Nolan appointed to key committees

“Beyond its influence on a healthy timber industry, the Agriculture Committee has a great deal to do with hunger and nutrition programs here in America and around the world, as well as advancing U.S. exports and trade through the Port of Duluth,” he said.

He said he will advocate for the 8th District’s interests to ensure a sustainable forest industry. And, he added, a number of trade issues related to the forest industry must be considered to establish a fair and competitive market.

Nolan served on the Agriculture Committee from 1975-1981 and chaired its Subcommittee on Family Farms and Rural Development.

“The Transportation Committee deals with infrastructure and there’s a great deal of bipartisan support for cutting spending where possible and appropriate and interest in increasing spending on aging and crumbling infrastructure,” he said. “I believe we need to upgrade our infrastructure and that’s a great way to produce good-paying jobs.”

Meanwhile, Nolan said the very first day of House business included a motion to pull out of committee a bill that calls for more disclosure of campaign financing.

“Unfortunately, the motion was defeated,” he said. “In the meantime, we will prepare a package of legislation that will include a constitutional amendment to reverse (the U.S. Supreme Court decision) Citizens United, but also for transparency requiring all campaign contributions and expenditures to be disclosed,” he said. He said he expects the legislation would also limit the time and money spent on campaigns.

“The rationale is twofold: The race in Minnesota’s 8th District saw in excess of $20 million spent and most came from outside interests that have no real interest in the 8th District,” he said. “It’s obvious they have agendas important to them, but not to us in the 8th District. It’s not right that kind of money going into campaigns and elections without us knowing where it’s from and how it was spent and what the intentions are. So we need disclosure.”

The other reason is just as important, he said. “The country gets to the stage where the one who raises the most money gets the most votes. We were outspent, but won the election,” he said. Too much time is spent by members of Congress raising money. He said members are expected to spend 30 hours each week calling and asking for money. He said the primary difference between the earlier years he served in Congress to today is that members spend more time raising money and getting elected than they do working at their positions.

In his first term served in Congress, members spent 48 of 52 weeks in committee. The current Congress, he said, is scheduled to work 32 out of 52 weeks, with most weeks working just two days. He said Congress is scheduled to work 124 days this year.

“Meanwhile we’ve got the fiscal cliff, major tax and finance issues, we need to reenact legislation just on the two committees I serve on,” he said. Sworn in on a Thursday, he said three votes were taken in the House Friday “and then we take two weeks off. We’re only scheduled another six days in January and maybe 10 days in February and so on.”

A change in the way the nation does its government business is needed, he said. “We can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results,” Nolan said. “Congress has to get back into the business of government.”

Working more days, he said, would allow members to understand “where interests are compatible, you develop respect and begin collaboration and cooperation and compromise and you fix problems and get things done. That’s the way this country worked for a couple centuries. What’s being done is not working today and the reason being is we’re not working four to five days a week like everybody else does in America.”

While not in session, Nolan said he’s not on vacation. “I am still working,” he said, noting he was heading back to Minnesota the next day for a meeting with a wide variety of constituents, as well as state Highway Department officials about transportation needs.

“It’s government by crisis management,” he said of the way Congress works and how the so-called fiscal cliff was handled.

Nolan said some members are prepared to again shut down the government if necessary when the debt ceiling issue is raised. He said such inaction would have devastating economic impacts and discourage people all over the world from investing.

“I think it would be a mistake,” he said. “Congress votes and approves every dollar spent by the federal government. It would be terribly irresponsible to spend money and refuse to pay bills.”

He said Social Security and Medicare have not contributed to the $16 trillion debt the nation faces today. “I reject the notion that they are entitlements,” he said. “These are earned benefits people start to pay for the first day of work and have every right to expect to benefit from those programs.”

He acknowledged that changes in the programs must be made to ensure they are sustainable beyond the current funds. “So while there may need to be some fixing, I don’t think that should be to cut benefits,” he said.

Instead, he said, research shows wasted money in a variety of places, including the health care industry through unnecessary procedures, overpayments, abuse and costly administration.

“In my judgment, the biggest opportunity to cut spending is in the military,” he said. “We just spent $1 trillion in the war in Iraq, and the estimates show the long-term cost of war as high as $5 trillion. The day the war is over is not the day we end spending on it.”

Nolan said the nation does “not need to be the world’s policemen. We don’t need multimillion dollar bases in every nook and cranny. But that’s not to say we don’t need a strong defense.”

The inequality of American citizens is growing and the wealthy in the nation must pay more tax while middle class people need tax breaks to help make living expenses more affordable, he said.

And he said some savings could come from changes by making government more streamlined and effective.

In reaction to the recent school shooting in Connecticut, Nolan said more support must be given to mental health care. “We’re not funding good health care services the way we should and as a result, there has been tremendous suffering, loss of productivity and occasionally, these tragic violent events,” he said.

An avid hunter who grew up eating wild game, he said he expects legislation that would limit access to assault rifles to be a big issue this year.

“You don’t need an assault rifle to shoot a duck or protect your family,” he said. “We need to outlaw assault rifles, strengthen background checks and we don’t need magazine clips with 50 shells to know you have downed a duck or deer. It’s something reasonable and sensible that we can and must do in order to do what we can to avoid the terrible, violent circumstances that are reoccurring. It’s not enough to say ‘isn’t it tragic this has happened again.’”