Bachmann and Kline: You’ve Got to Be Kidding

11/14/2007

Second, Sixth District Representatives Toe Party Line, Vote Against Funding for I-35W Bridge Reconstruction, Northstar Commuter Rail


St. Paul, MN (November 14, 2007) Representatives Michele Bachmann and John Kline today voted against $195 million in funding for reconstruction of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis and $55 million for building the Northstar commuter-rail project.

“We’ve gotten pretty used to Michele Bachmann and John Kline putting President Bush and special interests ahead of our state’s most urgent needs, but this vote goes beyond ridiculous — it’s callous,” said Brian Melendez, Minnesota DFL chair. “After all the lip service they’ve given to those projects, including the Northstar rail line in Bachmann’s own district, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“Their mindless, lock-step partisanship and blind loyalty to a failed president is breathtaking,” Melendez continued. “There’s no other way to put this: Michele Bachmann’s and John Kline’s hypocrisy is an embarrassment to Minnesota.”

Bachmann and Kline: Will They Ever Stand Up for Minnesota?

Bachmann, Kline Vote Against Funds for I-35W Bridge Reconstruction, Northstar Commuter Rail. DFL Representatives Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz, along with Republican Representative Jim Ramstad, voted for the bill. DFL Representative and Transportation Committee Chair James Oberstar is recovering from surgery and did not vote. The bill passed the House by a vote of 270-147, with 45 Republicans voting for it and no Democrats voting against it. [Vote #1102, 11/14/07]

Transportation/HUD Bill Included 35W Bridge, Northstar Funding. The appropriations bill for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (H.R. 3074) included $195 million in federal funding for reconstructing the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, as well as $55 million in federal funding for the final, construction phase of the Northstar commuter-rail project that runs through the Sixth District that Bachmann represents. [St. Cloud Times, 11/14/07; Office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar Press Release, 11/13/07]