yearly appropriations process, many Members of Congress are requesting funding for specific priority projects in their home districts.  These funding requests do not add funds to the federal budget; they set aside funds for a specific project that would otherwise be allocated to a federal agency. Today, in order to increase transparency in government, Congressman Tim Walz provided the following information on his FY2008 appropriation requests. 

"The projects I requested funding for are projects that are critical to the economy of southern Minnesota and to my constituents' quality of life," said Walz.

"I believe it is helpful for Members of Congress to be able to influence the federal budget process. Members of Congress are often in a position to know more about the projects that are important to their districts than an official in 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," said Walz.

"This year, for the first time, all Members of Congress will submit a formal statement to certify that neither they nor their family members have a financial interest in the projects they request.  Furthermore, every project that receives funding will be clearly identified with the member who requested it," said Walz. "I believe that these changes will lead to a more open and responsive government.  However, I am also taking the additional, unusual step of publicly releasing a list of the projects for which I requested federal funds."

"These projects were submitted to me by state and local officials in Minnesota, as well as community and non-profit organizations.  It is likely that only a few of these projects received funding, but I still believe they
are worthwhile projects and I am proud to give them my support" concluded Walz. 

Congressman Walz forwarded the following requests to the Appropriations Committee, in alphabetical order:

*    Center for Applied Biofuel Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Funds would support research into renewable energy. 
*    Center for Producer-Owned Energy; Crookston. The Center supports the creation of value-added renewable energy businesses that help farmers increase their profitability and promote rural development.
*    Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University, Mankato.  This funding would support on-going research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.
*    Dresbach Bridge . Preliminary planning support for the I-90 bridge at Dresbach, in Winona County.
*    Garage and Operation Facility construction.  Construction of a garage and transportation hub for Albert Lea's bus transit system.
*    Gunderson Lutheran's HeartHealth program in Winona. Funds will create a program to reduce life-threatening heart disease in women. 
*    Highway 8 in St. James. Funding for safety improvements.
*    Highway 14. Upgrades in Waseca, Blue Earth, and Nicollet Counties. 
*    Highway 52. Improvements in Olmsted County.
*    Highway 59 in Worthington. Road safety enhancements.
*    Highway 60. Expansion to four lanes in Nobles County.
*    Hormel Institute Cancer Research Expansion Project in Austin. This funding would expand the Hormel Institute's cancer research facility and support the renovation of an existing building and the construction of a new facility. 
*    Interstate 35. Guardrail installations in Owatonna.
*    Lewis and Clark Rural Water System. Centered in twenty communities in western Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, this pipeline provides treated water from the Missouri River to more than 300,000 people in three states.  This area is so desperately short of water that there are restrictions on constructing new small business and residences; the pipeline will be essential to the economic viability of these small towns.  Many of the communities involved have pre-paid the local share of the project, in order to keep inflationary costs at a minimum, and are only awaiting the federal share. 
*    Minnesota National Guard Field Maintenance Facility in Mankato. Funds would support the design of a maintenance facility to support the training of Minnesota's National Guard.
*    Mobile Pediatric Health Simulation Center. The funds would support the operation of a mobile pediatric lab to train doctors and nurses in greater Minnesota in pediatric emergency response. This program is headquartered in St. Paul but serves Minnesota's 1st Congressional District.
*    National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University.  The Center trains social workers, teachers, and health care professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse. 
*    Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota and Iowa. This project will support land acquisition to add acreage to the refuge.
*    Oak Avenue Reconstruction.  Project will to accommodate heavier traffic in Racine, located in Mower
County.
*    Olmsted County Safeguarding Children's Initiative in Rochester. Funds will support a program to prevent child abuse and neglect.
*    Park and Ride Facility construction in Rochester
*    Radium removal project in the Goodview Water System. Funding would construct two water filtration plants to comply with an EPA mandate.
*    Rapidan Dam near Mankato.  Funding for a study by the Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate options for the Rapidan Dam. 
*    Region 9 Funding will assist with assessment of public transit options in Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties. 
*    Road Sign Replacement Program in Houston and Watonwan Counties.
*    St. Elizabeth's Hospital Fresh Start Disease Prevention Program. Funds would support a program in Wabasha to help participants reduce their risk of heart disease. 
*    Sensor Technology Project for Senior Independent Living and Home Health. Located in Windom, the program would allow remote monitoring of elderly clients' health. 
*    Sheriffs Youth Program in Rochester.   Funding would support SYP's services for at-risk youth. 
*    Soybean genomics research at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. Funding for research to help increase protein levels in soybeans, which would make southern Minnesota's plentiful soybean crop more competitive internationally.
*    Statewide National Guard Reintegration program. This program would support a program to help federal, state, and local agencies provide well-coordinated assistance to Minnesota service members reintegrating to civilian life.
*    Trunk Highway 4. Pavement reconstruction in St. James. 
*    Trunk Highway 15/Johnson Street intersection in Fairmont. Funding would support a study on ways to control a hazardous intersection in Fairmont.
*    Trunk Highway 169. Reconstruction in Fairbault and Nicollet Counties.
*    Uniform Farm Management Program at the University of Minnesota, St.Paul . Funding for a project that helps farmers compare their costs of production and maximize their efficiencies of operation.
*    Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Funds would purchase a 108-acre tract of land along the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. 
*    Veterans Re-Entry Education Program in St. Paul.  Funds would help Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and three state agencies create programs to help returning veterans find employment and
educational opportunities.
*    Veterans' Van Transportation Program in Rochester.  Funds would support the operation of the county's van service to transport veterans from Olmsted County to the Minneapolis VA Clinic for medical care.
*    Watonwan County Emergency Services. Funds would support an upgrade of the county's emergency operations center and a facility for emergency management equipment. 
*    Winona State University Utility Tunnel Upgrade and Expansion Project

Randy Demmer's new office:  recycling Gutknecht  location and staffer
Polinaut reports that Randy Demmer has opened a campaign office in Rochester; it's upstairs from the Olmstead County GOP, in the same building where Gutknecht's congressional office and campaign office were located. A picture is available here.

The news release lists Wanda Mitchell as Demmer's campaign coordinator.  Mitchell formerly served as a staff member for Gil Gutknecht, according to this page recruiting Harvard students for internships in Gutknecht's Rochester office.  According to several web pages, she served as office manager and in-district scheduler. Photo here.

Friday news digest: the Colbert Bump and other media effects

Could the Colbert Bump help Harriet the eagle? The Rochester Post Bulletin reports that Wabasha bald eagle does the Capitol, Comedy Central. So she's learned to fly again, albeit on commercial airliners. First class or coach?

Congress adjourned early this morning.  DFL activists and Walz volunteers will be in the Rochesterfest Parade tonight.  Will the Congressman join them?

The PB's Austin calendar notes the mobile office stop in Austin next Wednesday.

A West Central Tribune report mentions the All Healthy Children Act, of which Walz is a co-sponsor.

The Huffington Post suggests Adding to the ranks of Iraq and Afghanistan Vets in Congress. Wlaz, who served in Italy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, is mentioned.

The Mankato Free Press editorial board criticizes some House Democratic leaders for attempting to back pedal on promises to disclose earmarks, but notes that Walz will be disclosing his list of earmarks today.

Given that he has been citing projects he's requested for the First for several weeks now, in press calls and other venues,  there should be no big surprises in the list.

Pesky College Students Alert: MN students against Trustless Trustee for those concerned about the pending appointment of the student representative for 4-yr MnSCU colleges.

And IDHA is back! With a post about the heart of the matter.

Americans United for Change Honors U.S. Rep. Tim Walz with 'Moving America Forward' Award

This press release just came our way:

Americans United for Change Honors U.S. Rep. Tim Walz with 'Moving America Forward' Award

Walz recognized for extraordinary leadership in passing meaningful legislation to raise the minimum wage, clean up the culture of corruption in Washington, and take better care of our nation's veterans and children

Click here to view the Award

Washington D.C. - The Board of Directors of Americans United for Chang  , a not-for-profit, non-partisan
501c4 issue advocacy best known for leading the fight to defeat President's plan to privatize Social Security, announced today that it has voted unanimously to honor U.S. Representative Tim Walz (D-MN-1) with its 'Moving America Forward' Award for his extraordinary leadership in Congress.  The board noted that Walz had shown "leadership and courage" in helping pass meaningful legislation to raise the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, provide the largest single increase to the veterans' health care system in its 77-year history, to clean up Washington through sweeping ethics reform, to fund health care for our nation's children and to provide overdue assistance to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 

On May 24th, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed FY07 Supplemental Appropriations legislation that included a significant boost to the minimum wage, long overdue Gulf Coast hurricane recovery assistance, and a significant increase in veterans' and children's health care benefits.  In
addition, that same week, the U.S. House passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which opens Washington to far-reaching ethics and lobbying reform.  Congressman Walz supported all these measures and provided critical leadership in getting them passed in the House of Representatives. 

Rep. Tim Walz has led the fight to pass meaningful legislation to

*        Increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years - a long overdue raise for working Americans and their families.

*        Provide long overdue assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

*        Boost to veterans' and troops health care and benefits programs by nearly $4.8 billion.

*        Establish comprehensive lobbying reform, including the disclosure of the bundling of campaign contributions by lobbyists; requiring improved disclosure of contributions to members' charities and entities; and establishing a public database of member travel and personal financial disclosure forms.

*        Provide $393 million for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

"The American public grew sourly pessimistic of our system of government after12 years of Republican leadership that embodied the clichéd notions of a 'do-nothing Congress' and a 'culture of corruption' in Washington," said Jeremy Funk, of Americans United for Change.  "Leadership that invited and
encouraged the kind of Jack Abramoff-style corruption that quickly became 'business as usual.'   Leadership that offered a lot big talk about supporting our troops, but then voted time and again to leave the VA Healthcare system in shambles for the soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Leadership that talked a big game about putting more money in the pockets of ordinary Americans, but then denied a livable wage to the people who needed it most while shelling out billions of dollars in tax breaks to the people who needed it least."

"Now, thanks to Representatives like Tim Walz, who is out front, pushing for a new direction in Washington, we're seeing real progress on all these critical domestic fronts.  Veterans are one step closer to getting the proper care they deserve when they come home.  After 10 years, working families living in borderline poverty are finally going to get a raise.  And a disgraceful era of power and influence being sold on the open market in the halls of Congress is finally coming to an end.  The record speaks for itself: Tim Walz is a strong voice that Minnesota's veterans and middle class families can count on to stand up for them." 

Americans United for Change is a not-for-profit, non-partisan 501c4 issue advocacy organization that has been on the front lines in the ongoing fight to advance the middle class agenda and to clean up the culture of corruption in Washington. In January 2006, Americans United ran the first national ad on political
corruption ( Click here to view Americans United ad 'Time') and the Jack Abramoff scandal calling for the lobbying and congressional reforms included in the Honest Leadership Act.  In January 2007, Americans United spearheaded a massive, national campaign effort called Change America Now! that includes nearly 40 organizations in 31 states working together to pass the economic elements of House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi's ' 100 Hour' legislative agenda, including raising the minimum wage.

Americans United for Change Moving America Forward' Award

Presented to Congressman Tim Walz for his extraordinary leadership in the 110th Congress that is Moving America Forward

Congressman Tim Walz is Recognized for Providing Crucial Leadership in Passing Legislation to:

Raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour -- giving nearly 13 million American workers and their families their first raise in nearly a decade.

Provide long overdue assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Boost troops' and veterans' health care and benefits programs by nearly $5 billion -- the single largest increase to the veterans' health care system in its 77-year history.

Provide nearly $400 million for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a program that provides insurance to millions of children from low-income families.

Establish comprehensive lobbying and ethics reform to end the culture of corruption in Washington.

  Americans United for Change Presents the Moving America Forward Award to Dedicated Public Servants who show extraordinary courage and leadership in promoting and supporting public polices that put people and families first and who do so with honor and distinction.  Congressman Tim Walz is such a public servant deserving of this honor.