Minnesota Independent

Minnesota delegation responds to Obama’s Libya speech

By Andy Birkey | 03.29.11 | 2:13 pm

Several members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation were quick to respond to President Obama’s Monday night speech on military action in Libya. Rep. John Kline called for more clarity while Rep. Betty McCollum said the Libyan people must remove Qaddafi. Rep. Michele Bachmann, always prepared to throw verbal bombs at the president, said that “President Obama is taking sides with Palestine over Israel” by supporting NATO action in Libya.

House votes to halt federal funding of NPR

By John Amick | 03.17.11 | 2:26 pm

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to halt federal funding of National Public Radio by a largely partisan vote of 228-192. Minnesota’s delegation split along party lines with Democrats voting against the defunding measure.

GOP House leaders fast-track bill to defund NPR

By John Tomasic | 03.17.11 | 11:46 am

Rep. John Kline is the only member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to cosponsor Colorado Republican Doug Lamborn’s bill to ban federal funding for National Public Radio programming. Lamborn’s bill has gained traction among Republican House leaders just as a conservative media campaign waged against the public broadcaster has made news. Majority Leader Eric Cantor, looking to strike while the iron is hot, fast-tracked the bill, lining up a vote for today. The bill cuts no money from the federal budget.

Bachmann, Ellison, McCollum vote against continuing resolution

By Andy Birkey | 03.15.11 | 4:01 pm

Reps. Michele Bachmann, Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum voted against a resolution on Tuesday that would continue federal spending for the next three weeks and avoid a government shutdown. The resolution passed with the support of both Republicans and Democrats. Bachmann opposed the bill because it did not defund health care reform while McCollum and Ellison have opposed it because of defense spending they view as wasteful.

Democrats hit Bachmann on foreclosure vote

By Andy Birkey | 03.11.11 | 9:30 am

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.

GOP abortion plans could lead to more teen pregnancies, abortions in Minnesota

By Andy Birkey | 02.17.11 | 1:40 pm

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.

Kline sponsors bill to reaffirm ‘In God We Trust’

By Andy Birkey | 02.08.11 | 8:30 am

Republican Rep. John Kline is a sponsor of a resolution in the U.S. House that would reaffirm “In God We Trust” as the national motto and encourages the posting of the motto on government buildings and in public schools. The resolution has raised the ire of secular groups who say the resolution is unnecessary and that it is discriminatory against non-believers as well as faithful Americans whose religious traditions do not involve a Judeo-Christian god.

Kline, Bachmann sponsor bill that could allow hospitals to refuse emergency abortions

By Andy Birkey | 02.07.11 | 1:38 pm

Reps. John Kline and Michele Bachmann are cosponsors of a bill that would allow faith-based hospitals and health care clinics to deny women emergency abortions, pro-choice advocates say. The Protect Life Act would prevent private health insurance policies offered in the health exchanges set up by last year’s health care reform from paying for abortion. It also OKs a “conscience clause” which allows religious people to deny care for women seeking an abortion.

Abortion bill that redefined rape to be changed by author

By Andy Birkey | 02.03.11 | 11:33 am

A bill that would ban taxpayer funding to clinics that perform abortions — and caused significant controversy over the definition of rape — has been changed by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey. The bill is sponsored by Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann, Chip Cravaack and John Kline, as well as DFL Rep. Collin Peterson, among many others. The bill sought to provide exception for incest and “forcible rape,” which opponents said would not cover statutory rape or instances where force could not be proven.

Kline cosponsors D.C. religious school voucher bill

By Andy Birkey | 02.02.11 | 12:48 pm

Rep. John Kline, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, is one of five sponsors of a bill that would continue a controversial religious school voucher program in Washington, DC. The program, which was launched for a five-year trial in 2003, was found to have failed to improve student achievement in the district, but did have a benefit for social conservatives — it helped fund religious education in the nation’s capitol city.