For members of the U.S. Congress who haven’t lost touch with the reason they are in Washington, summer is an opportunity to spend time in their home districts listening to the concerns of constituents.

Rep. Steve Kagen (D-8th) has spent the last month traveling across northeastern Wisconsin, and now he is speaking out about the effect of rising gas prices on his district’s residents.

“It’s an economic Katrina. We have to do something right now to alleviate the pressure of these rising gas prices and we also have to plan for the future,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Kagen advocates a three-pronged approach for combating rising prices that he believes could bring the price of gasoline down by $2 per gallon. The approach involves increasing oil drilling in the United States, investing in alternative energy technologies, and preventing speculators from driving up prices artificially.

“We need to drill for new oil here in America. We have over 100 billion barrels of oil beneath our land right now and most of that land is already owned by oil companies. You have an oil company that owns the lease to the land and we have to say to that company, ‘Use it or lose it,’” Kagen said.

Kagen said Wisconsin is blessed to have access to the UW’s research on alternative fuels, and he believes cellulostic ethanol could be an important investment for the future. But he was quick to say that ethanol cannot be the only solution. Kagen advocates the expanded use of wind, solar, and nuclear power to satisfy the country’s ever-increasing demand.

“We can’t grow our way out of this problem. We have to pursue all the different options. I’m for all forms of energy to get us off Middle Eastern oil. We have to stop shaking hands with our enemies,” he said.

Kagen said that he and his fellow legislators were working hard to develop policies to make it more difficult for speculators to drive up prices.

“Wall Street speculators have locked up oil on their computers. If you’re going to purchase oil, you should be prepared to possess it,” he said.

Read the full article on The Daily News website

by Brian Moon

Congressman Steve Kagen (D- Appleton) calls the Bush administration’s energy plan, “drilling and burning, drilling and burning.” The President called on Congress Wednesday to lift the ban on off shore domestic drilling.

While speaking to reporters, Kagen says oil firms aren’t even using what land they have now. He claims oil companies have tapped only 12 million acres of the 80 million that has been leased to them.

Read the full article on the WRN website

Peterson: Higher gas prices needed to force changes

By Ed Byrne

FREEDOM — Rep. Collin Peterson flew Sunday into northeast Wisconsin to attend the Outagamie County Breakfast on the Farm and visit an experimental manure-to-energy project at the Wiese Brothers Farms in Greenleaf.

Peterson, D-Minn., who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, also endorsed the re-election bid of Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, who serves on the committee.

Kagen is being challenged by Republican John Gard, whom he defeated two years ago.

Peterson credited Kagen for helping to get the Milk Income Loss Contract program in the new farm bill.

“I look at the farm bill as the most important economic stimulus package we have,” Kagen said. “It is long term, it takes a while to grow the products and get the marketplace going, but for rural America it is the most important economic success story.”

Read the full article on the Appleton Post-Crescent website

When your expenses exceed your income, your upkeep will be your downfall. That old adage is just as true for your family’s budget as it is for the federal government that’s spending your hard-earned tax dollars.

That’s why the first vote I cast after voters sent me to Washington was to stop the secretive way politicians had created to fund their pet projects through anonymous “earmarks.” In 2006 alone, President Bush asked for $20 billion in this type of secretive funding.

But now, our new reforms are bringing necessary openness and accountability to the budgeting process, so anyone who suggests spending your money has to put their name next to the request — providing taxpayers with information they need to decide whether projects are good investments or just plain pork.

Make no mistake, there’s a big difference.

In the past year, I’ve helped secure $450,000 for the College Avenue bridge in Appleton, $490,000 for the Outagamie County Regional Airport, $446,500 for the FoxComm emergency communication system and $980,000 for the U.S. 41 construction project from Oconto to Peshtigo — all worthwhile investments that will improve the economy of every community in the Fox Cities.

A good example of how these worthwhile public investments can make a positive difference in people’s private lives is the water treatment plant in Peshtigo.

When Mayor Tom Strouf asked Sen. Herb Kohl and me to help, the city’s water system was out of compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards because of the high level of radium in the water. Without federal aid, residents of Peshtigo would have seen their water bills increase excessively, inhibiting the economic development of the city.

No responsible leader would turn his back on the people of Peshtigo when asked to help. Sen. Kohl and I certainly didn’t, and $492,200 in federal funding later, the city is on its way to guaranteeing residents safe drinking water.

I have proudly put my name next to $25 million in investments for northeast Wisconsin, from dredging the Green Bay harbor to expanding the emergency room in Marinette and developing the riverfront in downtown Green Bay. I stand behind each of these proudly and the other investments, which are returning federal tax dollars to our region, spurring job creation and strengthening our communities.

For years, Wisconsin taxpayers have sent more money to Washington than we have received in return. But that’s changing. Given the option, I think it makes sense to spend our hard-earned tax dollars right back here in Wisconsin where they belong.

Rep. Steve Kagen: 920-380-0061 or kagen.house.gov

Appleton Post-Crescent

by Karen Lincoln Michel, NEWpolitics blog

It’s not unusual for U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen to get beeped and have to rush to the House floor for a vote.

But on Wednesday night, the freshman congressman from Appleton voted on an education bill while talking to an estimated 9,000 callers on his first town hall meeting via telephone.

In the nearly 50-minute call, Kagen took questions on subjects including healthcare, gas prices, jobs, veteran benefits and Social Security.

At one point, he told the call to continue while he switched to a wireless phone, which took a couple seconds. When he resumed, he said he was putting on his suit jacket and heading to the floor to cast his vote. While he answered a question on free trade, it sounded as if he was walking down a set of stairs.

“I’m going down the middle of the aisle,” he said a few minutes later, “…if you’re watching on C-Span…”

Read the full report at the Green Bay Pres-Gazette’s NEWpolitics blog

By Brian Moon

Wisconsin Radio Network News

Congressman Steve Kagen (D-Appleton) says there’s plenty of oil but too much “bad” speculation. He cited recent Congressional testimony by Hedge Fund Manager Michael Masters who says the unprecedented flow of funds into commodities markets is to blame for major inflation.

Kagen says large pension funds pouring massive dollars into commodities has caused distortions in the market. That’s because these massive speculators behave differently that other commodities traders because a loophole allows the pension funds to constantly buy but not sell. He believes more oversight is needed through the Commodity and Futures Trade Commission as well as lawmakers creating new legislations to regulate where massive speculators can invest.

The Democrat doesn’t support drilling in ANWAR saying it will be up to 20 years before that oil hits the market and may only reduce gas by a penny a gallon.

Brian Moon Reports - Play Audio

Wisconsin Public Radio

Measure would allow VA to get space quicker for larger area clinic

By Ellyn Ferguson

WASHINGTON -The House cleared legislation Tuesday night that would allow the Veterans Affairs Department to move more quickly to lease space for a larger medical clinic in Brown County.

On a 416-0 vote, the House sent to the Senate the bill, which authorizes money for the 2009 fiscal year for all of the VA’s construction and leasing of medical facilities.

Included in the bill is a provision to accelerate the timetable for the VA to rent a bigger space to replace the Green Bay Veterans Affairs clinic.

The bill would authorize but not guarantee $5.8 million to rent a 70,000 square-foot building to provide a broader array of medical services to an expected 15,000 patients.

About 2,500 patients are treated at the current 12,000 square-foot clinic.

The original timetable for authorizing money for a larger clinic was fiscal year 2010.
Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, worked with VA officials to move up the time frame by a year.

Kagen, an allergist who worked six years at VA facilities, said the overall bill is “a major step in developing the infrastructure” of veterans medical facilities across the country.

Read the full article at greenbaypressgazette.com

By Ellyn Ferguson, Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON - Nearly three-quarters of the House voted for Rep. Steve Kagen’s bill Tuesday to allow the U.S. government to sue the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for manipulating supplies and prices.

The vote was 324-84 with all eight Wisconsin House members supporting the measure. It comes a few days before Congress starts its Memorial Day recess and constituents kick off the summer driving season with pump prices pushing $4 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

Kagen’s bill incorporates the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) bill that sailed through the House in May 2007 on a 345-72 vote. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., got a version of NOPEC through a Senate committee but has been unable to advance it to the Senate floor.

Kagen, D-Appleton, calls his bill the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act. In addition to amending the Sherman Antitrust Act, Kagen’s bill would require the Justice Department to create a task force charged with policing the U.S. market for practices that limit energy production and manipulate prices.

OPEC members currently cannot be sued under federal antitrust laws because they classify their oil sales as a governmental rather than commercial activity.

Kagen’s bill would make it illegal for foreign countries to engage in any action that restricts the trade or sale of oil and natural gas. Foreign countries accused of such actions would not be able to invoke sovereign immunity to avoid lawsuits.

Read the full article at the OshKosh Northwestern website

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.

The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.

The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto.

The legislation also creates a Justice Department task force to aggressively investigate gasoline price gouging and energy market manipulation.

“This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules — instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities,” said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation.

The White House opposed the bill, saying that targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards “would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries and lead to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners.”

The administration said less oil going to refineries would limit available gasoline supplies and raise fuel prices.

The Senate would still have to approve the House measure.

The Senate previously approved similar legislation as part of a broad energy bill. However, the OPEC-suing provision was removed after White House opposition in order to get the underlying energy legislation signed into law.

Read the full article at Reuters.com

EAGAN, Minn.–This week in Washington, D.C., Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) President and CEO Doug Steenland commended U.S. Representative Steve Kagen (D-WI) for his role in helping a passenger who fainted on a Northwest Airlines flight.

Kagen, who is also a physician, was on a flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul last Thursday when the passenger fainted. Kagen rushed to help the woman, took her blood pressure and helped her lie down. After the flight landed, he guided paramedics to her and then briefed them on her condition.

“I want to personally thank and recognize Congressman Kagen for coming to the aid of one of our passengers last week, ” said Steenland. “Thanks to his efforts, the passenger got the medical attention she needed. Kagen is a great example of providing good public service both on the ground and in the air.”

Rep. Kagen has been practicing medicine for nearly 30 years and is in his first term as the 8th Congressional District representative in Wisconsin. He serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Read the full article on BusinessWire