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Rowley's top priority is ethics reform in Congress Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Comprehensive ethics reform is Coleen Rowley's priority if elected to represent Minnesota's 2nd District in Congress.
Rowley, a former FBI agent and Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2002, is running against incumbent John Kline. It's a diverse district, including farms, growing new suburbs and established older suburbs.
Rowley is concerned about how urban sprawl is impacting the district. Farmers pay higher taxes because land prices are rising, fueled by the speculation that goes with urban expansion. Commuters are paying more for gas to get to and from work and the transportation system isn't ready to handle the load.
The 1031 tax exchange is tied to urban sprawl, Rowley said, as expensive land close to the metropolitan area is sold and proceeds used to purchase cheaper land further out.
Some of those landowners turn into absentee landlords, who many farmers have raised concerns about when talking to Rowley. Others have talked about their inability to make a living on the farm.
Rowley wants Congress to devote more money to domestic programs, including farm support.
Conservation programs require more funding, she said. Farm program regulations must be simplified so farmers can comply with them.
Rowley favors extending the 2002 farm bill for a year or two, giving consideration to making slight adjustments in the safety net and conservation programs. The Milk Income Loss Contract, which expires before the rest of the farm bill provisions, needs to be addressed.
Congress needs to funnel more money into research and development for renewable energy, rather than to tax subsidies for oil companies. Oil was the fuel of the 20th century, Rowley said, renewable fuels are the fuel of the 21st century.
Stable prices will help further renewable energy development, Rowley said. Ethanol took a while to get off the ground because of price volatility. Investors shy away from investments that have an uncertain return.
The federal government could spur renewable fuel production by mandating that a certain percentage of renewable fuel be used by the federal fleet, she said. That would spur the nationwide development of renewable fuels fueling stations.
Congress should do what's right for the nation, but instead it seems focused on doing the bidding of special interests, Rowley said. Oil companies have too much power and influence in Congress and that's led to corruption.
Ethics reform is needed to generate better decision making, Rowley said. It's in the best interests of the nation to move toward oil independence and away from special interest corruption.
Ethics reform would also yield better decision-making in the health care arena, she said. Rowley favors significant reform. The federal government, she said, needs to mandate that Americans have a right to a basic level of health care and allow the states to experiment with what delivery system works best.
The administrative cost of delivering health care in this country must also be reduced, she said, as 40 percent to 50 percent of the cost goes to administrative overhead.
The United States pays the most for health care of the 25 industrialized countries and has the lowest standards of health, Rowley said.
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