Capitol Calling

Bond open to extending "Cash for Clunkers"

Unlike U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, and -to some extent - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, Sen. Kit Bond seems far more open to refueling the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

The U.S. House passed legislation moving $2 billion from the federal stimulus package to the program that provides government rebates for people who trade in old vehicles. Luetkemeyer was one of 109 lawmakers to vote against the bill.

While McCaskill said she would consider legislation that would not use new funds for the program, Bond expressed fairly positive sentiments about the proposal in a statement.

“An extension paid for with unused stimulus dollars makes sense since this program seems to have worked better then the misnamed recovery act," Bond said in an e-mailed statement.

The Senate is expected to take up the issue next week.

Luetkemeyer votes against extending "Cash for Clunkers"

Following up on a blog post I wrote for the Columbia Business Times, the U.S. House voted today to infuse $2 billion into the so-called “Cash for Clunkers” program.

The program – which offers government rebates to consumers who trade in old cars or trucks – quickly ran out of money after just a few days of existence. That spurred Congress into pumping in more money to keep the program afloat.

The legislation passed today would shift money already allocated in the federal stimulus package to the rebate program. It still needs the approval of the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, voted today against extending the program. Luetkemeyer spokesman Paul Sloca said that the first-term congressman voted against authorizing the program in the first place.

“Like many folks, Blaine was disturbed that this program blew through $1 billion in hard-earned taxpayer dollars in just one week and that the problem was revealed only 24 hours ago,” Sloca said in an e-mail. “If this is how the government handles taxpayer dollars on a program like this, you have to wonder how government is going to deal with something like health care.”

The bill passed 316-109.

CBT Blog: McCaskill opposes extending "Cash for Clunkers"

The big news out of Washington, D.C. today is the sudden insolvency of the so-called "Cash for Clunkers" program.

While Congress is currently deliberating whether to add more money into the program meant to spur the purchases of fuel efficient cars, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has expressed opposition at the idea.

Read more at the Columbia Business Times Blog.

Happy Friday

Commitee talks about looking into E.coli flap

The Senate Commerce Committee held a conference call this afternoon to discuss how to proceed in examining the controversy over a withheld E.coli report from the Department of Natural Resources.

Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, said today that one of the goals of committee was to produce a time line determining how and why DNR decided to act. Lager stressed that his committee was not investigatory in nature and added that the body will see if any laws or regulations need to be altered.

In what may be a first, I recorded some of conference call with a video camera. The voices of state lawmakers could be heard through a device that looks suspiciously like a UFO.

Take a look/listen:

Rumble in the 4th District

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the increasingly loud criticism of U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexington, from the state and national GOP.

The criticism was odd, because Skelton usually isn't in the political cross hairs. It also seemed strange that Republicans would spend time and money attacking a lawmaker that won re-election last year with over 60 percent of the vote.

Strange, of course, unless there was going to be a serious effort to unseat him.

Skelton's district - which runs includes Jefferson City, some Lake of the Ozarks counties and parts of southwest Missouri - is a fairly Republican district. "MO-4" is home to a number of sitting Republican legislators that could hypothetically challenge the veteran Democratic congressman.

So far, there's been rumblings from at least two pols about challenging Skelton in next year's election cycle.

The first possibility is state Rep. Tom Self.  Springfield News-Leader reporter Chad Livengood reported a few weeks ago that the Cole Camp Republican was mulling a bid against Skelton. The term-limited state represenative, according to Livengood, is perturbed about a ban on youth-sized motorcycles and ATVs.

Another possibility is Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton. Aaron Baker, an aide to Stouffer, sent out a tweet two days ago pointing out a Facebook group called "Draft Stouffer for Congress." The group was started by Central Methodist University student Rachael Selby and currently has over 110 members.

It's hard to ascertain intentions through Facebook. But it is worth noting that the last person to have a "draft" group on Facebook - Ed Martin - announced yesterday that he was launching an exploratory committee to run against U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis.

Stouffer, a farmer by trade, represents a pretty large state Senate district stretching from Howard County to the Kansas City exurbs. His district includes Skelton's home county of Lafayette. As the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Stouffer is best known around the Missouri Capitol for dealing with transportatin-related issues.

Hypothetically, there are several other GOP state lawmakers who could make a run at Skelton. They include Sens. Carl Vogel, R-Jefferson City, Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City, David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, and Dan Clemens, R-Marshfield. Vogel, Scott and Clemens are term limited.

It's always noteworthy to have somebody with elected experience run for Congress. But all of these potential Republican candidates face challenges.

First, Skelton has proven adept at winning in an overwhelmingly Republican district. He's defeated some relatively well-known GOP challengers in the past - including former Lt. Gov. Bill Phelps and Wendell Bailey. He'll likely use the power of his incumbency to raise a great deal of money for any challenging re-election bid.

The other thing worth noting is that above candidates are in some cases regional political figures. Vogel, for instance, is probably unknown in Webster County. Pearce and Clemens is likely not known to most folks in Jefferson City. And even senators with big districts like Stouffer and Scott will have to boost their name recognition in a congressional contest.

Of course, any nominee could boost their visibility if the national Republican Party decides to play ball in the race. That's not a sure thing given Skelton's electoral track record, but anything is possible in the world of politics.

By the way, Congressional Quarterly rated MO-4 as "safe." That means the incumbent is almost virtually guranteed to win re-election.

Martin for Congress?

Missouri politicos, brace yourselves. Ed Martin may be running for Congress.

Martin - a conservative political activist who formerly served as Gov. Matt Blunt's chief of staff - announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run against U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan. The St. Louis Democratic lawmaker represents a congressional district encompassing St. Louis, Jefferson County and Ste. Genevieve.

“These workers and families want leaders who will stand up for them for jobs, lower taxes, less spending and a government that lives within its means. What has become clear is that Congressman Carnahan is not listening to – or speaking for – the people he promised to represent," Martin said in a press release posted on his Web site.

"Examples include his voting record for the so-called ‘stimulus’ bill, for a massive national energy tax, and his public advocacy - in lockstep with Speaker Nancy Pelosi - for a disastrous government takeover of health care which will lead to rationing and endanger Medicare," Martin added. I have always stood up for what I believe in and I'm considering running for Congress to make a difference by standing up for our neighbors and fellow citizens in the district.”

Martin - an attorney who left Blunt's administration in the midst of a controversy over e-mail retention - has formed a number of organizations since leaving state government. He's also been involved with Missouri Roundtable for Life, a group that has grappled with state officials over ballot summary language for an item aiming to ban funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Rumblings of a congressional candidacy started when a Facebook group called "Draft Ed Martin for Congress" appeared a few months ago. As of this post, the group has 222 members.

While a battle between Carnahan and Martin could be quite entertaining, it remains to be seen whether it will be competitive. Congressional Quarterly rated Carnahan's seat as a "safe," which means "the incumbent party is virtually certain to win the seat.

News-Leader wades deeper into E.coli controversy

Springfield News-Leader reporter Chad Livengood wrote a lengthy story about a brewing controversy over the suppression of a report showing high E.coli measurements in the Lake of the Ozarks.

From Livengood's article:

DNR Deputy Director Joe Bindbeutel requested the report to take to a meeting the next day in Gov. Jay Nixon's office, according to e-mails obtained by the News-Leader through a Sunshine Law request.

Internal documents offer the first evidence that the report's alarming findings may have left the agency before officials have previously acknowledged. DNR Director Mark Templeton has previously said Bindbeutel made the decision to withhold the report from the public without consulting him.

The results of the test were available May 28, but DNR didn't release them to the public until June 26 after some officials questioned the validity of the results, following heavy Memorial Day weekend rainfall on the lake.

Read the rest here.

KBIA Commentary: Purgason's Impact

How will state Sen. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield impact the GOP primary for U.S. Senate?

That's the topic of my KBIA Commentary. Take a listen:

 

CBT Blog: Schaefer unsure of veto override

With less than two months until the legislature's annual veto session, it's still an open question whether Sen. Kurt Schaefer will seek an override of Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of legislation allowing some motorcyclists to ride without helmets.

I examine the issue on the Columbia Business Times Blog.