Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson, a “Blue Dog” Democrat, joined Republicans in a failed attempt to overturn a law that will require more energy efficient light bulbs starting next year.
The U.S. House approved a measure Wednesday that repeals part of the year-old Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and would, among several provisions, ban tax subsidies for private health insurance plans that include abortion as a covered service; prevent citizens from deducting abortion as a medical expense unless it was the result of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother — and invites the potential for the Internal Revenue Service to investigate how women who had abortions became pregnant and how they paid for their abortions.
Minnesota’s congressional delegation, as well as its likely presidential candidates, responded to last night’s news that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed in an American surgical raid near Islamabad. Reactions ranged from thanks to the military and calls for continued vigilance against the terrorist threat to rare kudos for President Obama from former Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is joining with Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline in strongly urging the District of Columbia to act quickly in implementing a ban on publicly subsidized abortions in the city. As part of the continuing resolution passed last week, Washington, D.C. has to halt paying for abortions under its programs for low-income women. Peterson, Bachmann and Kline were among several dozen Congress members who issued a letter on Tuesday that also asks D.C. for detailed reports about the new ban.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Collin Peterson are two Minnesota Democrats who broke with their party on restrictions to the Environmental Protection Agency in its monitoring and enforcement of greenhouse gases. Klobuchar’s votes were criticized by environmental groups while at least one conservative took her to task for not supporting strong enough restrictions. During the budget showdown, Peterson played an important role in a controversial measure to prevent the EPA from monitoring greenhouse gases.
Leaders on Capitol Hill have given indications that they are close to reaching a compromise that would prevent a shutdown of the federal government. The speculative compromise would include $33 billion in cuts, well below the $61 billion the Republicans in the House have proposed. Rep. Michele Bachmann criticized the deal saying that the Democrats want the government to shut down and that they would not compromise. Bachmann said she and the tea party would not compromise either.
A bill to continue a defunct school voucher program in Washington, D.C., passed the U.S. House on Wednesday afternoon by a largely party-line vote. Reps. Michele Bachmann, Chip Cravaack, John Kline and Erik Paulsen voted for the measure while Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Collin Peterson and Tim Walz voted against the bill. The controversial program has been criticized as ineffective and essentially a tool to funnel taxpayer money to religious schools. President Obama stated on Tuesday that he opposes the measure.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting Rep. Michele Bachmann following a vote to defund the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Though the Democrats are targeting Bachmann, her Democratic colleagues, Reps. Tim Walz and Collin Peterson, joined the Republicans on the vote Thursday. Bachmann and Rep. Chip Cravaack both represent districts with a high rate of foreclosures.
Environmental groups are going after Minnesota members of Congress who have voted to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas pollution. A recent poll shows that votes by Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann and Chip Cravaack aren’t popular in their districts, and Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat, is getting attacked from both sides — the GOP says his stance against EPA regulation is “wishy washy,” while interest groups say he’s siding with foreign oil producers.
Congressional Republicans are set to vote on a trio of bills intended to prevent health care clinics that perform abortions from receiving federal funds, and leadership has offered a budget that slashes the Title X program, which funds contraception and reproductive health services. A study by the Guttmacher Institute released on Wednesday shows that those cuts would be devastating to low-income women in Minnesota. Without this funding, Minnesota would’ve seen 33 percent more teenage pregnancies — and a spike in the number of abortions.
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