Kagen promotes fair trade, lower gas prices
By NIKKI YOUNK
Staff Writer
IRON MOUNTAIN - U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, M.D., D-Wis, toured through the area this week to promote his policies ahead of the November election.
Kagen represents the eighth district of Wisconsin, which includes Florence and Marinette counties.
The Niagara mill shutdown and rising gas prices are the two most important issues that Kagen believes his constituents face.
He wants to assure voters that he and his team in Washington, D.C., are working hard to bring about change.
"As Niagara goes, so goes our nation," Kagen said in reference to economic hardship in the United States as a result of overseas competition.
"Our government needs to uphold trade rules. Businesses cannot compete with the government, and the government is allowing Chinese-made paper into our marketplace," he continued.
"We need a level playing field."
The Niagara mill does not yet have a buyer and the last reel of paper was made on Monday, June 30.
"All workers continue to work on wash-up and clean-up and the woodroom, PGW, and wetlap are still in operation until the permanent closure date of Aug. 16," reported Shelly Ghere of NewPage Corporation Communications.
Ghere also said that the main reasons for the mill's fluctuating closing dates are the increase in fuel costs and the very low demand in the paper market, echoing Kagen's assertion that a fair foreign trade policy needs to be enforced.
The rising cost of fuel is Kagen's other main concern for his district.
"These impossible gas prices punish rural areas the most; it prevents people from getting to work, since there are no buses or other forms of public transportation," he said.
According to Kagen's reports, 30 to 40 percent of the price of oil is manipulated and has nothing to do with supply and demand. He claims that oil companies have sufficient oil to meet the country's needs, but choose to reward stockholders with funds instead of passing savings along to customers.
"They're doing the right thing business-wise, but maybe they should be doing what's right for the country," Kagen stated.
"We want to work with the oil companies; I'm looking for solutions, not people to blame," he continued.
Kagen also advocates drilling for oil on American soil in places like Texas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. He recently voted for a bill that would force oil companies to drill on every oil-containing acre that they own or to turn the rights over to a company that will. Currently, his team is working on legislation that would compel American oil companies to sell fuel to American citizens first, at prices they can afford.
In the long term, Kagen supports "increased investments in renewable sources of energy" to fulfill our energy needs and create new jobs.
"It will require several years, and a bipartisan approach, for these new technologies to significantly reduce our need for fossil fuels," he said.
Nikki Younk's e-mail address is nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.com.
