Letter: Kline does what he said he’d do

To the Editor:

Paul Drotos is terribly confused (R-E, May 16). As he waxes nostalgic about wishing for a world where we all would hug trees, sing “Kumbaya,” and follow Ed Begley Jr.’s lead each morning by riding a bike that generates enough energy in our kitchen to toast a bagel, he chooses to ignore reality and refuses to let facts get in the way of a good story.

Most in Red Wing and Goodhue County know that we are well represented by a member of Congress who is in touch with our needs. When John Kline sees a problem, he offers a solution.

As Congress approved a massive omnibus bill that included $15 billion of pork projects ranging from teapot museums to fruit fly studies in France, John Kline said, “No more.” For two years Kline has led the fight against pork-barrel spending. In fact, a recent survey showed that 85 percent of Minnesotans agree with Kline’s courageous position on cleaning up Washington’s wasteful spending and demanding more accountability.

When he identified that a system was not in place to fully ensure the reintegration for our National Guard and Reservists, Kline introduced and steered to passage legislation that made Minnesota’s “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” available nationwide. When there was an administrative error with education benefits for Minnesota Red Bulls, Kline teamed with Tim Walz to ensure the error was corrected and veterans receive what they earned.

Since he arrived in Congress, Kline has been challenging the status quo. For more than 30 years, the federal government has failed to live up to its promise of funding special education. Kline continues to advocate that Congress live up to its responsibility and fully fund special education so our local school would be free from shouldering the federal government’s unpaid share.

Obviously, Drotos does not sit on the same side of the political fence as Kline, but that doesn’t entitle Drotos to ignore the undisputable fact that Kline has done what he said he would do.

Tags: opinion, kline, drotos