Republican Senator Norm Coleman said health care will be the major
issue for Congress to deal with next year no matter who is elected
president of the United States.
by Don Heinzman and Howard Lestrud
Republican Senator Norm Coleman said health care will be the major issue for Congress to deal with next year no matter who is elected president of the United States.
Coleman believes there is a good chance there will be a bipartisan effort to bring about more affordable and accessible health care. He said government will have a role in coordinating better health care.
Sen. Coleman was making these comments via conference call with ECM Editorial Board members. At almost the time he was addressing this issue, the Minnesota Legislature was debating health care.
Congress is trying to come up with a way to deal with the health care issues, said Coleman. He said prevention and availability of insurance are two major concerns when talking health care. He said he has been working with the Mayo Clinic on ways to transform health care.
Coleman linked the need to solve the health care problem to the troubled economy to the costs and the uninsured, particularly those over 65.
In a wide-ranging interview with the ECM Publishers Inc. Editorial Board, Coleman said despite the veto of the $70 million provision for the Central Corridor, he's "very supportive" of the Central Corridor light rail project and hopes Gov. Tim Pawlenty who struck it from the bonding bill will rethink that action.
"The Central Corridor light rail project is a very important part of the whole transportation package," he said.
"It is premature to pronounce the death of the Central Corridor light rail. It needs to be done."
Turning to the Iraq War, Coleman said the Congress will step up the pressure after the 45-day pause period to take action on the war.
He said he's hopeful that soon the Iraqi military will be able to fight the insurgents so "our troops can be put in a secondary position."
Asked what he would consider success in Iraq, Coleman said it will be when there is a stable government in Iraq and the government can defend itself against enemies both internally and externally.
Coleman said he was "very hopeful" with the success of the military operations in Iraq. He says the Iraqi forces have improved and he would like to see a troop withdrawal sooner than later but will defer to Gen. David Petraeus until the 45-day timeframe has been exhausted.
Pressed to reveal when an "end game" may be evident with the Iraq War, Coleman says these efforts are not taken to democratize Iraq but to stabilize the Iraqi government and to allow Iraq to defend itself against internal and external enemies. Coleman says he has pushed Petraeus personally and publicly about an "end game." He praised Petraeus as being "masterful military tactitian.
Sen. Coleman also touched on the subject of the economy, acknowledging that this is of major concern to his constituents. He said he has been working on several mortgage foreclosure items including a tax credit for homebuyers and a special provision for veterans acquiring housing. The housing crisis is part of what has been undermining the economy, Coleman said.
Coleman spoke about the Farm Bill and said the House just appointed conferees. He said the first meeting was held on Thursday. Coleman is optimistic that a Farm Bill will be passed and will be favorable to the environment. He talked about moving to cellulosic ethanol and emphasized that there is $1 billion in the Farm Bill focusing on biofuels.
Acknowledging that he has a campaign for re-election, Coleman said he hopes to spend more weekends of relaxation in his home state this summer. He hinted that he might participate in the state's fishing opener in early May.
Republican Senator Norm Coleman said health care will be the major issue for Congress to deal with next year no matter who is elected president of the United States.
Coleman believes there is a good chance there will be a bipartisan effort to bring about more affordable and accessible health care. He said government will have a role in coordinating better health care.
Sen. Coleman was making these comments via conference call with ECM Editorial Board members. At almost the time he was addressing this issue, the Minnesota Legislature was debating health care.
Congress is trying to come up with a way to deal with the health care issues, said Coleman. He said prevention and availability of insurance are two major concerns when talking health care. He said he has been working with the Mayo Clinic on ways to transform health care.
Coleman linked the need to solve the health care problem to the troubled economy to the costs and the uninsured, particularly those over 65.
In a wide-ranging interview with the ECM Publishers Inc. Editorial Board, Coleman said despite the veto of the $70 million provision for the Central Corridor, he's "very supportive" of the Central Corridor light rail project and hopes Gov. Tim Pawlenty who struck it from the bonding bill will rethink that action.
"The Central Corridor light rail project is a very important part of the whole transportation package," he said.
"It is premature to pronounce the death of the Central Corridor light rail. It needs to be done."
Turning to the Iraq War, Coleman said the Congress will step up the pressure after the 45-day pause period to take action on the war.
He said he's hopeful that soon the Iraqi military will be able to fight the insurgents so "our troops can be put in a secondary position."
Asked what he would consider success in Iraq, Coleman said it will be when there is a stable government in Iraq and the government can defend itself against enemies both internally and externally.
Coleman said he was "very hopeful" with the success of the military operations in Iraq. He says the Iraqi forces have improved and he would like to see a troop withdrawal sooner than later but will defer to Gen. David Petraeus until the 45-day timeframe has been exhausted.
Pressed to reveal when an "end game" may be evident with the Iraq War, Coleman says these efforts are not taken to democratize Iraq but to stabilize the Iraqi government and to allow Iraq to defend itself against internal and external enemies. Coleman says he has pushed Petraeus personally and publicly about an "end game." He praised Petraeus as being "masterful military tactitian.
Sen. Coleman also touched on the subject of the economy, acknowledging that this is of major concern to his constituents. He said he has been working on several mortgage foreclosure items including a tax credit for homebuyers and a special provision for veterans acquiring housing. The housing crisis is part of what has been undermining the economy, Coleman said.
Coleman spoke about the Farm Bill and said the House just appointed conferees. He said the first meeting was held on Thursday. Coleman is optimistic that a Farm Bill will be passed and will be favorable to the environment. He talked about moving to cellulosic ethanol and emphasized that there is $1 billion in the Farm Bill focusing on biofuels.
Acknowledging that he has a campaign for re-election, Coleman said he hopes to spend more weekends of relaxation in his home state this summer. He hinted that he might participate in the state's fishing opener in early May.
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