What Walz's Committee Appointments Really Mean
Freshman congressman Tim Walz is doing quite well, thank you. Going from an apolitical high school government teacher to being a U.S. congressman in the space of less than 30 months has been quite a ride.
Just this week he was named to his second major House committee, adding Transportation to his previous appointment to Agriculture.
While many folks won't see this as a big deal, it is to the citizens of his district. Walz's predecessor, Gil Gutknecht, also sat on the Agriculture Committee and had a hand at crafting the last Farm Bill, which, most agree, served the country well for the last several years. However, it is in great need of updating, and Walz will have a hand in bringing to the nation's farm policy some very necessary changes.
As for transportation, Mr. Gutknecht helped bring a major highway upgrade to Rochester, his hometown. But many of the rest of the roads and highways in his district suffered. No doubt the prime example is Highway 14 between New Ulm and Rochester, a mostly two-lane deathtrap that is long overdue to be expanded to four.
For many years it's been at the top of the Minnesota Department of Transportation priority list, but upgrades have come in fits and starts, with four-lane sections being built around Mankato and Owatonna and west of Rochester while the rest remains two lanes. The state having long ago committed its share, what has held up the completion of the project has simply been the lack of federal funds.
Now with Walz on the Transportation Committee, which is chaired by fellow Minnesota Democrat Jim Oberstar, the chance of a green light for funding Highway 14 is all but assured.
And how does this relate to Mr. Walz's known antipathy to porkbarrel legislation? He's not worried that the project stands on its own merits. "Highway 14 is absolutely a safety and security issue," he says. And it's not like he's asking for a $223 million bridge to nowhere.
FOOTNOTE: The completion of the Highway 14 upgrade between New Ulm and Rochester will be a victory for Walz not only for political reasons but for personal ones as well: He lost a next door neighbor to a traffic accident on Highway 14 a few years back.
Just this week he was named to his second major House committee, adding Transportation to his previous appointment to Agriculture.
While many folks won't see this as a big deal, it is to the citizens of his district. Walz's predecessor, Gil Gutknecht, also sat on the Agriculture Committee and had a hand at crafting the last Farm Bill, which, most agree, served the country well for the last several years. However, it is in great need of updating, and Walz will have a hand in bringing to the nation's farm policy some very necessary changes.
As for transportation, Mr. Gutknecht helped bring a major highway upgrade to Rochester, his hometown. But many of the rest of the roads and highways in his district suffered. No doubt the prime example is Highway 14 between New Ulm and Rochester, a mostly two-lane deathtrap that is long overdue to be expanded to four.
For many years it's been at the top of the Minnesota Department of Transportation priority list, but upgrades have come in fits and starts, with four-lane sections being built around Mankato and Owatonna and west of Rochester while the rest remains two lanes. The state having long ago committed its share, what has held up the completion of the project has simply been the lack of federal funds.
Now with Walz on the Transportation Committee, which is chaired by fellow Minnesota Democrat Jim Oberstar, the chance of a green light for funding Highway 14 is all but assured.
And how does this relate to Mr. Walz's known antipathy to porkbarrel legislation? He's not worried that the project stands on its own merits. "Highway 14 is absolutely a safety and security issue," he says. And it's not like he's asking for a $223 million bridge to nowhere.
FOOTNOTE: The completion of the Highway 14 upgrade between New Ulm and Rochester will be a victory for Walz not only for political reasons but for personal ones as well: He lost a next door neighbor to a traffic accident on Highway 14 a few years back.
Labels: Highway 14, Tim Walz
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