Sen. Amy Klobuchar Addresses Minnesota Media at Annual Conference

 

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke to the Minnesota Newspaper Association luncheon on Friday, after Gov. Tim Walz. She started by explaining why she chaired the inauguration of Donald Trump; as chair of the Rules Committee, it was her role. She shared with some amusement that the job included riding in the car with both Joe Biden and Donald Trump to the event. 

“My job that day was to hold it all together for democracy and make sure there was a peaceful transfer of power,” she said. In her speech that day, she quoted the new movie about Bob Dylan: “Democracy should be the shelter in the storm in the middle of all this division.”

She also indicated in her speech that day, Klobuchar shared, that the inauguration is held in the U.S. Capitol, not a gilded executive building or presidential palace, “because we have three equal branches of government. This could not be a more important time to emphasize that. As a member of the Democratic Party, we are the minority — the way the Senate rules work. … That plea for the equal branches of government was also a plea to my Republican colleagues who know what their job is and know that an unknown bureaucrat in the Office of Management and Budget cannot put a hold on all federal funding that had already been allocated on a bipartisan basis. … I want to make that point, because I know what’s headed our way and what is already headed our way.”

 

 

Klobuchar said the third point she made that day in her speech was that, seeing all the power assembled inside that Capitol rotunda for the inauguration ceremony — rather than the more public National Mall where inaugurations usually take place — was also a way to visually recognize that “the power in that room does not come from that room. The power of the room of the people elected comes from outside, [from the voters]. What was essentially a change election, where Americans [expressed wanting] something more than they were getting from their government, was very clear, no matter what party you were in. [Elected officials take an oath] to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

She said, “I would echo what the governor said. There could not be a more important time for journalists.” When inspector generals, for example, in the middle of the night are fired, who put out reports about what is happening in Washington D.C., it is more challenging to get accurate reports and help people, including members of Congress, know what is going on. “That old saying the Washington Post has been using — democracy dies in the darkness. So it’s going to be more important than ever for journalists to do their job, despite the challenging [sustainability and access] environment you are in.”

Protecting Journalism

With the closing of information portals, Klobuchar directly questioned the Administration’s interest in targeting journalists for prosecution. “More than ever, we need to stand up for journalism in our country.” [Editor’s note: the White House had not yet revoked Pentagon media office status to The New York Times, NBC, and others.]

Klobuchar and others continue to work at getting a bipartisan bill passed to protect confidential sources. She has pressed Trump nominee for U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi — one of Trump’s defense lawyers during his 2020 impeachment trial — to commit to respect the free press and rebuff the pressure to go after media organizations. “She committed that she would do that, and I will do everything to make sure that she holds to that commitment.”

Klobuchar added that she is working with Republican U.S. Senator John Kennedy, from Louisiana, who is trying to get the large social media and big tech companies — “who were on full display at the inauguration” — to better support media because “news ad revenue plummeted from $37 billion to $9 billion between 2008 and 2020. In 2023 alone, more than 120 newspapers were forced to close their doors, including eight in Minnesota. When that happened, Google earned more than $65 billion in ad revenue in just one quarter.”

She also noted that postal issues are being addressed by bills “to get the service that we need, particularly in rural Minnesota.”

Klobuchar noted her long history as a champion of the First Amendment and journalism, which started with her father Jim, who had a lifetime career in journalism, writing about “in his words, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” [Editor’s note: During my college years one of the jobs I held in media included working on Jim Klobuchar’s sports show at Twin Cities public television.]

AI, social media company management, the power of Elon Musk within the government, are “all challenges — a Minnesota euphemism for what we’re facing. But there is still support for news. There is still support for having arbiters of facts, and people who actually will tell the truth and check facts and make sure that they’re right.”

Klobuchar described the bullying, especially on social media platforms, designed to undermine and scare people “into not doing their jobs. …  But if you don’t participate, then it’s like you’re walking away. So this week I went on Fox national [Republican Senator from North Dakota] Kevin Cramer about a bill to support firefighters that couldn’t be more timely, with what’s going on in L.A. with firefighters exposed to toxic substances. I was able to make the case about the freezing of funds and what chaos that had created — that if we want to make government more efficient, making it more chaotic is not the right answer. We’ve got to figure out exactly what we can do if we’re going to do cuts, and how we can do them, and make them work. So I keep going out there and doing it, but it’s becoming punishing right now for elected officials. … So much is just completely untrue. That is why we need people willing to tell the truth, and that is all of you. Thank you and never give up.”

Congressional Priorities: Caregiving, Health Care, Healthy Competition

In response to an audience question about priorities, Klobuchar talked about caregiving needs statewide, including successful Minnesota public-private partnerships. Hormel and Marvin Windows, for example, are supporting employee needs with private daycare facilities in rural Minnesota. In Morris, they have created pod childcare — six independent childcare facilities under one roof owned by Stearns County.

“I wish the environment was more positive in Washington right now to [support this type of caregiving solution],” Klobuchar continued. She added that health care in general was another priority. “How are we going to do something about the denial of claims? Should we expand Medicare? I led the bill on negotiation of prescription drugs [prices] that brought the first 10 that we got done, including Jardiance [for diabetes] and Xarelto [for blood clots]. The Biden administration left the Trump administration the next 15 drugs to negotiate. It is a major game changer for seniors, which has [led to] the $35 per month price cap on insulin per month. 

She described some of the bills others are working to pass, including protection for children of having pornographic images of them shared online, which has led to at least 20 young suicides.

Klobuchar also indicated that “consolidation, as you all know, is a big deal for me. Trying to make sure there’s more competition. And just making sure that it’s not one-size-fits-all when it comes to Greater Minnesota compared to suburban and urban.”

---

To support our ongoing coverage of social issues impacting the collective health of Minnesotans: