Apparently one of the first victims of the new Democratic Congress' push to enact strict ethics rules is U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, DFL-7th District.
Not that he did anything wrong -- no hidden cash in his refrigerator or strange text messages to people who ought not be sent such messages.
No, it seems the new ethics rules are prohibiting Rep. Peterson from using his private plane to get around the district, or to the Twin Cities to catch a commercial flight to Washington, D.C.
The new rules were needed, Democrats said, to restore the public's confidence in Congress. Among many things, the new ethics rules bans travel by anything but commercial aircraft in an attempt to stop special interests from using corporate jets to move members of Congress around the globe -- whether for business or for pleasure.
But Peterson is apparently caught in the middle, as one of six or so Congress members who fly their own planes. The new rules won't allow Peterson to be reimbursed for flying his own plane for official business. It is especially important for Peterson, as he has the largest district in Minnesota, stretching from the Canadian border along western Minnesota to 40 miles north of the Iowa border. His single-engine, four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza allows him access in a hurry all across the district.
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"A plane has made it possible for him to be up in Roseau in the morning, Marshall in the mid-afternoon and then back up to Warroad at night," Peterson Chief of Staff Mark Brownell told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, which broke the story earlier this week. Peterson uses small airports or private landing strips, and has hit 47 district cities in the past two years. He flies to Bemidji, often from somewhere else and then out before dark, when instrument-rated flying is mandated. He's even flown into Lake Bemidji on a float plane to attend a downtown function, and then left the same way.
The only problem we have is the way Peterson is making waves over the rule. "I threatened to put in a bill to make it illegal for any member to drive their own car until we got this fixed," Peterson told the Star Tribune. "And I told (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi that if she didn't get this fixed, I was going to quit and there was going to be a Republican in my place, that if I couldn't fly I wasn't going to do this anymore. She just kind of looked at me -- she said it'll be fixed."
While 7th District Republicans hope and pray that Pelosi ignores Peterson and he follows through with his threat, he does make a point. The ethics rules are needed, but they also need flexibility. We fear in this case they represent yet another case of ignorance of rural issues, but one that can be corrected with an exemption for members flying their own planes.
