James Oberstar

Health reform could be hijacked by anti-abortion politics despite efforts at compromise — and some of Minnesota’s Congress members are in the thick of the debate. Reps. James Oberstar, Collin Peterson and Michele Bachmann have all been working to gut reproductive health funding from the health reform package moving through the House.

Healthcare reform and the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor dominated headlines this week, but many of Minnesota’s congressional representatives have been busy working on a slew of issues from food-borne illness andhydrocephalus to highway funding and aid to Liberia.

A member of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation’s support for a “public option” for health care reform is tied to how much money that member has taken from the health insurance industry, a look at campaign finance data shows.

This week Minnesota’s members of Congress went back to work after the July 4 break, except for Sen. Al Franken who was showing up — finally — for the first time. Rep. Keith Ellison put forward a credit reform bill, Rep. Betty McCollum announced her plan to expand the Peace Corps, and Republicans criticized the Democrats’ energy and stimulus policies. Here’s how the week shook down…

Reps. Jim Oberstar and Collin Peterson joined 17 other Democrats in threatening to vote against health care reform if a government plan covers abortion. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late last week, the coalition said, “[W]e cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of [...]

Rep. Michele Bachmann spends more time than any other Minnesota representative speaking on the House floor, according to C-SPAN’s archive. So far in 2009, Bachmann has addressed the body on 19 different days for a total of four hours, 32 minutes, roughly double that of Minnesota’s second most talkative rep, Democrat Keith Ellison (see times [...]

Among the Minnesota legislators who have so far reported fund-raising figures for the first quarter of 2009, Rep. Michele Bachmann pulled in the most cash — more than $300,000, with nearly another quarter-million dollars in the bank.

Minnesota’s lone U.S. senator, Amy Klobuchar, continues to hold down the fort, while Rep. Michele Bachmann “metaphorically” wants to storm the gates. Rep. James Oberstar tackles Big Transportation, and Rep. Keith Ellison talks labor and racial wealth disparities.

Sure, it’s a 12-way tie, but Minnesota can now boast (or grimace, depending on your political leanings) that it’s represented by the most liberal member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Fourth District Rep. Betty McCollum is among the dozen Democrats sharing the top slot in National Journal’s annual rankings of congressional members based on [...]

The figure is almost certain to change as the Senate ramps up the stimulus debate next week, but about 80 percent of the final figure may go to roads and bridges.