Paulson-Klobuchar introduce legislation
aimed at stopping metal thefts

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen (R-MN) announced that they have introduced bipartisan federal legislation to stem the growing endemic of metal thefts. Their bill would deter thieves from a lucrative practice of stealing high-priced metal from public and private infrastructure. It was introduced in the Senate by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Paulsen introduced the legislation with Representatives Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Lee Terry (R-NE).

The Secondary Metal Theft Prevention Act of 2009 is aimed at thieves who steal metal from a variety of vulnerable targets and sell it as a scrap for a quick profit. According to an unclassified September 2008 FBI report, “Organized groups of drug addicts, gang members and metal thefts are conducting large scale thefts from electric utilities, warehouses, foreclosed and vacant properties, and oil well sites for tens of thousands of dollars in illicit proceeds” every month.

Congressman Kline cosponsored legislation to freeze congressional salaries by halting the scheduled cost-of-living pay increase for 2010. He's joined by DFLers Rep. Tim Walz from District 1 and Minnesota 7th District Rep. Collin Peterson in cosponsoring in the legislation.

Klobuchar Announces Minnesota to Receive more than $21 Million for Energy Efficiency Projects

Klobuchar says funds will create jobs and bring down energy costs

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that Minnesota will receive more than $21 million in funding for energy efficiency projects as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects will create jobs while making residential and commercial buildings more energy efficient and promoting energy-saving technologies.

“The clean energy economy holds enormous potential for Minnesota,” said Klobuchar. “By investing in energy efficiency projects we can create jobs and, at a time when millions of families are struggling to make ends meet, these projects will help cut energy costs for families.”

According to the Department of Energy, the funds will be used to improve energy efficiency in residential, commercial and government buildings. Grants will be awarded to small, medium, and large businesses to help provide for the design, financing and installation of various energy efficiency improvements and retrofits. Grants will also be administered to utilities to develop programs to promote energy efficiency with customers, such as low-interest loans and grants.

The funding comes from the State Energy Program (SEP), a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Activities eligible under the program include energy audits, building retrofits, education and training efforts, transportation programs to increase the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, and new financing mechanisms to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.

Rep. John Kline (CD2) was chosen by his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to be the ranking member of the Education and Labor Committee. Selected above other senior Republicans, the position recognizes him as a leader on this 50-member committee.

Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that Minnesota will receive $2,175,000 to improve the infrastructure of the Minneapolis and St. Cloud’s VA Medical Centers as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds will make the medical centers more energy efficient. The funds are being disbursed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Minneapolis VA Medical Center will receive $1,400,00 and the St. Cloud VA Medical Center will receive $775,000.

Klobuchar-Franken vote against more F-22s

MinnPost reports: "Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken voted today to strike funding from the defense budget that would have expanded the F-22 fighter program... eliminated $1.75 billion for an additional seven F-22s."

For more information, go to http://www.minnpost.com/cynthiadizikes/2009/07/21/10393/klobuchar_franke...

News from Rep. John Kline

The Club for Growth issued their annual “RePork Card” recently, and I was pleased to be among an elite group of members of Congress who received a 100 percent score for “saving taxpayer dollars and limiting spending to true national priorities.” The average score for Republicans was 57 percent.

“When given an opportunity to save taxpayer dollars and to limit spending to true national priorities, most members of Congress took a pass. The RePORK Card will help taxpayers measure the dedication of their representatives to changing the culture of corruption that surrounds pork-barrel spending.” – Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating

As many of you know, it has been one year since I launched the “Stop the Pork” campaign to encourage Americans to show Congress their broad disdain for wasteful spending and egregious earmarks. To intensify our fight, I have launched “Stop the Pork 2.0,” a new website where you, your friends, family, and all Americans can join me in declaring independence from pork.

Klobuchar Seeks Nationwide Ban on “Texting while Driving”

Research Shows That Drivers Who Send Texts Are 23 Times More Likely To Get into an Accident

MINNEAPOLIS – Surrounded by safe driving advocates, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced her support Saturday for federal legislation that would establish a nationwide ban on “texting while driving.”

“No text message is so urgent or important that it’s worth dying for,” Klobuchar said. “Texting while driving is not safe. We need drivers to stay alert and keep their eyes on the road, both for their own safety and the safety of all of us.”

Klobuchar is cosponsoring the “Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act” (ALERT Drivers Act). It would require states to pass laws that ban the writing, reading and sending of text or email messages while operating a motor vehicle. The legislation would give states two years to comply or otherwise risk losing 25 percent of their federal highway funding.

Klobuchar serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which will consider the legislation before it goes to the full Senate.

Since August 1, 2008, Minnesota has had a state law banning anyone from texting on a cell phone or other personal electronic device while operating a motor vehicle, whether the vehicle is in motion or part of traffic. However, 32 states have no laws that restrict texting while driving – including Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Klobuchar pointed to a recent national research study which found that drivers are 23 times more likely to get into an accident when texting while driving. The researchers observed that, in the moments before a crash or near-crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their electronic devices. At normal highway speeds, that is enough time to cover more than the full length of a football field.

Klobuchar also noted a national survey this year by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which found that 87 percent of the public considers texting while driving to be a “very serious threat” to their safety. The public fears drivers who are texting nearly as much as they fear drivers who are drunk.

“About 20 to 30 percent of all drivers admit to texting,” said Klobuchar. “For younger drivers, the rate is much higher, 50 percent or more. Texting while driving is a very serious public safety concern. It’s a national problem, and it deserves a national response.”

Among those joining Klobuchar for the announcement were troopers from the Minnesota State Patrol and students from the Anoka High School chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions).

Also participating were Cheri Marti, Director, Office of Traffic Safety, Minnesota Department of Public Safety; Sharon Gehrman Driscoll and Jon Cummings, Minnesotans for Safe Driving; Lynne Goughler, MADD-Minnesota (Mothers Against Drunk Driving); and Nancy Clark, President-Great Plains Region for Verizon Wireless, the only major wireless service provider to endorse a national ban on texting while driving.

From Rep. John Kline

Congress should put principles above partisanship, allow Gen. McChrystal to testify

General Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, recently rejected a call to scale down troops and reasserted the need for a strategy that will lead to victory in Afghanistan. That wasn’t good enough for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who talked repeatedly on the campaign trail about Afghanistan as the “real central front” in the war on terror.

Consider Pelosi’s comments on Sept. 5, 2006: “Fighting the wrong war in Iraq has not ended the threat posed by al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies in Afghanistan, not has it brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to justice" (Pelosi statement, Sept. 5, 2006).

After making such comments, it would be logical to assume Pelosi would be General McChrystal’s strongest ally. However, instead Pelosi is backpedaling on Afghanistan amidst increasing criticism from the radical left: “I’ve also made it clear it’s a very difficult vote to get from the members,” she added. “Their constituents don’t like an escalated war in Afghanistan. They’d like to see a different approach. But let’s see what the president has to say” (Glenn Thrush, “Pelosi skeptical about Afghan surge, McChrystal,” Politico, Oct.5, 2009).

Rather than listen to a four-star general’s assessments on Afghanistan, Speaker Pelosi continues to micromanage our country’s military policy, and it is disappointing that she is putting petty partisan politics ahead of our national security. It is imperative that General McChrystal be provided the opportunity to testify before Congress and share his assessment on moving forward in Afghanistan.

Concerned About the ‘Czardom’ in the White House

At a town hall meeting I hosted last month, a constituent raised concerns about the growing number of czars in the Obama administration. According to reports, there are 32 czars in the White House with a 33rd czar included in the Democrats’ proposed government takeover of health care (H.R. 3200). Accordingly, I cosponsored legislation introduced by Jack Kingston that will cut funding for czars unless the U.S. Senate approves them. You can view a video titled, “Czarist Amerika,” by clicking here.

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken was accused by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona of inappropriate behavior on Thursday. Franken was presiding of the U.S. Senate and refused to grant 30 seconds of time to Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut for Lieberman to discuss the amendments he plans to attach to the health care bill. For more information, read the full report at http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/congress/79561122.html?elr=...

Taking Responsibility For Our Destiny

Dear Friends,

The events of the past few weeks have created a palpable energy in Washington. In the wake of the Massachusetts election, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are beginning to sense a change on the horizon. As I continue to hear from my constituents on issues from health care to spending to energy taxes, the message from Waconia to Waterville is remarkably similar: Keep us safe, but keep your distance.

Despite the clarity of the message coming from the American people, however, the Democrat majority in Congress refuses to listen. Just one week ago Speaker Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues forced through the House a $1.9 trillion increase in the debt limit. I don’t know whether they are hard of hearing or completely out of touch with their constituents, but I haven’t heard anyone asking for the largest one-time increase in the debt limit in history.

As we saw in Massachusetts, that type of tone deaf leadership is a recipe for disaster. The American people will not tolerate being taken for granted. They are making their voices heard. The time is ripe for change, and I have an idea what sort of change that should be.

Unlike my Democrat counterparts, I have been listening to my constituents. At the heart of it all, they long for their government to get back to basics – to reclaim the promises of our founding fathers. To restore America to what it can – and should – be.
The federal government should not be in the car business. We should not be in the banking business. Above all, we should not be in the business of imposing our whims and desires on the men and women we were elected to represent.

Article I of the Constitution lays out exactly 18 powers given to the U.S. Congress – among them: “… to coin money, declare war, regulate commerce with foreign nations, and establish post offices.”
Nowhere in the Constitution does it grant Congress the authority to meddle in the lives of Americans. Not once does it prescribe stepping between patients and their doctors. Never does it authorize denying small businesses and those who have worked hard to earn an honest living a devastating share of their earnings. Contrary to the views of the Democrats in Congress, no one knows better than you how your money should be spent.

This presumptive behavior simply isn’t right. It is time for the American people to reclaim the rights they have been guaranteed – the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And how do you do that? You exercise your constitutional right to representation by voting, and the fundamentals of our democratic process began in Minnesota last week during Caucus Night. It continues in the coming weeks at local BPOU Conventions, then the 2nd District Convention March 20 in Red Wing, and the State Republican Convention April 29-May 1 in Minneapolis.

At the end of the day, we all must take responsibility for our own destiny – and the destiny of our great nation.

Sincerely,

John Kline

From Rep. John Kline

Summit of All Fears:
Another Government Takeover of Health Care

Dear Friends,

When Republican Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate by the people of Massachusetts, conventional wisdom suggested the White House and Congressional Democrats would accept that Americans clearly repudiated their reckless agenda, which included a government takeover of health care orchestrated behind closed doors and in back rooms. More than a month has passed since that historic night in Massachusetts, and to borrow a quote from my personal hero, President Ronald Reagan: There they go again.

President Obama has arrogantly ignored the wishes of the American people by again working behind closed doors to introduce yet another government takeover of health care. Americans will not accept a bill that raises taxes, levies job-killing mandates, puts Washington bureaucrats between you and your doctor, funds abortions, and makes huge cuts to Medicare. Yet that is what we continue to see from the White House.

Tomorrow, I am joining a select group of Congressional leaders to attend the White House health care summit. While I was hoping this would be a genuine attempt to hit the reset button and start from scratch with health care reform we can all support, it appears the President and Congressional Democrats have already predetermined the outcome and are seeking nothing more than political theater as they revive policies similar to those the American people have already rejected.

Yesterday on Facebook, I asked what pillars of health care you think should be included in any reform. I was pleased to see that many of your ideas are the very same principles Republicans have included in their health care reform proposals. Some of your responses are below:
• “Tort Reform.”
• “Portable private ‘family’ plans will raise competition and lower prices.”
• “[Get] government out of it and privatization promoted with overhaul of regulatory oversight. Health savings accounts and the like and, yes(!) portability.”
• “Tort Reform!”
• “Not allowing for exclusion of pre-existing conditions (that is after all what you actually need coverage for). Affordable insurance for self-employed individuals and family.
• “Increase competition by letting people buy insurance across state lines... create co-ops so individuals can pool their risk and pay lower premiums... tort reform... health savings accounts.”
• “Tort reform, allowing purchases of insurance across state line, insuring pre-existing conditions for a limited time (to allow priming the pump) or if there was previous insurance (to allow for switching companies).”
• “Lawsuit limits!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
• “Tort reform would bring premium prices down a lot.”

In a meeting with House Republicans yesterday, Leader John Boehner said the President has basically crippled the summit by coming in with a rerun of the same failed bill that couldn’t pass the House or Senate. “We shouldn’t let the White House have a six-hour taxpayer-funded infomercial on Obamacare,” Boehner said. “We need to show up. We need to crash the party.”

Someone needs to protect the will of the American people and I look forward to joining Republican leaders in doing just that Thursday at the White House.

Sincerely,

John Kline