Marty's Follies

I see Marty Seifert, is back at it again. The House Minority Leader is still throwing a temper tantrum over the transportation bill that was passed.

Marty had initially wanted to run ads filmed at fuel pump TV monitors at gas stations, But Holiday Gas Stations refused to run any political ads from those monitors. But that is not stopping Rep Seifert from wanting to blame the Democrats in the State Capitol for higher gas prices. Mr. Seifert goes on to say

You pay, they pump. Who's to blame for higher gas prices? It's the Democrats in
the State Capitol

Sorry Marty, I'm not buying it.

With Big Oil bringing in 123 billion in record profits last year. I don't think the 2 cents increase will make that much of a difference considering that big oil has raised the price of gas by 51 cents since the bill was passed in February.

In a story on MPR Freshman Rep. Julie Bunn, DFL-Lake Elmo said she understands that some of her constituents may be concerned about higher fuel prices, but she said the gas tax increase will be dedicated to road and bridge construction projects throughout the state. She said her constituents will benefit from accelerated projects like an added lane on I-494, the reconstruction of the Hastings Bridge and other projects through the added funding.

"We are already seeing the benefits for our area of having broken this logjam
and moving us forward on adequately funding transportation in our state," said Dunn.

Rep Robin Brown stated in a press release that:

Freeborn County will receive an additional $10 million over the next ten
years; Mower County will receive an additional $12.3 million. The city of Albert
Lea will receive just over $2 million. This new funding will not only go a long
way toward fixing area roads and bridges, it will also offer relief for property
owners who have been picking up the tab

Other House DFL staffers said it's unfair for Republicans to blame high gas prices on the recently passed gas tax increase. They say the price of a gallon of gas was $2.96 when the transportation bill passed in February. Now, the price of gas is $3.49 a gallon. They said the gas tax increased two cents a gallon on April first, just a small portion of the jump in the price of gas.

One economist agrees with that assessment.

"The day to day politics have got nothing to do with the price of oil being
at $3 or $3.40," said Jerry Fruin with the University of Minnesota's Department
of Applied Economics.
Fruin said global factors are more at play with the
rising costs. He said China and India's increased demand for oil and a slowdown
in oil production are the main reasons for high gas prices.

"We've seen unprecedented demand and a failure to increase supply to
keep up with it," Fruin said.

Remember this legislation will help stimulate the economy by creating over 30 thousand badly needed jobs over the next five years. Better roads, safer bridges and more jobs sound like the right thing to do in these hard economic times.

Minnesota Healthcare Access Fund

While checking my e-mail today I thought this was interesting. Minnesota 20/20 is conducting a poll on the Health Care Access fund.

There is the question:

Minnesota's Health Care Access fund (generated by a care providers tax)
expands affordable coverage for uninsured Minnesotans whenever the fund has a
surplus. Given the state budget deficit, there is debate on how to use the
current surplus.

Here are the choices

1. Maintain current service levels in order to plug the budget
deficit

2. Use the health care access fund surplus as it was intended and
expand affordable coverage to uninsured Minnesotans

If you would like to take part in this poll Click Here.

1st District DFL Convention

It was an exciting day here Saturday in Albert Lea with the unanimous endorsement of Rep Tim Walz for a second term in the United States House of Representatives.

In a press release, State DFL Chair Brian Melendez Says.

“A veteran, a teacher and a family man, Tim Walz is a terrific representative for the people of
southern Minnesota. With years of service to community, state and country, he
knows what it’s like to live the values of responsibility, accountability and
love of country while meeting the challenges of everyday life.
“Walz also knows how to
fight for southern Minnesota, which his extraordinary work on behalf of the
First District in just the last 15 months demonstrates. He has become a national
leader on behalf of our veterans, is working hard to build stronger economy that
supports middle-class prosperity, and is a relentless watchdog for fiscal
responsibility.
“Tim Walz’s independent Minnesota values, hard work and
exemplary service are why southern Minnesotans can do no better than to put him
back to work serving them for another two years. The DFL Party will do its part
to make sure that Walz returns to the job of fighting for Minnesota
first.”

Our friends at the Bluestem Prairie has this news release from First District Chair Lori Sellner

Today, the 1st Congressional District DFL party endorsed Congressman Tim Walz for re-election to
the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Walz was first elected in 2006 and is up for
re-election in 2008.
"Tim Walz is a breath of fresh air in Minnesota
politics," said 1st CD DFL Chair Lori Sellner. "He is one of our neighbors; a local
teacher and veteran who is working to change Washington. He is fighting for
southern Minnesotans everyday. He is fighting for affordable healthcare and a strong
economy. He is fighting to honor America's contract with the men and women who
have risked life and limb in defense of their country. The 1st CD DFL is excited to re-elect
Tim Walz in
2008!"
"I am grateful for the endorsement of the 1st Congressional District DFL," said
Congressman Walz.
"More and more people are joining my grassroots campaign because of the change
we are making in Washington. As a teacher and a veteran, I know the struggles of
middle class families firsthand and I am fighting to reduce the cost of healthcare and strengthen
our economy. Together, we will build the largest grassroots campaign in the
history of southern Minnesota and take our message directly to the people of the
1st Congressional District."

KaalTV6 and the Albert Lea Tibune also has stories.

Rep. Walz 's wife Gwen gave a great introduction of the Congressman and Congressman Walz gave a rousing speech in accepting the nomination.

Erik Who?

Percentage of Nonelderly Americans Without Health Insurance Coverage, 1987-2006

Erik Larsen has decided to run against Rep Robin Brown if he receives the GOP endorsement .Larson said in the Albert Lea Tribune that “My enemy is not Robin Brown, my enemy is the policies and the politics. So his enemy is the policies and the politics. Sounds like he is getting into the wrong business

Regarding health care Mr Larsen said he does not believe that universal health care — a single-payer government-run health care — is the answer he goes on to state "In the United States everyone has access to health care"

Oh really, according to Cover the Uninsured website

Forty-seven million Americans, including more than
9 million children, are living without health care coverage

the website goes on to state

The problem of the uninsured is continuing to
grow. The federal government estimates that 47 million individuals lacked
health insurance coverage of any kind during 2006. Other research shows that
tens of millions more Americans go without health coverage for shorter
periods of time.

Recent Census Bureau data demonstrate that the
problem of the uninsured continued in 2006. According to figures released in
August 2007,


1. 47 million people -- 15.8 percent of the total U.S.
population -- were uninsured in 2006, up slightly from 15.3 percent in the
previous year.

2. The percentage of the non-elderly population that is
uninsured has climbed steadily from 15.9 percent in 1994 to 17.9 percent in 2006
(with a slight dip of no more than one percentage point around the turn of the
century)

Did you also know that

1. Two thirds of the uninsured are low income -
and eight in ten come from families with full or part time workers.

2. Uninsured workers are more likely to work for
small firms such as agriculture, construction and services were employers do not offer affordable coverage if any coverage at all.


It looks like the Freeborn county Republicans new candidate is out of touch.

Levy Limits: A Phony Solution

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is at it again. the Governor is proposing a cap on county and city property taxes instead referred to it as "levy limits"-in a way that will guarantee more county and city budget cuts in the future. So what will happen If the governor has his way? Well we will see reduced police protection, closed libraries, and many more cuts in public services. Minnesota 20/20 has some interesting and factual information

Minnesota 20/20 also has a poll going.

As we've reported before, Minnesota's property taxes have increased by more
than 70 percent in the last six years. This is something that all
Minnesotans agree is a problem that requires a solution.

Click Here to take the poll

Veteran Concerns

We in the 1st district should be proud to have a congressman who works as hard as Rep Tim Walz does today Kttc and the Mpls Star Tribune have stories

Minn. veterans tell House Speaker Pelosi that too many vets fall through cracks in the system

MINNEAPOLIS - Too many Iraq War veterans are slipping through the cracks and aren't getting the benefits they've earned, veterans told U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday.
At a panel discussion hosted by U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., Pelosi was told that the Minnesota National Guard has done an excellent job of making sure its troops coming home from Iraq get all the health and education benefits they're entitled to.
But participants said too many veterans from the active duty military services don't get those benefits because they return home alone, and nobody makes sure they check the box on their discharge paperwork saying that they want the information to go to the veterans services offices in their home states.
Luke Weinandt of Mankato said he could have been one of those who fell through the cracks.
"I pretty much stayed in my father-in-law's basement for a few months" after getting out of the Army, he said, having no idea what kind of help was out there.
Weinandt told Pelosi he eventually found out and went back to school, but had to take out student loans to pay his tuition because his GI Bill educational benefit payments kept coming late. Some of his fellow veterans just dropped out because the money didn't come on time, he said.
Michael McLaughlin of Mankato, who served with the Marines in Iraq, told Pelosi he was fortunate that he had a father who was a Vietnam veteran and knew the system.
"A lot of our active duty members are left out," McLaughlin said has he sat next to his father, Tom McLaughlin, who lost a leg in Vietnam. "... Ever since I got in the system it's been world class."
Tom McLaughlin, who's now a Blue Earth County commissioner, choked up a little as he told Pelosi that he never imagined 40 years ago that he'd have a son who would also be a combat veteran.
The elder McLaughlin described how he was fortunate to have a high tech, computerized artificial leg, and held up the small battery that powers it. He said the new leg is a big improvement from the prosthetics of years past.
"We need to see that every veteran who suffers this type of injury, as well as other types of injuries that are severe and life-affecting, have this type of technology," he said.
But he added that he had had problems getting benefits, too. While the Department of Veterans Affairs paid in 1984 to remodel his bathroom with handrails so he could get in and out of the tub, he said the VA refused when he moved again in 2003, telling him he was entitled to that benefit only once.
"Oh, my," Pelosi said, as McLaughlin went on to explain that he had to spend $4,000 in his own money to get the work done.
McLaughlin said that needs to change because chances are that a 20- or 21-year-old amputee veteran probably won't stay in the same house for his or her whole life.
"It's shocking to hear all these years later that you only get that benefit once," Pelosi said.
Ken Delano, of Albert Lea, a former military police officer who was injured on duty, was one of several participants who praised the quality of care they get at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center — once they get there.
But Delano told Pelosi he has to drive 100 miles one way, and the milage reimbursement rate was just recently raised to 28.5 cents per mile. He said the VA needs to add more community-based outpatient medical services so that veterans can get their routine care close to home, saving the long trips to Minneapolis for more serious issues.
The California Democrat said she helped last year to get the milage rate raised after it sat at 11 cents for many years. She said she's working to increase that to the 48.5 cents, the standard set by the Internal Revenue Service.
After touring the VA hospital and meeting some patients and their families, Pelosi told reporters that veterans deserve futures worthy of their sacrifices.
"We will take this message back to Washington and we will act upon it,"

Property tax Relief

Under the Pawlenty Administration local property taxes have went through the roof but now I see that the House democrats have come up with a plan for property tax relief for most Minnesotans here is the story.

House Democrats revive plan for property tax relief

Minnesota Public Radio April 21, 2008

St. Paul, Minn. — Democrats in the Minnesota House have unveiled a plan to provide property tax relief to most homeowners. The revenue-neutral proposal would tie property taxes to homeowners' incomes. That money would be funneled through a new homestead credit refund to those whose property tax burdens are heavier based on their income. Marquart says about 95 percent of homeowners would qualify, but many high-income Minnesotans would be ineligible for a property tax refund. Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth, says property taxpayers who've been feeling the most pain would get the most relief, beginning in 2009. Marquart says the state's budget deficit is no reason to wait on a property tax relief plan. "It's more important than ever in this type of down economic times that we look at a system like this based on an ability to pay, and target those homeowners who need it the most," said Marquart. Since no additional revenue is needed, Marquart says he thinks the plan has a good chance of passing yet this session. The House Taxes Committee will hold hearings on the plan in the coming weeks.

Forum Communications also has a story. We will keep an eye on this bill through the end of the session.