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State Representative Bob Dettmer
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4124
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
NEWS COLUMN
The Not So Great Debate
By Bob Dettmer
State Representative
District 52A
St. Paul, MN—Representatives are elected to serve as the voice of the citizens in their district. Obviously not all these voices say the same thing. The political points of view across Minnesota are diverse. Folks in Ely might not always see eye-to-eye with people in Minneapolis or Forest Lake, but it is important that all these voices are heard. Last week the voices of nearly 2 million Minnesotans were silenced.
By now I’m sure most of you have heard the House passed a bonding bill on February 15. What you might not know is how the bill was pushed through while the minority voice was silenced. As we deliberated on the bill’s merits and discussed proposed amendments, the House Majority Leader abruptly ended the debate by “Calling the Question.” This motion ends all discussion and brings the bill to an immediate vote.
The debate was far from over, and Speaker Kelliher still had unheard Republican amendments on her desk. This sparked outrage amongst my Republican colleagues and I, and many members made motions in hopes of extending the discussion. All of these attempts fell on deaf ears. Even our Minority Leader, Rep. Kurt Zellers, was gaveled down as out of order. He is the voice of our party.
This move is unprecedented and shows a lack of respect and a disregard for House protocol. Regardless of whether the majority agrees with our ideas we still have the right to express them, and our leader must be allowed to speak. Republicans represent 47 different districts in this state and to silence us is to silence them. That is simply not acceptable.
We face a $1.2 billion deficit this year and that number is expected to balloon to $5.4 billion next biennium. This bill borrows more than $1 billion, and when you factor in debt service it will cost the state more than $1.5 billion. Pushing this bill through is irresponsible, especially without allowing input from all perspectives.
I have heard from many of you struggling during this economic downturn, and you have said, time and time again, balance the budget and stop spending so much money. Unfortunately, in this case your voices were ignored. We must put partisanship aside and work together to turn Minnesota around. Politics as usual is not the answer. House leadership must listen to the voices of the people whether they like what is said or not.
News Items
- Memorial Day Message - (Posted: May 27 2013 2:18PM)
- Dettmer Statement on HF956 - Omnibus Energy Bill - (Posted: May 8 2013 3:10PM)
- Minneapolis Veterans Deserve Better - (Posted: May 3 2013 3:31PM)
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