Political Party

Rochester "Nightmare Flight" leads to 3-hour tarmac limit

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced new rules today that would limit tarmac delays to three hours.

These new rules come after the so-called "Nightmare Flight" in August when a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Minneapolis-St. Paul was redirected to Rochester International Airport because of severe weather. Passengers ended up getting trapped on the plane for six hours. 

A second incident in August involved a Sun Country Flight from New York to Minnesota when a plane was stranded on the tarmac for five hours.

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Clincher, a cosponsor of the Passenger Bill of Rights, praised the new rules in a statement released today.

“I’m pleased the Department of Transportation has taken this action to protect the rights of airline passengers,” said Klobuchar. “This is a victory for airline passengers everywhere. Recent incidents in Minnesota highlighted the need for some common-sense rules.  Passengers shouldn’t be held captive for hours on end when the plane is just sitting on the airport tarmac.”

Sen. Al Franken also praised the new rule in a written statement.

“I thank Secretary LaHood for his thorough response to my and Chairman Oberstar’s request for broad review and am satisfied that the results will prevent future incidents like the one that Continental passengers in Rochester experienced this summer,” said Sen. Franken. “Their six hour ordeal was unacceptable and unfortunately not an isolated incident. I’m glad that with the new three hour limit imposed by the Department of Transportation today, it won’t happen again.”

The new rule would prohibit U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from allowing an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours except in the case of safety or security issues or if air traffic determined that returning the plane to the gate would disrupt airport operations.

The new rules also prohibits airlines from scheduling chronically delayed flights and making those who violate the provision subject to DOT enforcement. It would also require airline employees to monitor the effects of flight delays and cancellations and respond in a timely manner to customer complaints.

Rochester woman testifies before Congress

Rochester resident Cheryl Burt was on Capitol Hill today to testify in favor of a bill that would strengthen safety standards for carbon monoxide alarms.

Burt lost her 16-month-old son and 4-year-old son to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a malfunctioning furnace. Burt, her oldest son and her husband were also poisoned. The incident happened at the family's home in Kimball, near St. Cloud.

Burt spoke at a hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar serves on the committee and is sponsoring a bill that would require the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to strengthen the safety standards for all carbon monoxide alarms sold in the U.S.

To watch the hearing, go here.

Mayo Clinic scores major political victory

Mayo Clinic got a boost of good news Tuesday on its efforts to shape health care reform.

The Senate Finance Committee accepted an amendment to its health care bill that would set up a "value index" aimed at paying providers based on quality of care, not quantity. That is something that Mayo Clinic has aggressively been lobbying for as lawmakers have worked to draft legislation. Here is a link to a story in today's paper by PB Health Reporter Jeff Hansel.

Minnesota DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been pushing hard to get the language included in the bill. Last week, she and the amendment's author Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, led a group of 28 senators in calling on the president to change the payment system.

In a news release, Klobuchar is quoted as saying, "The change included today will help control costs and get the most from our health care dollars. This will strengthen the strong safety net of Medicare by ensuring funds are there to pay for our seniors' health care."

Dr. Denis Cortese, the clinic's president and CEO, praised the lawmakers' efforts saying that "paying for value in health care is one of the four cornerstones for reform that emerged from our consensus driven health policy process."

Of course, the tricky part is figuring out exactly how to measure quality. Cortese said it needs to include outcomes, safety and patient satisfaction. Under the proposal in the senate bill, it would require a "value index" to established that would go into effect in 2012 and be administered by the secretary of Health and Human Services. But other than that, the details are sketchy.

Last week,  American Medical Association President Dr. J. James Rohack said that while the organization is open to this type of payment system, he said it needs to be tested before it is applied to everyone. He also warned it is important for physicians to not be penalized for patients who make poor choices. For example, if a patient is prescribed a cholesterol-reducing drug and opts not to take the medication and eats a double cheeseburger, it is unfair for the doctor to be held responsible for that patient's poor health outcome.

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.

Pawlenty, Klobuchar, Walz back proposed Roch rail route

According to a press release issued this morning, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz all back a proposed rail corridor that would run south of Rochester. It would primarly be used for freight but could also accomodate high-speed rail  Here is the press release:

(Rochester, MN) - Congressman Tim Walz, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced their support for a southern rail corridor around Rochester's south side. The southern rail corridor would route trains away from downtown Rochester and the Mayo Clinic to reduce safety risks and allow for future development. The project would create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase while potentially preserving thousands of Mayo Clinic jobs.

Last week in Washington, Rep. Walz, Sen. Klobuchar and Gov. Pawlenty met with Mayo Officials to discuss the four funding options for the corridor, which could include (1) funding through the Surface Transportation Bill reauthorization; (2) funding through a loan application by the State of Minnesota to the Federal Railroad Administration; (3) funding obtained by applying for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars from the federal Department of Transportation; and (4) state share of bonding dollars to leverage federal funds.

Congressman Walz, a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, agreed to request the southern rail corridor in this year's reauthorization of the federal Surface Transportation Bill after hearing from the Mayo Clinic that the Clinic's Board of Trustees continues to have serious concerns about the economic and patient safety challenges the CP rail line presents to the Mayo's Rochester campus.

"I will do everything in my power to preserve and protect the heart and soul of Mayo Clinic in southern Minnesota and to ensure that Mayo can continue to grow here in our state," said Congressman Walz. "Mayo's world-renowned medical breakthroughs are a direct result of the high caliber of its Minnesota employees and the supportive community in which the Clinic resides. Any significant threat to Mayo's ability to innovate and provide good-paying jobs is at odds with the development of lifesaving medical techniques and quality of life for all Minnesotans."

Walz went on to state that he would be requesting the southern Minnesota rail corridor as a High Priority Project of national significance in the 2009 reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill but also planned to assist with efforts to obtain funding from one or more of the other available funding streams.

Senator Klobuchar will pursue federal support for the corridor. "This is good for the Mayo clinic and good for the residents of Rochester," Senator Klobuchar said. "As a world leader in medical breakthroughs and patient care, the Mayo Clinic has not only been an economic engine for Minnesota, but an active and engaged community member in Minnesota's third largest city. I will continue to fight for federal support to keep the patients of Mayo and people of Rochester safe."

Governor Tim Pawlenty is directing the Minnesota Department of Transportation to apply for federal grants that could be utilized for the bypass. The Governor also said he would support state bonding funds in future years that could leverage federal funds.

"The State of Minnesota has been a significant partner with the Mayo Clinic over the years and Mayo has repaid us back many times over with their contributions to our state and the world," Governor Pawlenty said. "We need to take all reasonable steps to ensure that Mayo continues to grow and thrive in Minnesota."

The southern rail corridor would be built in a way that primarily supports freight but also accommodates high speed passenger rail if data from the Minnesota Department of Transportation rail study supports a high speed rail route from Chicago through Winona into Rochester. The rail corridor would move existing CP track to the south of Rochester to mitigate safety concerns around the highly populated downtown Rochester area, which includes the Mayo Clinic campus. The rail corridor project is expected to create just less than 50 miles of new track outside of the City of Rochester, allowing for higher train speeds and quicker shipping of commodities for local farmers.

Klobuchar's staff coming to Roch on Monday

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar staff is hosting a K-12 education forum to get feedback on the federal No Child Left Behind Law, which is up for reauthorization from Congress this year. She wants to hear from parents, teachers, administrators and residents about what sorts of educational reforms they would like to see.

Klobuchar's forum will be at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Rochester Public Schools' Edison Building in the School Board Meeting Room.

The Minnesota Senator is hosting a series of education forums across the state to get feedback. To find out more about these forums, visit this site.