Political Party

Franken to meet with Rochester students tomorrow

State Sen. Al Franken will be in Rochester Friday afternoon visiting with students at the University of Minnesota Rochester.

Franken will meet with the university's Chancellor Stephen Lehmkuhle and students to discuss ways to make college more affordable for students. This is part of his "Making College Affordable" tour of state campuses.

Franken has been busy in recent weeks. Today he announced he was sponsoring a bill aimed at protecting health care workers and nurses from back injuries — often the result of lifting patients. The bill would require OSHA to issue a standard on safe patient handling and injury prevention that requires the use of lift equipment to move patients except when it would compromise patient care. It would also give workers training on safe patient handling.

In other news, Franken also got attention from Daily Show Host John Stewart last night for his amendment that cuts funding for defense contractors who prevent employees from suing over sexual assault. On the show, Stewart criticized 30 Republicans for voting against the measure. You can watch the video here.

Klobuchar, Franken oppose medical device tax

Minnesota's two senators joined two Indiana senators today in voicing opposition to a proposed tax on medical device manufacturers.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Al Franken, both Democrats, signed a letter addressed to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus voicing opposition to the tax. The tax is currently part of the committee's health care reform proposal. Also signing the letter in opposition to the tax was Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh and Republican Sen. Dick Lugar.

The letter states that independent estimates conclude the proposal would result in an annual income tax surcharge of between 10 percent to 30 percent on medical device manufacturers.

The lawmakers write that "At a time when every effort is being made to promote small business and growth industries of the future, the proposed medical device tax would harm economic development and health care innovation nationally and in our states."

The letter also notes that cuts to hospital reimbursements will likely be part of health care reform, which will also have an impact on the medical device industry. The letter states that these proposed cuts would result in $15 billion to $17 billion in cuts to the medical device industry.

The letter comes one day after Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty sent a letter to Klobuchar and Franken urging them to oppose the tax. Pawlenty warned it could harm a key partnership between Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. Here's what I wrote yesterday.

Franken tours Mayo Clinic today

Minnesota's newest senator will be in town today to tour the Mayo Clinic.

DFL Sen. Al Franken will be meeting with Mayo Clinic officials as he prepares to return to Washington D.C. to work on health care reform. Franken is a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, a key committee in the crafting of health care reform.

With raucous town hall events dominating the headlines, Franken has opted not to have a town hall. He is planning to hold a brief media availability today to discuss his views on health care reform. I'll plan to cover that and have the latest.

In a press release, Franken is quoted as saying "Washington could learn a lot from the way we run things right here in Rochester. We know that quality, not quantity, deserves reward and that the best health care system is patient-centered, not-profit-centered. When I get back to Washington, I'm bringing the common-sense values of Mayo Clinic with me."

Franken to be sworn in

Former Saturday Night Live Comedian Al Franken will be sworn in at 11: 15 a.m. central time in Washington, D.C. as the state's junior senator.

He is expected to be escorted to the Senate floor by fellow Minnesota DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Walter Mondale. He will also be sworn in on former Sen. Paul Wellstone's family Bible. Franken has credited Wellstone with being an inspiration for him getting into politics. Wellstone died in 2002 in a plane crash.

Once he is sworn-in, Franken said he expects to be focusing on efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system. He said he will be looking to Mayo Clinic for some reform ideas. And while he said he is inclined to support a government-run public plan, he said he is more focused on looking at other reforms to help improve patient care.

"Mayo really is a leader in patient-centered care, and there is a lot of political discussion about the public option and things like that, but there is a lot of stuff in health care reform that has to do with creating the kind of model that Rochester has created," he said.