SAINT PAUL, MN - State Senator David Hann (R-Eden Prairie) submitted documents on Tuesday to the Campaign Finance Board forming a committee to explore his candidacy for Governor.

"I have been encouraged to take this step by the depth of support I have received in recent days, and I will continue to talk to party activists and supporters across the state about the future of Minnesota ," Hann said. "In the next election, we must engage the public in a debate about the direction our state will take in the coming years. We have to control state spending and lower taxes to encourage investment in our economy. We need to structure our education system to enable all students to succeed and take steps to ensure health care decisions remain between patients and their doctors."

"We plan to run an aggressive campaign for the Republican endorsement" Hann continued, "This will be a competitive process, but my record shows that time after time I have stood for the issues that will benefit all Minnesotans." Kathy Veurink, a constituent and resident of Eden Prairie said, "Senator Hann has been a strong advocate for my family and for the taxpayers of Minnesota for the past seven years in the State Senate. His record is unmatched. I am very excited that Senator Hann is considering serving as our next Governor."

Bill Would Require Itemization on Utility Bill of Taxes Brought by Cap and Trade

WASHINGTON  - With the U.S. House set to vote on “cap and trade” legislation, Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) has joined several colleagues in co-sponsoring The Cap and Trade Disclosure Act, a bill that would require utility companies to separately itemize the impact of cap-and-trade taxes on the utility bills of every American.  Under this proposal, consumers would be able to easily identify the actual cost that cap-and-trade policies have on electricity costs. 
 
“The cap-and-trade bill is a massive tax increase on the American people,” said Paulsen.  “If Congress is going to pass this legislation, every effort should be made to ensure Minnesotans, and all Americans, know the actual cost for them and their families.  Regardless of where you stand on cap and trade as a policy, we should all agree that transparency and full disclosure are right for American taxpayers. ”
 
According to analyses, this bill could not only increase gas prices by up to 77 cents per gallon, it would increase overall energy costs for Minnesotans from as much as $300 to $3,100 per year. 

By Erik Paulsen

As runaway government spending continues, the United States is setting a dangerous precedent with our skyrocketing national debt. In fact, our debt has reached such a high level that the Federal Reserve has resorted to printing money to buy US Treasuries, a practice that is counterproductive for the financial health of all Americans.

This week, I briefly visited the U.S. Treasury auction, where the Government literally sells U.S. debt to finance Washington’s reckless spending habits.  I watched as $27 billion worth of U.S. debt was sold.  This was part of a record $104 billion sold this week alone.   Sadly, this is only a fraction of the total debt our nation faces, which has now reached astronomical levels of over $11 trillion.

By Jeff Johnson

Writing on The Mayor Blog, Jeremy Hanson, Mayor Rybak’s Communications Director and Press Secretary, has posted an entry entitled “In Defense of Artistic Drinking Fountains” in which he takes issue with Governor Pawlenty’s criticism of the $500,000 Minneapolis recently spent on artist-designed water fountains in Minneapolis.  I posted on this issue last week.

In the post, Hanson claims the following:

The drinking fountains in question are funded with dedicated revenue streams that are completely separate from the City’s General Fund and have nothing to do with the amount of local government aid (LGA) the City gets from the State.

In defense of this assertion, Hanson states that the $500,000 comes from two sources.  Half comes from the city’s capital budget:

Minnesota Representatives Michelle Bachmann (R6), and Erik Paulsen (R3), and John Kline (R2) are part of Sunset Caucus unveiled today will provide for the permanent elimination, de-funding, or repeal of a federal program, agency, or department at a date certain. Here are a few slaps to the head to help us understand just how out of hand things have gotten lately:

·        The deficit has increased by $1.678 trillion or 1,035.8% in the little more than two years.

·        The President’s budget calls for the public debt to double within five years and to triple within ten years.  

·        This year’s deficit is projected to be $1.84 trillion—four times the next highest deficit in U.S. history.  

·        The federal government will borrow 46 cents for every dollar it spends in FY 2009.

Yesterday, Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03), along with Congressman Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Charlie Dent (Penn.), announced introduction of the "Medical Rights and Reform Act," a comprehensive health care reform proposal aimed at protecting the doctor-patient relationship, lowering costs and increasing access and choice. 

“This legislation will lower costs and expand access without stepping in the way of the doctor-patient relationship,” said Paulsen.  “Unlike other proposals in Congress that would eliminate or restrict employer-provided health insurance, this bill also ensures these plans are protected so that every American can choose to keep their current insurance.”

The Medical Rights and Reform Act will expand access to care by making health insurance more affordable and giving all Americans more options and control over their health care decisions.

Specifically, the bill will:

By Jeff Johnson

Rybak complains while spending $500,000 for artsy drinking fountains in Minneapolis

Governor Pawlenty today announced his unallotment decisions.  Among his comments was an admonition to Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak (who is predictably incensed by the cuts to local government aid) that he should start setting priorities for the city budget and stop funding  ”$50,000 artistic drinking fountains.”

I had completely forgotten about those fountains, but amidst the cries from Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman that LGA cuts would threaten public safety and force their respective cities to cut even further into bone, I decided to refresh myself on last year’s decision by Rybak and the Minneapolis City Council to spend $500,000 on ten artist-designed water fountains to be placed throughout the city.

A Star Tribune story last year described this expenditure as a “continuation of the city’s ongoing public arts program, which has brought the city projects ranging from an oversized bunny sculpture at East Minnehaha Parkway and Portland Ave. S. to artist-designed manhole covers.”

In response to the controversy that ensued over the fountains last year, Rybak and others presented the familiar argument that the fountains were being funded from a dedicated pot of money that could not be spent on other priorities.  One should never, however, accept that argument at face value.

By Jeff Johnson

Another good story from Tom Hauser, this time about the garbage burner landscaping that received last week's Golden Fire Hydrant.

Just a note: The shots in the story of the trashy building and littered street are not shots of the garbage burner property; they are pictures taken down the street from the garbage burner. The actual garbage burner property is currently very neat and clean and already has landscaping in place (just not the gold-standard landscaping that the taxpayers are about to fund).

Watch