Polinaut: March 26, 2009 Archive

The Daily Digest: 3-26-09

Posted at 8:24 AM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Daily Digest

President Obama met with members of the Minnesota and North Dakota congressional delegations to discuss the impact of the floods in North Dakota and northern Minnesota.

Gov. Pawlenty is seeking quick disaster aid for flooding in northwestern Minnesota. Here is the latest on the flood.

Under the Dome

Gov. Pawlenty will meet with DFL legislative leaders this afternoon to talk about the budget.

GOP Rep. Paul Kohls writes an op-ed saying the state must live within its means.

A House panel will consider tonight whether the state's nuclear ban should be lifted.

Pawlenty will release a website today that will detail state spending.

The Star Tribune says Walgreen's requires the state to pay more for drugs than other consumers.

The Star Tribune takes a look at a bill that would dramatically change the criminal justice system.

A Senate committee sets aside a bill that would expand the reporting of gifts to doctors.

Attorneys say the NTSB is wrong about the I-35W bridge collapse. MPR, the Star Tribune and AP have stories.

Legislation would also place a weight limit on the Stillwater Lift Bridge.

The Sex Offender program needs money quickly.

State lawmakers and Attorney General Lori Swanson are not happy with the spike in credit card interest rates.

2008 Race for U.S. Senate

Gov. Pawlenty says having one senator is "frustrating."

The USO honors Al Franken.

The Senate race breaks a record.

WCCO wonders whether the new Senate will get back pay.

D.C.

President Obama starts courting Democrats on the budget.

DFL Rep. Betty McCollum is at the center of budget negotiations.

Obama continues to poll well in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar gets some face time with President Obama. The pictures came after she and DFL Rep. Collin Peterson met with Obama to discuss the flooding in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Klobuchar also says she's pinching pennies.

Klobuchar will speak to a group of Iowa Democratic women in Des Moines on Saturday.

The location for a new Veterans clinic in Austin is still unknown. DFL Rep. Tim Walz is mentioned.

GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen and GOP Rep. John Kline want to make sure that the I-494/169 project is on track.

Paulsen is also considered a young gun of the GOP.

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison will reportedly push for funding for a southwest rail corridor.

The Washington Post says GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann is one of several lawmakers questioning the Fed's decisions.

Nine Brainerd area communities receive stimulus aid. DFL Rep. Jim Oberstar is mentioned.

2009

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's lone challenger drops out of the race.

Rybak outlines his economic agenda in his state of the city.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman moves to collect the lodging tax.

2010

Former DFL House Minority Leader Matt Entenza releases a list of supporters.

DSCC ramps up pressure on Pawlenty

Posted at 10:50 AM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)

The Washington Post has picked up on "When/will Gov. Pawlenty issue the election certificate in Minnesota's long-running U.S. Senate race?" Pawlenty has repeatedly said that he will issue the election certificate when the law requires him to do so but has also hedged to say a judge could forbid him from issuing the certificate until the appeals are complete on the federal level.

The DSCC's Eric Schultz, who coincidentally worked for Al Franken's Senate campaign, said this about Pawlenty:

"Republicans have made it clear they will hold this Senate seat hostage in order to pursue their political agenda - at the hefty expense of Minnesota having full representation in Congress," says DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz. "Governor Pawlenty has said that Minnesota is suffering from not having two senators. Governor Pawlenty ought to make clear that if former Senator Coleman chooses to appeal the outcome of the contest in the state Supreme Court that this is the end of the road -- and that, consistent with the law, he will certify Al Franken the winner following that state court appeal."

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Ellison and Bachmann on C-Span

Posted at 11:06 AM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck

DFL Rep. Keith Ellison and GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann appeared on C-Span's Washington Journal this morning to talk about President Obama's budget plan and regulating financial institutions. You can watch it here.

Pawlenty proposes state workers take unpaid leave

Posted at 3:39 PM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck (3 Comments)

MPR's Tim Pugmire reports that the Pawlenty Administration is requesting that state employees take 48 days of unpaid leave over the next two years. In a letter to its members, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees Executive Director Jim Monroe wrote that:

"The governor's proposal went after MAPE members with a laundry list of take backs that they have done for the past three contracts -- changes to grievances, holiday pay, expense allowances, severance eilgibility as well as layoffs and recalls. As important as all of these areas are to fairness in the workplace, they were all just a mere prelude to the bomb the governor's team dropped - Governor Pawlenty wants to force a furlough onto MAPE members for up to 8 weeks and 8 days for our contract. That's right, the governor wants to be able to have the ability with no rhyme or reason, to give management the right to arbitrarily decide who gets furloughed and how long they are furloughed, which can be used in a way to undermine every union protection we have."

Meanwhile, AFSCME officials declined comment but posted this information on their website:

Governor Pawlenty wants to force state employees to take up to 24 days of unpaid leave each year. Who can pay their bills after the loss of one-month's pay?! Worse yet, he'd give managers the right to arbitrarily decide who gets furloughed, when they get furloughed, and for how long. That's an invitation for the boss to play favorites. It's also an attempt to balance the budget on the backs of AFSCME state employees, who earn $37,000 on average.

Gov. Pawlenty's lead negotiator has declined comment because of an agreed media blackout during negotiations.

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State spending site

Posted at 4:22 PM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck (2 Comments)

We reported yesterday that Gov. Pawlenty was going to unveil a website that details state spending. Here's the link.

Question of the Day: I haven't dug into it yet. What do you think?

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Verdict on 1st budget meeting: Not so hot...

Posted at 6:08 PM on March 26, 2009 by Tom Scheck

Gov. Pawlenty and DFL legislative leaders met behind closed doors today to talk about the budget. It didn't go so well. Here's the reaction from DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller and DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher:

Listen

Here's Gov. Pawlenty's reaction to the meeting:

Listen