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With an insider’s eye, Hot Dish tracks the tastiest bits of Minnesota’s political scene and keep you up-to-date on those elected to serve you.

Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Rachel E. Stassen-Berger and Glen Stubbe. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.

Posts about 4th District

Bachmann, other House members, ready committees for 2014 re-election

Posted by: Rachel E. Stassen-Berger Updated: January 15, 2013 - 5:05 PM

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Late last year, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann filed a 2014 campaign committee.

The existence of the committee doesn't necessarily lock the Republican into vying again for the Sixth Congressional District. It will allow her to raise campaign cash and do other campaign activities.

Bachmann won her last election by about 4,000 votes, just over 1 percentage point. Just a few weeks later, she filed the 2014 committee.

She is one of five sitting U.S. House members from Minnesota who has filed a statement of candidacy for 2014.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Rick Nolan and Collin Peterson have also filed committees for the next election cycle, and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, has filed a committee for 2018, the next year she would be up for re-election. U.S. Sen. Al Franken, also a Democrat, has had a 2014 campaign committee on record since early last year.

U.S. Reps. John Kline and Erik Paulsen, both Republicans, and U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat, have not yet filed re-election committees, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The non-filing does not mean they will not run again, just as the filings do not guarantee a run.

 

Here's Bachmann's filing: 

McCollum urges speedy return to 'cliff' avoidance

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: December 27, 2012 - 3:51 PM

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The chances of a year-end "fiscal cliff" deal seem to be diminishing by the hour, with Congress pretty much in pro-forma mode and a lot of the membership in limbo about what happens next.

As members filter back slowly to D.C. from their holiday home leaves, Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum announced that she returned yesterday and is urging her colleagues to get back to work as well.

“Americans are now back to work following the Christmas holiday and it’s time for Congress to do the same and immediately return to Washington to pass an extension of the middle class tax cuts, protecting 98% of American taxpayers," she said. "If House leadership is unwilling to act then rank and file House members have an obligation to turn up the pressure. Congress should pass the middle class tax cut extension this weekend while allowing negotiations to continue on the other elements of the ‘fiscal cliff’ that require more time.”

 

 
 

McCollum gets boost as Army ditches NASCAR (Updated)

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: July 10, 2012 - 12:43 PM

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The U.S. Army has announced it is pulling out of NASCAR racing sponsorships this year, fueling a proposal by Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum that would ban all military sponsorship of sports.
 
The Army cited budget concerns in its decision. But it will not head off debate on McCollum’s measure, which targets more than $70 million remaining in the Defense Department’s sports sponsorship programs for auto racing, bass fishing and ultimate fighting.
 
McCollum’s bill has made it through the House Appropriations Committee, though it faces potential hurdles in the coming weeks when a defense spending measure is expected to come to the House floor.
 
The House rejected a similar McCollum measure on defense NASCAR sponsorships last year.
 
(Update): Now McCollum is feeling a wind at her back. "By ending its sponsorship of NASCAR, the Army made the right move to eliminate a wasteful program and protect taxpayer dollars – which has been my goal all along,” she said. “Congress is facing a very difficult budget environment, and I want taxpayer dollars protected – even at the Pentagon. I applaud the Army’s decision to terminate its funding of NASCAR.  The Army now joins the Navy and Marine Corps in terminating its NASCAR partnership.”

Ellison, McCollum skip 'Fast and Furious' contempt vote in protest

Posted by: Corey Mitchell Updated: June 28, 2012 - 5:26 PM

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U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and his Congressional Black Caucus colleagues left the House floor during today's votes to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his refusal to surrender document concerning "Fast and Furious," a controversial gun-tracking operation.

When the U.S. House voted this afternoon, Ellison, other black caucus members and much of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which Ellison co-chairs, hosted a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building during the vote.

"I agree that the 'Fast and Furious' operation deserved a methodical Congressional investigation -- this is our oversight responsibility," Ellison said in a statement.

"However, the investigation has ignored the fact that the Bush Administration started this program, which let weapons traffickers by thousands of guns. The Obama Administration acted decisively to stop the program and Attorney General Eric Holder condemned the approach.

"Yet, once again the Republicans won't take 'yes' for an answer and have turned this tragedy into a political football."

Holder is the first black to serve as attorney general and was the first to face a contempt vote by the full House or Senate. The measure passed the House of Representatives, 255 to 67.

The Fast and Furious investigation is trying to determine whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms deliberately allowed guns to fall into the hands of drug cartels in Mexico while agents sought to track how the weapons are smuggled to criminal groups. A Customs and Border Protection Agent was shot and killed with one of the trafficked guns.

Democrats pushed for a mass walkout, but two of Minnesota's Democratic representatives -- Collin Peterson and Tim Walz -- supported the contempt resolutions against Holder. The Washington Post reported that the National Rifle Association, which supports the contempt vote, may have influenced Peterson's decision.

"To do its job, Congress must have access to all the information it needs to make independent, sound judgments on behalf of the American people," Walz said in a statement.

"Five years ago, when I voted to hold President Bush's Administration officials in contempt, I said we have to stay consistent in our oversight of executive branch officials. After reviewing the facts carefully, I have come to the same conclusions as I did in 2007. There are just too many unanswered questions surrounding "Fast and Furious," and the American people deserve to know more."

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, the only other Minnesota Democrat in the House, joined Ellison in denouncing and skipping the contempt votes.

"This Tea Party Republican resolution is a shameful and shameless political witch hunt intended to destroy an honorable man's character," her statement read, in part.

Minnesota's U.S. Republican representatives -- Michele Bachmann, Chip Cravaack John Kline and Erik Paulsen -- all voted to hold Holder in contempt.

"While I had hoped the Attorney General would have produced the subpoenaed documents, I remain hopeful that these votes are a step forward as Congress continues its investigations into 'Fast and Furious,'" Bachmann said in a statement.

Panel clears McCollum plan to cut NASCAR from Pentagon budget

Posted by: Kevin Diaz Updated: May 17, 2012 - 12:19 PM

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The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment Thursday backed by U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., targeting the military’s sponsorship of NASCAR races and other sporting events.
 
The measure was added to a $608 billion defense bill headed for the House floor. McCollum garnered national headlines last year when she first offered the proposal, which ultimately failed.
 
This time the measure was carried by Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who said it will “send a signal” as the Pentagon wrestles with shrinking budgets. The measure passed on a voice vote.
 
Some lawmakers argue that military NASCAR team sponsorships serve as a valuable recruiting tool. But critics say they’re a logical place to look for budget cuts.

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