Dear Friend,

As you know, last week was the President’s annual State of the Union address. What we heard that night was what we’ve come to expect from President Obama every year—lofty speeches filled with political promises that have little reality of ever coming true. The President and I do agree—America faces grave challenges in 2014 and beyond. However, what he sees as an excuse for growing the national debt and further government involvement in Americans’ lives, I believe is merely a symptom of the larger problem of too much big government power and overreach. For more on my response to the annual address, click here.

Each Member of Congress is able to bring a guest to the speech. This year I had the honor of bringing Dr. Julie Anderson, a family physician from St. Cloud. Dr. Anderson wrote into my office last month outlining her concerns about the impact of the President’s health care law on her private practice. And we had a great visit talking about how government intrusion in healthcare is damaging the doctor-patient relationship.

Defense Against Cyber Attacks

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to question intelligence community officials on the security of the Obamacare website from foreign attacks during a hearing on Worldwide Threats before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

According to news accounts, U.S. intelligence agencies warned in a report to the Department of Health and Human Services of a possible cybersecurity attack by Belarus via malware on the Obamacare website. When pressed on this during the hearing, the heads of these agencies all denied knowing about the report and its subsequent withdrawal. 

This means that millions of Americans who put their personal information on the Obamacare website believing that it would be secure could be vulnerable to a cyber-attack. That’s why I’ve called for the Obamacare website to be taken down until the proper tests have been done to guarantee that Americans’ personal data are not at risk.

Coffee with your Congresswoman
You're invited to join me for coffee at three upcoming meetings:

St. Cloud, MN | Thursday, February 13, 2014

11:30AM - 12:15PM
Culver's, 901 Highway 10 S, St. Cloud, MN 56304

Forest Lake, MN | Saturday, February 15, 2014 
8:30AM - 9:15AM
Subway, 227 12th St SW #227, Forest Lake, MN 55025

Buffalo, MN | Saturday, February 15, 2014 
11:15AM - 12:00PM
Culver's, 500 E Highway 55, Buffalo, MN 55313

Mobile Office Hours

Do you need casework assistance or have concerns regarding specific federal legislation? My staff will be available for Mobile Office Hours in Waite Park, MN on Thursday, February 27; Thursday, March 27 and Wednesday, April 30. If you’re interested in attending, please call my Anoka office at 763-323-8922.

Sincerely,
Michele

By Ron Baert • Sauk Rapids • February 2, 2014
     Recently a Norwegian ship got stuck in the ice while on an Antarctic expedition and then an icebreaker going to their rescue also got stuck. The purpose of the expedition was to show the effects of global warming. A few years ago Ann Bancroft and her companion were making an Artic expedition to show the effects of global warming. Their quest was cut short because the temperature got down to minus 100 degrees below zero and they were suffering because of the extreme cold and had to be rescued. Al Gore predicted that the Arctic ocean would be ice free by 2013 yet the Arctic and Antarctic are at record levels of ice. For the past 17 years there has been virtually no increase in the earths temperature.
     Some of the environmental extremist who are pushing the global warming fraud are pushing to shut down our coal power plants such as the one at Becker.  They have been pushing wind towers and solar power all of which would double our electricity bills.  East Central Electric has written several articles in their news letter “Advantage” explaining “rules that effectively eliminate coal from the nation’s energy strategy would cause electric bills to soar and constrain the economy and the cost of providing power is tens of millions of dollars higher each year [40 million in 2012] than it would be if it wasn’t mandated to buy renewable energy. They end by stating “We are not opposed to renewable energy, whether owned by developers, utilities or consumers.  However, we all must be aware of the financial burden laws and mandates can place on us and our members.  We ask our lawmakers to consider both the intended and unintended consequences when designing future energy policy for our states and our nation.”
     Thankfully more and more folks are beginning to realize the scare of the disastrous consequence  of global warming is bogus and needs to be exposed.