Issues

Congressman Walz has been fighting in Washington to make government more responsive to the citizens it serves, and to help middle class families succeed. Since the start of his term, Congressman Walz has participated in or sponsored 172 community meetings and public events. These events are important opportunities for Congressman Walz to hear from his constituents about ways in which he can help improve their lives and communities.

Many of the projects Congressman Walz worked on were brought to his attention by residents of southern Minnesota. Below are some of the major issues Congressman Walz has been working on during the 110 th Congress.

Agriculture

Congressman Walz championed the farm bill and worked to secure an override of the President’s veto. The farm bill included several of the Congressman’s initiatives:

The farm bill contains language modeled after Congressman Walz’s Farm Flex amendment, which will allow producers in the Midwest to grow fruits and vegetables for processing without penalty on up to 75,000 acres, including 34,000 acres in Minnesota.

The 2007 Farm Bill includes nearly a dozen different provisions added at the request of Congressman Walz to help beginning farmers and ranchers get their start in agriculture. These include a program to encourage landowners who are taking land out of the Conservation Reserve Program to sell or rent that land to a beginning farmer; a 10% set-aside within various conservation programs to specifically target new producers; a requirement that USDA direct Risk Management Education at beginning farmers, so they can learn how best to use crop insurance; $75 million in mandatory funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program; and improvements to the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Down Payment Loan Program and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Land Contract Program.

At Congressman Walz’s request, the farm bill requires USDA to streamline its application process for conservation programs, making it easier for producers to enroll without having to complete redundant paperwork.

Congressman Walz successfully added an amendment to the farm bill requiring USDA to study the impact of rail service on rural America, particularly regarding agricultural inputs and commodities, renewable fuels, and coal.

The farm bill includes an amendment offered by Congressman Walz that requires USDA to allow producers to certify their eligibility for the Conservation Security Program at the same time they certify their farming operation as organic. This saves time, reduces paperwork, and helps farmers spend less time in the FSA office and more time in the fields. Top

Appropriations

For the second year in a row, Congressman Walz publicly released his list of federal funding requests, as well as the amounts he requested. He was the only member of the Minnesota Congressional delegation to do so.

Congressman Walz supported legislation introduced by Rep. Boyda, requiring other members to disclose their earmarks publicly.

Congressman Walz supported legislation introduced by Rep Kind, to establish an earmark reform commission. Top

Economy

Congressman Walz sponsored the economic stimulus package, HR 5316, which provided Recovery Rebates to Americans to help the economy. He also led the fight in Congress to add veterans and senior citizens to the economic stimulus package.

Congressman Walz introduced the Middle Class Tax Fairness Act, which will double the standard deduction for all taxpayers for 2008 and 2009, providing an average tax cut of $750 to 61 million Americans. This legislation also expands eligibility for the Child Tax Credit and provides a new standard deduction for taxpayers who pay property taxes. Top

Education

Congressman Walz introduced H.R. 6239, the NCLB Recess Until Reauthorization Act, which freezes-in-place the sanctions that are placed on schools for one-year or until NBLC is reauthorized.
Congressman Walz proposed an amendment to H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act to help students with the rising costs of text books by requiring publishing companies to provide a description of changes from one addition of a text book to the next. This would allow teachers determine whether these changes are critical to the curriculum of the class. final version of the bill.
Congressman Walz voted for the College Cost Reduction Act, which helps middle class families pay for college by cutting interest rates in half on student loans, increasing the maximum Pell Grant to $5,400 and providing tuition assistance to students who pledge to work in high-need schools after graduation.
Congressman Walz authored the Educator Expense Deduction Act (H.R. 3605), which provides a tax deduction up to $500 for teachers who spend their own money on supplies for their classrooms. A modified version of this legislation passed the House as part of H.R. 3996.
Congressman Walz, who is a former social studies teacher, is a strong supporter of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act (H.R. 1228), which will fund professional development to help ensure all young people acquire the vital geography skills and experience they need. Top

Energy

Congressman Walz joined the Bipartisan Energy Working Group and helped develop a compromise energy bill, H.R. 6709, that will use nearly $1 trillion in new royalties from expanded drilling to finance renewable energy research and development. Top

Environment

Congressman Walz is a co-chair of the Upper Mississippi River Basin taskforce and he led the effort in Congress to secure funding for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, a multi-state Army Corps of Engineers program to modernize the locks and dams along the Upper Mississippi.
Congressman Walz has taken an aggressive approach to addressing global warming by co-sponsoring the Safe Climate Act, which establishes aggressive greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, creates an overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and creates a cap and trade system.
Congressman Walz co-sponsored legislation (H.R. 1506), which would raise CAFE standards to 35mpg and has twice joined with his House colleagues in urging House leadership to include strong CAFÉ standards in any Energy Bill draft that comes before the House. Top

Fiscal Responsibility

Congressman Walz returned his Congressional pay raise to the U.S. Treasury, to help pay down the national debt.

Congressman Walz returned approximately $100,000 in unspent funds from his 2007 office budget to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the debt. Top

Immigration

Congressman Walz joined with several of his colleagues to urge the President and the House Budget Committee to fully fund the State Criminal Alien Apprehension Program, which reimburses state and local governments for costs they incur while incarcerating illegal immigrants.

Congressman Walz also testified before the House Budget Committee, asking for increased funding for border security efforts.

Congressman Walz traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border, where he met first-hand with agents from the U.S. Border Patrol and learned from them what additional resources they need to secure our borders. Top

Judiciary

Congressman Walz lead an effort among freshmen Democrats in support for full funding for the Byrne-JAG grant program that is important to Minnesota’s law enforcement community. Top

Oversight

Congressman Walz successfully pushed for a congressional investigation of the grant-making process at the Department of Justice, at the urging of the National Child Protection Training Center. He also participated in a hearing held by the House Oversight and Investigations Committee into the DOJ’s procedures. Top

Transportation

Congressman Walz successfully offered an amendment to H.R. 3999, the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act, which would help address situations like that which occurred with the closure of the Highway 43 bridge in Winona. The Walz amendment requires the Secretary of Transportation to report on the impact to local communities whenever a bridge is closed for emergency repairs. Top

Veterans’ Affairs

Congressman Walz was the lead author of a letter signed by every member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee to Chairman Spratt and Ranking Member Ryan, requesting more funding for the VA Office of the Inspector General in the FY09 Budget Resolution.

Congressman Walz met with Secretary Peake of the Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss veterans issues, including the status of several constituent claims that have been pending with the VA for months. Secretary Peake committed to working to resolve those claims.

Congressman Walz introduced, and subsequently testified before the Health Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee about, the Veterans Pain Care Act of 2008 (H.R. 6122). The bill would direct the VA to set a national policy on the treatment of, and research, education and training about, chronic and acute pain among veterans. Pain is a leading cause of disability among veterans, so this bill would help significantly improve the quality of life of veterans. This legislation was passed by the House was part of a larger legislative package, H.R. 6445, the Veterans Health Care Policy Enhancement Act of 2008, which passed the House by voice vote on July 29, 2008.

Congressman Walz organized and hosted a roundtable on veterans issues with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and veterans from the First District of Minnesota. This was an opportunity for the Speaker to hear directly from southern Minnesota veterans about issues, ideas and suggestions that Congressman Walz had brought back to Washington after holding public forums in the District.

Congressman Walz wrote a letter in May to Secretary Peake expressing his strong support for a potential VA clinic in Mankato and urging VA to approve the Minneapolis’ VA Medical Center’s proposal for the clinic. When the clinic was in fact opened in early June, Congressman Walz made a congressional visit on its first day, in order to survey it, to help spread the word about it, and to urge VA to move quickly on its plans to expand the clinic from a mental health clinic to a full primary care clinic.

Congressman Walz vigorously supported efforts to fund and to compel VA and Department of Defense to establish, as they were directed to by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008, a Center of Excellence for the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of military eye injuries and an associated program for addressing traumatic brain injury-related eye injuries among service members and veterans. Congressman Walz was lead author on a letter to Chairman Murtha urging inclusion of funding for the Eye Center in the Iraq supplemental, which it was, although that bill was defeated and the funding was not included in the final version of the bill. By that time, however, Congressman Walz was urging – both in writing and at a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee – VA to implement an excellent cost estimate and proposal it had developed and pushing DoD to similarly follow through.

Congressman Walz introduced the Veterans Travel Program Reform Act, which increases the mileage reimbursement that veterans receive for traveling to VA facilities for their medical care. This legislation also eliminates restrictions that limit the ability of certain veterans to receive care, and eliminates the deductible that veterans must currently pay. Top

Recognition

Congressman Walz received an award from National Geographic Magazine, recognizing him as the 2008 Geography Legislator of the Year.

Congressman Walz received an award from the National Council for the Social Studies for his work in Congress.

Congressman Walz received in both 2007 and 2008 the Golden Triangle Award from the National Farmers Union for his work on behalf of America’s farm and ranch families.

Congressman Walz was publicly thanked by AARP, acknowledging his leadership in working to ensure that seniors were included in the economic stimulus package.

Congressman Walz received an award from the Minnesota Disabled American Veterans for his work on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee on behalf of disabled veterans.

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