April 12, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Today at a rally on the Minnesota State Capitol steps, Minnesota's 2nd District Congressman, John Kline, railed against Democrats, claiming their actions in Congress will cost Minnesotans money. He stated: “At a time when we’re spending more money for gasoline, healthcare… all of those things… we can’t afford to have a burden like that placed on us by Washington.”
In response, Bridget Cusick, spokeswoman for Kline’s DFL challenger, Steve Sarvi, had the following comments: “What Minnesotans can’t afford is a representative who purports to sympathize with them on gas prices and healthcare costs while his actions as a candidate and a Congressman clearly show he’s not on their side.”
Kline also took time at the rally to tout his still relatively newfound stance against earmarks, or federal money dedicated to specific projects. “We can’t forget that it was under Republican leadership – 12 years of it – that the number of earmarks drastically increased,” said Cusick. “John Kline can try and latch onto this issue now to score political points, but the truth is it’s runaway spending by him and his friends in Congress that has given our nation trillions of dollars in debt more today than we had before he took office.
"Steve Sarvi agrees with Representatives like Tim Walz, who are taking action to make federal spending more transparent,” continued Cusick. “John Kline is simply opting out, abdicating his responsibilities to his constituents. That’s not leadership, and it’s not representation. It’s time for change in the 2nd District.”
The Kline Record
John Kline Would Rather See Minnesotans Pay High Gas Prices Than Help Give Them Alternatives. John Kline voted against the Energy Independence and Security Act, H.R. 2764., which contained provisions to strengthen national security by lessening dependence on foreign oil, address climate change, lower energy costs for consumers and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. The bill passed 314-100, showing significant bipartisan support.
Kline Took Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars from the Energy Industry and – Unsurprisingly – Voted for Their Bills. As John Kline took huge contributions from the energy sector for his campaign war chest, he voted in lockstep with the Bush administration’s energy bills – giveaways to the energy companies. Over the course of his career, John Kline has taken over $125,000 from energy industry PACs and more than $165,000 from the energy industry overall. He has taken more than $110,000 from the oil and gas sectors alone. (http://www.opensecrets.org)
While John Kline Has Been in Congress, Our National Debt Has Soared to $9.2 Trillion – $2.8 Trillion More Than Before He Took Office. That’s more than $30,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States .
John Kline Has Voted Against Health Care Coverage for Children Again and Again. John Kline voted against the Children’s Health & Medicare Protection Act of 2007, which would have expanded the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional five million children of families in need. The bill passed 225-207. (HR 3162, Vote #787, 8/1/2007). Given the opportunity to support a bipartisan initiative to help four million of the poorest children, John Kline again voted no. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, 265-159. (HR 976, Vote #906, 9/25/2007) After passing both the House and the Senate, the bill was vetoed by President Bush. John Kline stood with him, again saying no to helping children by voting to sustain the president’s veto. The veto override failed by a mere 13 votes. (HR 976, Vote #982, 10/18/2007)
John Kline Has Ensured Higher Prescription Drug Costs for Seniors. The Medicare prescription drug plan that John Kline voted in for in 2003 gave billions to businesses and the health care industry but forced seniors to accept annual increases in premiums and deductibles and created a growing gap in coverage for their prescriptions. Premiums are projected to rise 65 percent and the deductible and coverage gap to rise 78 percent over 8 years. Kline voted against allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare participants. (HR 1, Vote #668, 11/21/2003). Eighty-nine thousand Minnesota seniors are expected to pay more for their prescription drugs under the plans Kline supported. (HR 1, Vote #669, 11/21/2003)
For more, visit www.stevesarvi.org – and click on “The Kline Record.”
Steve Sarvi
Steve Sarvi is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army and National Guard who served in both Kosovo and Iraq . He’s a former three-term mayor of Watertown , Minn. , who has worked in local government for more than 13 years, currently serving as the administrator for the City of Victoria, Minn. For more about Sarvi and his vision for changing our country’s course, visit www.stevesarvi.org.