We have talked for decades about our energy security and little was done. Well, the time for change has come.

Congressman Tim Walz should be commended for taking a stand when it comes to protecting our energy security and committing our country to producing clean energy. A little more than a week ago, Tim voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Tim Walz carefully listened to the people of southern Minnesota and knew that a landmark piece of legislation was required to ensure our energy security through domestically produced clean energy.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act provides historic incentives to our energy producers to move away from foreign dependence on energy and to domestically produced clean energy. This is especially important considering that southern Minnesota is poised to benefit significantly from these job creation incentives.

Clean energy alternatives like wind, solar, biofuels and other cutting edge technologies are being researched and produced right here in southern Minnesota. The future of our energy economy runs through southern Minnesota.

While Tim Walz recognized a need to move our country away from our foreign energy dependence and to domestically produced clean energy, many GOP insiders continue to show they don’t care about our energy security.

Instead, GOP insiders like to use false rhetoric to increase your blood pressure, make you worry and erode the confidence you have in the change being brought to Washington.

Their old tactics failed miserably in 2008 and we must make sure they fail now.

Rather than coming to the table with positive public policy alternatives to those landmark ideas being put forward by Tim Walz and his colleagues, the GOP is falling back on their old tactics.

Now that America is moving toward true energy security through domestically produced clean energy, the debate will move to health care.

Will the GOP offer actual public policy ideas, or just continue to try and obstruct change with their false rhetoric?

Whichever they choose, it will be clear to voters in southern Minnesota.

As a leader of the Democrats in southern Minnesota, I agree with Tim Walz: the solutions we are seeking could be improved if the Republicans would work constructively rather than obstructively.

Lori Sellner is the chairwoman of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District.