Jul 27, 2007 - 04:03:42 CDT
This week was a scorcher, with blazing temperatures in Bismarck and arguably even hotter debate in Washington, D.C. as the House took up the 2007 farm bill.Pomeroy the Whip
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., played a big role in this week's House debate on a bill that will determine the nation's agriculture policy over the next five years.
A senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, Pomeroy was assigned by the Democratic leadership to be the whip on this bill.
Just what is a whip? Really, it's just a fancy legislative term for somebody who rounds up support and counts votes among members of their party.
Pomeroy has been in Congress since 1993, but has never before been chosen to act as a whip.
"I was very pleased to get the assignment," he said.
Pomeroy said he was chosen because he has good relationships with many members and has already been through the battles on two previous farm bills, in 1996 and 2002.
This year's battle is proving to be a contentious one, with some liberals critical about lack of reform in subsidies and some conservatives upset about a plan to fund food stamps with a tax on overseas corporations doing business in the U.S.
A powerful Capitol
As temperatures soared over the 100 degree mark earlier this week, North Dakota's Capitol building became a source of power for the city of Bismarck.
Dan Sharp, a spokesman for Montana-Dakota Utilities, said his company experienced a surge in demand Monday and Tuesday as air conditioning units worked overtime to cool homes and businesses.
As MDU dealt with the demand spike, the state Capitol pitched in to help by switching on its generators to remove its own large electricity demand from the grid. The Capitol generators also produced one extra megawatt of power - enough to support between 800 and 1000 homes - that was used throughout the Bismarck area.
Only two other sites in western North Dakota - Dickinson State University and an American Colloid factory near Reeder - have this capability.
"It's a benefit to both the company and the state," Sharp said.
He said such arrangements between utilities and large customers are common in metropolitan areas, but rare for MDU, which serves a more rural and residential base.
Reports on wining, dining
Secretary of State Al Jaeger is concerned that not enough lobbyists will submit their expense report forms by the Aug. 1 deadline.
Jaeger, who's been secretary of state since 1993, said the number of reports filed so far this year is unusually low. As of Thursday, 24 percent of lobbyists had yet to file their reports.
Under North Dakota law, lobbyists must report any time they spent more than $60 on a single occasion on legislators, the governor and any of their family members.
The Capitol saw 659 registered lobbyists this year, versus 625 during the 2005 session and 633 during the 2003 session, according to records in the Secretary of State's office.
The increase in lobbyists may be a partial cause for the report delinquency, as Jaeger said many of the missing reports are from newer lobbyists.
"I think it's an oversight more than anything," he said. "I don't think it is intentional."
(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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