politics
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, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.
Contributors in Minnesota: Jennifer Brooks, Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Patricia Lopez, Jim Ragsdale, Brad Schrade and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger. Contributors in D.C.: Kevin Diaz and Corey Mitchell.
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Rep. Gottwalt takes a lobbying job
Posted by: Jennifer Brooks under Minnesota legislature Updated: January 3, 2013 - 7:16 PM
State Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, has taken a job as director of state legislative policy for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, a company that lobbies the Minnesota legislature.
House Republican Caucus spokeswoman Susan Closmore said Gottwalt, who was just elected to a fourth term, will remain in the Legislature. The company lobbies in a number of states and Closmore said Gottwalt's new job will not present a conflict of interest as long as his work with company lobbyists is done out of state.
The Center for Diagnostic Imaging, based in St. Louis Park, does lobby the Minnesota Legislature. Elisabeth Quam, executive director of the CDI Quality Institute, is currently registered as the company's state lobbyist.
Quam said Gottwalt will not be lobbying himself. Instead, he will keep tabs on the legislatures in the 27 states where the company does business and work with the company's lobbyists to keep tabs on healthcare policies -- particularly the rollout of the new healthcare reforms.
"What he's going to do is direct how we respond to policy initiatives," Quam said. "He'll be telling us (when Massachusetts passes a new law) what kind of regulations they have to comply with, what measures they should report on as they relate to what's been mandated by the state."
Minnesota, like other states, will be rolling out its new health care exchanges and other sweeping healthcare policy changes this session. And Gottwalt, who served as chairman of the House Human Services Reform Committee last session, will be involved in that policy debate.
But Quam said he won't be advising the company about Minnesota's legislative policy.
"Because he's got such a knowledge base, he's just a great hire for us, but we wouldn't have needed him for Minnesota, because we've already got that covered," said Quam, a former state Senate staffer and assistant state health commissioner.
Gottwalt had been employed as director of communications and consumer affairs at the Coborn’s, Inc. grocery chain, but a call to the company confirmed he no longer works there. Gottwalt also sells insurance – a career that raised eyebrows after it was revealed he works as a contractor for a brokerage firm that had lobbied his committee to move thousands of Minnesotans off MinnestoaCare and into the private insurance market.
The Minnesota Legislature returns to work on Jan. 8. Will Gottwalt be able to juggle his legislative workload and keep tabs on 26 other legislatures at the same time?
"That's for him to decide. We expect a full-time employee with what we do," Quam said.
Klobuchar and Franken vote 'yes' on fiscal cliff deal
Posted by: Kevin Diaz under Funding, Minnesota U.S. senators, Minnesota congressional Updated: January 1, 2013 - 7:39 AMMinnesota’s two Democratic senators cast yes votes on the late-night “fiscal cliff” agreement, which passed 89-8.
Sen. Al Franken, who faces reelection next year, expressed reservations about the reach of the deal in reducing debt and helping farmers. But he praised provisions such as tax cuts for the middle-class and the extension of unemployment insurance for the jobless.
He added that it was “crucial” to him that the deal worked out between the White House and Republican leaders did not make cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
“While I don’t think this package raises sufficient revenues toward paying down the debt or to make the investments in infrastructure, education, and research and development needed to grow our economy, I knew that no bill would have 100 percent of what I wanted,” he said in a statement.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar also said she had wished for more.
“I voted for this compromise because the last thing we should be doing this New Year’s is sticking middle class families with a tax hike,” she said. “I fought for and wanted a larger, more comprehensive plan that balanced revenues and spending cuts.”
Bachmann says Congress should forego pay raise
Posted by: Kevin Diaz under 6th District, Minnesota congressional Updated: December 31, 2012 - 5:09 PMStaring into the abyss of the fiscal cliff deadline, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann introduced legislation Monday that would rescind the portion of President Obama’s executive order that gives members of Congress a pay raise.
“At a time when families across the country are cutting back we should not increase government spending and add to the debt burden by giving members of Congress a pay raise," the Minnesota Republican said.
The announcement came as House leaders indicated they would not have a budget deal done by the midnight deadline, plunging the nation off the fiscal cliff.
Nolan hires former opponent
Posted by: Jennifer Brooks under 8th District, Minnesota congressional Updated: December 31, 2012 - 11:57 AMEighth District Congressman-elect Rick Nolan has hired one of his former primary opponents.
Former Duluth City Council president Jeff Anderson will be joining Nolan's staff as district director, Nolan's transition team announced Monday. Anderson was one of three Democrats running in the Eighth District primary this year. Nolan won the primary and went on to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack in November.
Nolan's press release describes Anderson as "an Ely native and a fourth generation Iron Ranger," who will oversee the Eighth District offices Nolan plans to open in Duluth and Brainerd.
Other Nolan hires announced today include his former campaign chairman, Jim Swiderski, who will serve as his legislative director in Washington; new deputy chief of staff Jodie Torkelson; chief scheduler Ione Yates; and communication director Steve Johnson.
"They know Minnesota, they know Capitol Hill and they will hit the ground running to provide exemplary service to the people of the Eighth District from Day One,” Nolan said in a statement. “I’m so proud to have them on our team.”
How will the 'fiscal cliff' affect you?
Posted by: Kevin Diaz under Funding, Minnesota congressional, Democrats, Republicans, President Obama Updated: December 28, 2012 - 8:18 AM
But the automatic tax hikes and federal spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff will kick in starting next week, unless Congress can make a last-minute deal. If the politicians aren’t talking, or at least not talking constructively, we want to know how it’s affecting you. Tell us your story by sending an e-mail to Whistleblower@startribune.com.
And, as usual, you can also sound off in the comments section below.
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