My First Six Months Serving Minnesota

07/10/2007

Dear friends,

I hope you and your family had a great Fourth of July week. For us, the holiday week meant seven Iron Range parades, capped off by the Chisholm all-class reunion torchlight parade, followed by a series of farm meetings with Representative Collin Peterson, and visits to International Falls, Bagley, Bemidji, Park Rapids and Wadena.

Among the highlights: Being the first U.S. Senator (at least in the mayor's memory) to hold a town meeting in Williams, Minnesota (population 210); seeing firsthand the innovative energy projects initiated by Minnesota farmers, businesses and local governments; and visiting the "Veterans on the Lake" cabins in Ely set up for disabled veterans.

For anyone who needs open air, big vistas, and a sense of endless possibilities, take a drive from International Falls to Hallock on a beautiful sunny day in July. If you are as lucky as we were, you'll see acres of lilac-colored flax in bloom at just the right time, alternating with the yellow of canola fields.

My best memory of the trip was that drive and seeing Abigail (now 12 and getting too tall) munching on a strawberry frosted pop tart in the backseat, her nose in a book, oblivious to the blackberries and cell phones going off around her.

This trip marked the moment in time when I found out that my daughter's shoe size was the same as mine, leading to all kinds of "Can I just wear them for a day" opportunities and the realization that my life will just never be the same.

Can't she just stay that kid in the backseat with a pop tart with the fields of purple stretched out on either side? Well, you know the answer, and as parents we try to keep those happy snapshots in our heads forever as we move on and brace for change....which leads me to my return to Washington today!

Change in Washington

In this last election, people across this country voted for change. From Montana to Ohio to Virginia they wanted to get rid of the corruption, put the people first in Washington and change course in Iraq. For many of us, change in Washington takes a lot more time than we'd like, but the energy is there and the wind is at our back.

Here's how I see it:

My number one priority in Washington was ethics reform. Until we change the way Congress does business, we'll never change the agenda. In our first month, led by our Senate freshman class, we passed the most sweeping ethics legislation since Watergate. The House now has a bill and I have every reason to believe we will have new ethics legislation signed into law this year.

We've seen an increased focus on accountability and getting rid of government corruption...from the hearings on cost overruns with private contractors in Iraq to the continued investigation of the firings of U.S. Attorneys. I was one of the first Senators to call for the resignation of Alberto Gonzales. As a former prosecutor, I am sickened by this administration's abuse of our justice system.

I was proud to be part of the bipartisan group that worked out the language leading to an energy bill that finally contained requirements for higher gas mileage standards. Those standards haven't been increased since I was in junior high! This time the people won out and the scare tactics didn't work.

At its heart, getting more fuel-efficient cars and trucks is better for our pocketbooks, better for our environment, and better for our national security. We should be investing in the workers of the Midwest, not the oil cartels of the Mideast.

We passed the stem cell research bill, only to see it vetoed by the President...we are now just one vote short in the Senate of overriding a presidential veto on stem cell research.

We also gave minimum wage workers a raise for the first time in ten years; passed the 9/11 Commission recommendations; voted for the America Competes Act with new education and technology initiatives; and showed the Republicans how to put together a fiscally responsible budget by including pay-as-you-go rules long abandoned by the past Congress but now resurrected with our new leadership.

Challenges Ahead

As County Attorney, I was used to making a decision and that was the end of it. Washington has all kinds of booby-traps to slow down decision-making and even bring it to a standstill: Presidential vetoes, 60-vote margins, filibusters and all kinds of arcane rules that you don't even want to know about.

But telling moms of kids injured in Iraq that we need 60 votes to pass a bill to bring our troops home -- or that until recently we really only had 49 sure votes for change -- just doesn't cut it when your kid is lying in a hospital bed.

This week we will vote again on Iraq. I believe that we should start bringing our combat troops home in a responsible manner, with the deadline of next spring -- and I already voted for the Feingold/Reid amendment which would do just that. We will renew debate on that amendment and others. I am encouraged by the recent statements of Senator Lugar and other moderate Republicans who are now pushing for a change of course.

My trip to Iraq in March only cemented my view that we need to change course. Everywhere I went I met brave members of Minnesota's National Guard and Reserves who didn't complain about their tour extensions, didn't complain about the heat. They only asked me to do one thing: to call their moms and dads and wives and husbands when I got home and tell them they were okay. The best thing we can do for our troops is not only to give them the benefits they deserve, but also to get this policy right.

In addition to Iraq, there are other major challenges ahead: We must take on the drug companies again to push for price negotiation under Medicare Part D. We must finish the unfinished part of the energy bill -- taking back the tax giveaways to the big oil companies and investing in homegrown energy.

As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee I am pushing for a strong bill to address climate change. The "carbon counter" bill I introduced got a lot of national attention and a number of Democratic and Republicans co-sponsors. While a key Senate opponent of climate change legislation blocked the bill from being considered as part of the energy bill, I have every reason to believe it will pass our Environment Committee and go back to the floor.

Other challenges for the next few months: Senator Durbin and I are tackling the critical issue of unsafe toys from China ... Representative Ramstad and I will not rest until the Pool Safety Act is passed ... there are good things ahead for Paul Wellstone's mental health parity bill ... and I will continue to work on the all-important issue of elder care. As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I am also working hard to pass a strong Farm Bill this year. You will hear more about these and other issues in future e-mails.

I return to Washington re-energized by my week at home. We have visited 62 of Minnesota's 87 counties, and we are well on our way to completing this year's journey of all counties by early fall.

Thank you for your friendship and generous support. We have accomplished much and have much left to do. If you could spare a contribution it would help to pay off a few remaining campaign bills and help me to begin the work of helping other candidates in critical races next year. You can contribute on-line at http://www.amyklobuchar.com.

Thanks and have a wonderful summer.


Amy Klobuchar