Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said Monday that he's "very worried" about the ongoing effort to secure federal funding for a Red River diversion that would protect Fargo and Moorhead from the raging river that's expected to again reach major flood stage this spring.
During a meeting with the Herald's Editorial Board, Franken said a lot has changed since the federal government made the large financial commitment that helped Grand Forks and East Grand Forks build a permanent protection system after the devastating 1997 flood.
Besides the dramatically altered economic landscape, there's another big difference -- the Red River diversion has a price tag of about $1.5 billion, more than three times the cost of the $417 million system that has been built in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks since 1997.
"We're in a different situation, and if you look at the diversion, it's very, very costly, and I'm very worried about it," he said. "The Army Corps and the communities have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what we're going to do, and that seemed to be a solution that everyone agreed to."
Despite the steep price, Franken said it's important to keep in mind that there also are financial consequences of doing nothing.
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"It's going to cost so much," he said. "But if you understand how much damage is done when you don't do it, it's not penny wise, pound foolish; it's pound wise, ton foolish."
And he's optimistic that the changes to North Dakota's congressional delegation after the November election -- two of the three members now are Republicans after years of an all-Democratic delegation -- could help get more support in Congress to fund the diversion.
Former Gov. John Hoeven now is in the Senate after incumbent Byron Dorgan didn't run for a fourth term, and Republican Rick Berg is North Dakota's new lone member of the House after defeating incumbent Earl Pomeroy.
"That might help," Franken said. "Because when you had Collin (Peterson), me, Amy (Klobuchar), and Kent (Conrad) and Byron and Earl, there might have been a big, collective yawn over on the Republican side."
Gabrielle Giffords
Franken said he doesn't personally know Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., one of 14 people wounded when a gunman attempted to assassinate her at a Saturday political event in Tucson. Six people were killed in the shooting, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl.
But he said the incident has been "just traumatizing for those of us who do this kind of work."
"She was just trying to do her job," he said.
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Franken said it might never be known what the gunman, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, was thinking or why he committed the crime. Still, he said the incident highlights the need for lawmakers to consider if the current "vitriol" in public discourse could suggest to an unstable person that violence is acceptable in politics.
"I think this might be a good wake-up call for everyone to tamp down the rhetoric," he said. "I think that's clear."
Franken declined to comment when asked if he has received any threats.
'Rough' vote
Franken said his vote last month in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts for all income levels was one of the "rough votes" he's faced since starting in Congress in 2009.
He said he was "really not happy with the cuts for millionaires and billionaires," the outcome of a compromise between President Barack Obama and Republicans after Democrats failed to pass bills that would have extended the cuts only for the first $250,000 or $1 million of income.
"I was really on principle and practically shocked that the president made that deal so quickly and didn't let the people who voted against the million-up stew in it a little bit," he said. "We have a different world. We have people making $400 million a year. That just never used to happen."
But, in the end, he said he voted for the bill because it also extended unemployment insurance as well as biodiesel and ethanol tax credits.
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"There are all kinds of things in this which said it's good for Minnesota, it's good for the economy," he said.
Johnson reports on local politics. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
