New congressional ethics rules have apparently grounded Rep. Collin Peterson's private plane. It appears to be a case of common sense gone mad.
Peterson utilizes his private plane, a single-engine four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza, to travel around his large congressional district and for traveling back and forth to Washington.
When he travels to Washington, Peterson often flies his plane from Detroit Lakes to the Twin Cities and then takes commercial flights to Washington.
His chief of staff said that Peterson used his plane to travel to 47 different cities in his district during the past two years. The 7th District comprises 35 of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Those facts alone show the value of Peterson's private plane travel to the district. The congressman is able to cover meetings from Marshall to Willmar to East Grand Forks in the same day when needed.
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The conflict comes as a result of congressional efforts to implement new rules in order to prevent abuse of lawmakers utilizing private business jets.
However, this application will significantly handicap rural congressmen, such as Peterson, who represent large districts. North and South Dakota congressmen -- the two states have only one representative -- face the same challenge: large geographic districts and only 24 hours in the day. Urban representatives do not face such travel obstacles.
Lawmakers who have private pilot licenses are providing a service to their citizens by maximizing their schedules when needed.
Congress should find a way to allow lawmakers, like Peterson, to travel in the most time-efficient manner to best represent their district.
