Peterson - “Democratic leaders don’t seem to know how to legislate…”
Posted by Andy on March 9th, 2007
As I have noted earlier, Rep Colin Peterson (D MN7) is a little steamed at his party’s leader in the US House over the ban members of Congress face with non-commercial air travel. Well, the battle is really heating up in Congress, but also for Peterson in his home District.
The DC battle.
A legislative snafu in the new House prohibition against taking trips on corporate jets has started a tug-of-war over ethics rules between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).
For at least a week, Pelosi and Boehner have argued quietly over changes to the ethics package passed during the first hours of the 110th Congress. Pelosi would like to fix an embarrassing mistake in the new rules banning travel on corporate jets that, because of way it is written, unintentionally grounded a bipartisan group of about a dozen members who fly their own small aircraft or hitch rides with others.
And Peterson’s battle at home.
>Many of the members affected by the jet provision, including Reps. Issa, Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Robin Hayes (R-N.C.), are infuriated by the lack of progress. In Peterson’s case, he decided to be better safe than sorry and has stopped flying his own plane, a single-engine four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza.
“This has been really frustrating,” Peterson said. “And my constituents are outraged. There was a letter to the editor [in the local paper] saying I should change parties over this because the Democratic leaders don’t seem to know how to legislate…”
Even Peterson’s own supporters are fed up with his Democratic party’s poor leadership in Congress.
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