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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ah! But is this article the truth or only part of
the truth??</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=msolomon@moscow.com href="mailto:msolomon@moscow.com">Mark
Solomon</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=thansen@moscow.com
href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A> ; <A
title=vision2020@moscow.com href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision
2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, January 11, 2007 7:27
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] In D.C., Bill
Sali Quick to Take Lead</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Too bad Sali probably doesn't read the NY Times which features an
excellent article today on the effect of minimum wage laws on border towns in
WA and ID. No, Moscow doesn't get a mention, but Post Falls and Clarkston
do.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=+1><A
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/us/11minimum.html?hp&ex=1168578000&en=bf304392cdc5baf4&ei=5094&partner=homepage">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/us/11minimum.html?hp&ex=116857<SPAN></SPAN>8000&en=bf304392cdc5baf4&ei=5094&partner=homepage</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Mark</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>At 6:06 AM -0800 1/11/07, Tom Hansen wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">>From today's (January 11, 2007)
Spokesman Review -<BR><BR>What Rep. Sali voted against:<BR>HR 1 - Homeland
security measures<BR>HR 2 - Increase of minimum wage<BR><BR>What Rep. Sali
is sponsoring:<BR>HR 26 - Commends Boise State University for their victory
in the Fiesta Bowl<BR>(other bills establishing English as the official US
language and a<BR>balnced-budget
amendment)<BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>In
D.C., Bill Sali quick to take lead<BR>Sense of humor key to his
approach<BR>Parker Howell<BR>Staff writer<BR>January 11, 2007<BR><BR>New
Idaho Congressman Bill Sali proposed a bill Wednesday to combat
obesity<BR>by reducing the Earth's gravity, saying that's no more
unreasonable than the<BR>Democrats' legislation to increase the federal
minimum wage.<BR><BR>Both defy "natural laws," he said.<BR><BR>"The
well-intentioned desire to help the poor apparently will not
be<BR>restrained by the rules and principles of the free market that
otherwise do<BR>restrain American businesses and workers," Sali told the
House of<BR>Representatives. "Apparently, Congress can change the rules that
would<BR>otherwise affect the affairs of mankind."<BR><BR> <BR>The
Democratic-controlled House voted 315-116 to raise the federal
minimum<BR>wage to $7.25 an hour, with more than 80 Republicans joining
Democrats to<BR>pass it. But Sali stuck to his stance that the market, not
government,<BR>should determine how much workers are worth to
employers.<BR><BR>"Obviously, it was a facetious notion to suspend the laws
of gravity," he<BR>told The Spokesman-Review by phone from Washington, D.C.,
about his "Obesity<BR>Reduction and Health Promotion Act," which proposed
helping Americans shed<BR>pounds by cutting gravity by 10 percent. "The same
is true of the act we<BR>took today."<BR><BR>In his first few days on the
job, Sali, 52, has been elected leader of the<BR>small freshman class of
Republicans, was invited to a meeting with President<BR>Bush and voted
against several bills sponsored by Democrats.<BR><BR>Although Sali spent 16
years as a state representative from Kuna, moving to<BR>Washington, D.C.,
has taken some getting used to, he said.<BR><BR>"Things are so much bigger
in terms of scale and scope here," he said. "In<BR>the Idaho Legislature,
for example, I didn't have any staff. It was just<BR>me."<BR><BR>He now has
to deal with OSHA inspections of his office and training his<BR>employees in
ethics and anti-discrimination policies, he said.<BR><BR>As president of his
class, he is helping fellow freshmen learn legislative<BR>processes and
procedures, he said. On the advice of past class presidents,<BR>he is
coordinating social events with new Democrats - both for
building<BR>relationships and for the "practical benefit" of moving
legislation.<BR><BR>Sali and a small group of other legislators met with
President Bush at the<BR>White House last week to discuss the Iraq
war.<BR><BR>"It was really something to be in there," he said. "It was kind
of one of<BR>those 'pinch me' moments."<BR><BR>He said Bush has "spent a lot
of time listening" to military commanders and<BR>will act on their
advice.<BR><BR>"The notion that we're going to end sectarian violence over
there, I think,<BR>is not even on the table; the president expressed that
through a number of<BR>his people," he said, adding that making peace
between warring factions is<BR>"not achievable."<BR><BR>"I don't think
that's our job. I do think our job is to help make sure this<BR>fledgling
Iraqi government is going to stand on its own two feet," he
said.<BR>"There's a bunch of pent-up emotion over there and a lot of pent-up
desire.<BR>We may end up with a civil war before they get things
straightened out. In</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">the affairs of mankind, sometimes that's
what you need."<BR><BR>Sali has also participated in several House votes,
including the<BR>$2.10-an-hour minimum wage increase, to take effect over
two years. The<BR>increase is arbitrary, not tied to how much an employee's
work is really<BR>worth, he said.<BR><BR>"It's just to give people a
perceived pay raise," he said. "The underlying<BR>problem is government
spending."<BR><BR>His obesity speech is characteristic of the congressman's
outspoken style,<BR>said former colleagues from the Idaho
Legislature.<BR><BR>"That's his sense of humor," said Rep. Frank Henderson,
R-Post Falls.<BR><BR>Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, agreed, recalling a time Sali
proposed licensing<BR>legislators when lawmakers discussed licensing
contractors. Even though he<BR>didn't plan to introduce it, he actually held
up a completed bill.<BR><BR>"He's a very principled man, and he's not afraid
to stand by himself if he<BR>has to," Hart said. "I think he's already
showing that. He hasn't changed<BR>since he's been in the
Legislature."<BR><BR>But Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d'Alene, said using the
logic of Sali's<BR>obesity proposal, legislators should revoke government
regulations that<BR>benefit businesses as well.<BR><BR>Congressional
Democrats will likely succeed in their "100 Hours" plan to<BR>pass several
bills within the first 100 working hours of the new Congress,<BR>Sali said.
But he said Democrats are circumventing the committee process
and<BR>claiming to know what Americans need, which is "elitist" and
"arrogant."<BR><BR>"If they were trying to do what's right, they would be
spending the time to<BR>go through the committee process," he said. "I've
always been a real<BR>advocate of slowing down the legislative process and
giving everyone the<BR>opportunity to have their say."<BR><BR>So far, Sali
has voted against "pay-as-you-go" rules designed to prevent<BR>legislators
from adding to the national debt. He said it will lead to "tax<BR>increases
combined with cuts to programs like defense."<BR><BR>He has also voted
against legislation that would add another committee with<BR>oversight power
over intelligence. Adding one actually counters the Sept. 11<BR>Commission's
findings by adding another layer of bureaucracy, he said.<BR><BR>Sali has
signed up to co-sponsor amendments to balance the budget and make<BR>English
the official U.S. language, he said.<BR><BR>He and fellow Idaho Republican
Rep. Mike Simpson are co-sponsors of H.R. 26,<BR>which commends the Boise
State University football team on its recent win<BR>against Oklahoma in the
Fiesta Bowl, he said. He attended the game, calling<BR>it "an indescribable
experience."<BR><BR>The bill will "probably pass on a consent calendar," he
said. "It will be a<BR>nice piece of congressional
history."<BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"Forty percent
of the mass of every tree in the forest is crude oil. Stop<BR>and
think about that. We call them fossil fuels because they used to
be<BR>live stuff . . . now in the ground is turned into crude oil."<BR><BR>-
Bill Sali (September 21, 2006)</BLOCKQUOTE>
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