Political Notebook

Walz to call on Congress to extend wind production tax credit

First District DFL Rep. Tim Walz will be join area labor leaders in Rochester this afternoon to urge members of Congress to extend the wind production tax credit.

Walz will meet with the media at the wind energy training center at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 343 facility. He is expected to be joined by representatives from the Minnesota Labor Council and the BlueGreen Alliance. The credit dates back to 1992 and provides an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour produced from wind energy. Unless a deal is reached to extend the credit, it is set to expire later this year. The 1st Congressional District, which extends across southern Minnesota, ranks fifth in the U.S. for installed wind capacity.

 

Howe opposes Anderson nomination because of stance on wind project

Red Wing Republican Sen. John Howe said he could not support Ellen Anderson's nomination as Public Utilities Commission chairwoman after the way she voted on a controversial wind project in his district.

In June, Anderson joined a majority of commissioners in overruling Goodhue County's new wind ordinance and issuing a site permit for AWA Goodhue's wind project. The $180 million project would cover 32,000 acres in Goodhue County and has drawn strong opposition from neighbors concerned about possible environmental impacts caused by the wind turbines.

"When you are making that decision to overrule a local governing body, it should rise to a very high level and that certainly didn't," Howe said. "And because of that and because of her legislative record, I could not support her."

Howe said DFL Gov. Mark Dayton called him on Friday about Anderson's nomination. The Red Wing Republican said he told the governor he simply could not back her. He asked that the governor consider nominating someone from rural Minnesota to head the commission who understands the impact of these energy projects.

As for Dayton's announcement that he would offer Anderson a job in his administration, Howe said he did not think that was appropriate.

He added, "One has to ask the question: If we didn't need the position before, why do we need an energy adviser in the governor's office now?"

 

 

Walz votes for GOP payroll tax holiday plan

1st District Rep. Tim Walz was one of ten Democrats to vote in favor of the Republicans' plan to extend the payroll tax holiday for one year.

Most House Democrats voted against the bill citing concerns with other provisions tacked onto the measure. That included language that would speed up construction of the Keystone Pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada's oil sands to the Gulf Coast. The bill paid for the tax holiday by extending a pay freeze for civilian federal workers for another year and reducing the government workforce. 

Walz issued the following statement about his vote:

"While this bill is anything but perfect, extending tax cuts for middle class families is too important to play politics with. This tax break will go directly into the pockets of hardworking families who will spend it at the local grocery or hardware store. I am sick of the political games being played in Washington. It is time to get things done. Tax breaks for the middle class will strengthen our economy and create jobs that will help us tackle the long-term national debt facing our country."

Also included in the bill is a provision that would allow some renewable energy grants that were part of the federal stimulus package to expire. Republican 2nd District Rep. John Kline supports scrapping these grants citing concerns about how the money could be used for a controversial wind farm in Goodhue County.

“This is a wind energy project Goodhue County citizens don’t want funded by taxpayer money the federal government doesn’t have,” Kline said in a statement. “Given the economic challenges facing our country, we cannot in good conscience use taxpayer dollars to subsidize industries that have failed to demonstrate proven results to help our long-term energy strategy.”

The bill passed 234 to 193. But the Democratically-controlled Senate is unlikely to pass this plan. President Obama has also threatened to veto a bill that includes the Keystone Pipeline language. If Republicans and Democrats fail to reach a deal on the payroll tax holiday it will end up costing the average American family $1,000 next year.

 

 

 

Kline calls for long-term nuclear storage solution

Republican Congressman John Kline sent a letter to the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future voicing disappointment that the commission's draft report fails to address the issue of long-term nuclear storage. Kline, whose district includes the Prairie Island nuclear plant near Red Wing, said the commission needs to identify a site for nuclear waste storage.

"I respectfully request a specific long-term site be included in the final report. Communities such as Prairie Island and the City of Red Wing need a site to which they can remove nuclear waste for the safety and security of their residents," Kline said.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in a deep geological repository. Congress ultimately settled on Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the repository site, but the U.S. Department of Energy has halted plans to store the waste there.

In a news release, Kline said, "Storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is an isolated, military secure location, in a facility designed for permanent storage maybe not be an idea solution, but Yucca is a more viable option than leaving it where it sits: near our communities and families."

Go here to read Kline's letter.

Walz in Roch to discuss support for offshore drilling expansion

 
 

DFL Congressman Tim Walz will be in Rochester this afternoon to discuss a bipartisan energy plan he backs with GOP Congressman Erik Paulsen. That proposal calls for expanding offshore oil and gas production. Here are some basic details from an MPR story.

Walz will discuss the policy at Nuss Truck & Equipment this afternoon and will be joined by Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede.

Minnesota House to vote on lifting the nuke ban today

The Minneosta House is expected to debate a bill to lift the state's ban on new nuclear plants. This comes after the Senate earlier this month voted 50 to 14 in favor of lifting the ban. In recent years, similar measures won support in the then-DFL-controlled Senate but stalled in the DFL House.

With Republicans leading both chambers, this may very well be the year that a bill scrapping the 17-year-old ban heads to the governor. But DFL Gov. Mark Dayton appears cool to the idea of lifting the ban. In order to support it, he said it could have no impact on ratepayers, it would not increase the amount of nuclear waste and that it would not generate weapons-grade or near weapons-grade plutonium.

Several area lawmakers are on board with the proposal. Co-sponsors of the bill to lift the ban include Rep. Mike Benson, R-Rochester; Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester; Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa; Rep. Rich Murray, R-Albert Lea; and Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing.

If the governor were to veto the bill, it would require some Minnesota senators to switch their votes. Specifically, six senators would have to become "yes" votes to override the veto. The Prairie Island Indian Community in Red Wing has lobbied aggressively against lifting the ban citing concerns that there is not a solution yet to the nuclear waste storage problem. This comes as Red Wing's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant is looking to expand and store more waste on site.

The city of Red Wing has said they want any proposal to lift the ban to include efforts to solve the waste problem. The city would like to see the state attorney general sue the U.S. Department of Energy for its failure to abide by federal law in terms of nuclear storage and to open up the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. The city also wants a comprehensive study looking at the cost of storing nuclear waste for potentially hundreds of years and to take steps to ensure that hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from lawsuits filed by Xcel Energy are returned to ratepayers.

Franken rethinks position on nuclear power

A discussion with former Vice President Al Gore caused Minnesota Sen. Al Franken to change his opinion on nuclear power.

During a meeting with the Post-Bulletin Editorial Board, Franken said during the 2008 campaign he took the position that while he supported the idea of nuclear power there needed to be a solution to the waste storage issue before it should be expanded. That's changed.

Franken said he got a chance to talk with Gore about the issue and asked the former veep about the waste storage issue. Gore told him he believes that the advances in technology can keep up with increase use of nuclear power and lead to better ways to monitor and store the waste.

"Yes (the nuclear waste) will be around for hundreds of thousands of years but I am kind of hoping we will too and I am kind of hoping that just as we're going from a decade to map the human genome to a day or two days or whatever it is that we will be more and more sophisticated on storing the waste," he said.

Franken went on to say this position "represents something of a change for me." He said there are certainly pros and cons to the nuclear issue but he believes expanding nuclear power will be key to help solve global warming.

He added, "Nuclear has to be a part of the solution to that."

Franken's change in position comes as the Minnesota legislature is debating lifting the state's ban on building new nuclear plants.

Area lawmakers ask governor to help block wind project

Two area Republican lawmakers are asking Gov. Tim Pawlenty to weigh in against a proposed wind project in Goodhue County.

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, of Mazeppa, and Rep. Tim Kelly, of Red Wing, sent a letter to Gov. Tim Pawlenty outlining their concerns. In the letter, they say the state has a "cookie cutter" approach to siting wind turbines and that the proposed project has divided the community.

They write, "It is clear that a much higher population density, coupled with the topography of the area has resulted in a battle between the minority that would financially benefit from allowing a windmill on their land against the majority that would have to live within its shadow."

They argue that if the Goodhue Wind project goes ahead, "we have simply forced a wind project into an area that the majority of the population does not want and is clearly not financially viable on its own."

The lawmakers ask the governor to provide comments and direction to the Public Utility Commission on the matter. They also wrote a letter to the Office of Administrative Hearings Judge Eric Lipman voicing their concerns. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is expected to rule on the proposed 78 megawatt project on Oct. 21.

Click here to Download Letter to the governor

Demmer blasts Walz on health care, cap and trade in new ads

Republican congressional candidate Randy Demmer's campaign released its first radio ads today. Two of the three radio ads go after DFL 1st District Rep. Tim Walz for his support of the federal health care bill that Demmer refers to as "Obamacare," cap and trade legislation and "reckless spending."

In the ad "Obamacare," the narrator states that "Congressman Tim Walz voted for Obamacare and put the government in charge of health care. Walz's plan robs you of the right to make choices and drives up your costs."

The ad then emphasis that "Demmer is different. He is a small businessman and his wife Kathy is a nurse at Mayo Clinic." (Interesting to note that a couple of the ads mention that his wife works at Mayo Clinic.)

Another radio ad entitled "All" goes after Walz for his vote in support of the cap-and-trade legislation that would cap greenhouse gases and allow industries to trade carbon emission credits. The narrator states "Congerssman Tim Walz voted for it all. The cap and trade energy taxes that will cripple Minnesota agriculture. Reckless spending that will saddle our kids with crushing debt, even the government takeover of health care."

A third ad called "Randy" is positive piece focusing on Demmer and his family. The narrator states that Demmer is running "to change the direction in Washington and bring back southern Minnesota values, cut spending, control taxes, keep government out of the way."

Demmer Campaign Manager Jason Flohrs said the ads started running today on radio stations across the 1st Congressional District. He declined to say how much the campaign is spending on the ads. This move comes after Walz released his first TV ad of the campaign season last week.

Wilson to unveil jobs and energy plan today

Independence Party congressional candidate Steven Wilson will be unveiling a jobs and energy plan at a press conference at 1 p.m today in Pine Island.

Wilson, of Rochester, is running for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Democrat Tim Walz of Mankato. Also running are Republican Randy Demmer of Hayfield and independent candidate Lars Johnson of Rochester.

Wilson plans to hold the press conference at a "zero energy" or "grid neutral" home under construction in Pine Island. He plans to discuss proposals aimed at energy independence, job creation and protecting national security.

In the press release, Wilson is quoted as saying, "We are lacking a vision for our nation. We need something that can bring us together. This new vision for America is something that people on the right and the left can get excited about."

Wilson recently returned from a one-year tour in Iraq working as a U.S. diplomat embedded with the U.S. Army. He has been active in the localTea Party movement.