WILLMAR -- U.S. Sen.-elect Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., says she'll put the interests of rural Minnesota "up front and center'' when she begins her first term in Congress next year.
Speaking to members of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative during its annual meeting Thursday afternoon in Willmar, Klobuchar said the sugar beet industry is economically important to both rural Minnesota and the entire state.
"That's one of the main reasons I wanted to be on the Agriculture Committee because the farm bill is going to be up in 2007,'' she said.
"I know how many people your industry employs across this state and how many families depend on the fact that we need to have fair trade agreements, not just free trade agreements.''
Klobuchar said she wants to work on some kind of permanent disaster relief in the next farm bill, and she wants to make sure the sugar program "continues and continues strong.''
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Also, Klobuchar said she opposes the Central America Free Trade Agreement.
"I think if you're going to have trade, and we are going to have trade, it should be fair trade and we shouldn't be having agreements with countries that have labor standards that aren't up to ours and environmental standards that are not, and somehow compensate people,'' she said.
" ... That didn't happen with CAFTA and that's why I opposed it,'' she said.
Klobuchar also said energy production from ethanol, biodiesel, biomass and wind are important to her and to Minnesota's future.
"I think we should be investing in the farmers and the workers of the Midwest instead of the oil cartels of the Mideast, and to do that we're going to have to put standards in place for ethanol and biodiesel so we can continue what we've done here in Minnesota and export our energy on the national level,'' she said.
Klobuchar, who defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy in the November general election for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mark Dayton, said she was sure many of her listeners weren't always Democrats, and that many were Republicans or Independents.
"But what we saw in this election was a lot of people crossing over and voting differently, and I appreciate that, especially in greater Minnesota,'' she said.
Klobuchar, Hennepin County's chief prosecutor, said she's ready for the tough fight ahead in Washington.
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"I think the nine members of the new class are very strong on these trade issues,'' she said. "They understand how they've been hurting the people of this country the way things have been going.''
