First District Rep. Tim Walz said last week that he admires Rep. Paul Ryan’s attempt at a balanced budget but dislikes that so many have taken shots at Ryan over it.

He said too few in Washington are willing to put their ideas on the table because they become targets. Ryan, a Republican from Janesville, Wis., created a plan to solve the federal deficit called “Roadmap for America’s Future.”

Walz, a Democrat from Mankato, said some Democratic leaders have spent their time blasting the proposal. Walz said Ryan deserves credit for offering ideas, rather than just opposing the Democrats.

He said he doesn’t necessarily agree 100 percent with Ryan’s budget but said he likes many of the ideas it offers.

The congressman was in Albert Lea on Wednesday and came to the Albert Lea Tribune building.

Walz was critical of Democratic leadership, saying they spent the political capital that came from the 2008 elections on fighting with each other too much and not taking the time to understand how everyday Americans were getting by during an economic crisis.

In a conversation tangent, he noted he likes the diversity of the Democratic Party. He said in the House of Representatives, the Democrats are young, old, black, white, Hispanic and male and female. The Republicans are homogeneous. Because the Democrats are socially and culturally diverse, it makes agreement more difficult.

Still, he said some in his party are surprised he could be a member of the National Rifle Association or even a military man. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard, rising to the rank of command sergeant major.

He said much of the political capital the Democrats had in 2009 was spent on trying to stop the bleeding of the economy, passing bailout and stimulus bills. He said the crisis created a challenging environment in Washington.

Health care

Meanwhile, one of the things that voters wanted in the 2008 election was reform of health care. A year later, nothing firm has been created.

He said he believes most people still want health care reform, but they don’t like the bill that presently is in the U.S. Senate. He said the Senate has too few moderates needed to find common ground.

He said President Obama indeed let Congress debate the issue but said he now needs to step in provide guidance. Walz said a better health care bill is needed and it needs the president to brand it better. Even the Patriot Act, swiftly passed in the middle of the night, had a name people knew, Walz said.

Critics have called the health care reform socialism. Walz held a forum in Rochester on health care. He asked a doctor how much an appendectomy costs. The doctor didn’t know. He asked an insurance man, who said the answer depends on the patient’s health insurance plan. Then Walz asked the audience how much a 42-inch Sony flatscreen TV at Best Buy costs. People knew right away.

He said health care is not operating like a free market when the people purchasing the product have no idea what they are paying and have a difficult time shopping around. He said having a public option while fixing Medicare would create competition in a field that lacks it. He noted Mayo Clinic agrees with his views on health care reform, such as providing health insurance for all and improving patient satisfaction.

Walz said Democrats needed to make a better case to business. Workers are seeing less take-home pay because they are paying more for health care and health care rates. Less take-home pay is less they can spend on products, and consumerism is the cornerstone of the U.S. economy. High rates also are cutting into the bottom line of companies that offer employee benefits, hurting the ability of businesses to expand.

Spending freeze

Walz said he dislikes the spending freeze proposed by Obama. He said a blanket freeze won’t work well. He said some programs getting the freeze need to be cut and others that will be frozen should be propped up because they bring revenue returns.

Veterans

Walz said he likes the new G.I. Bill, though it had glitches at the onset last year. He called the measure one of the best means for veterans to improve their economic standing in life. It gives them the means to afford college and achieve goals in life.

Walz said though some people persist in knocking the Veterans Administration legislation, but he said the work was done more in the open than the Medicare Part D measure.

“People didn’t like the way their sausage was made,” he said.

Minnesota races

Asked who would win the governor’s race in Minnesota, Walz said he has no idea. Asked which Democrat would get the nomination, he said the race is going to be as close as it looks presently.

There are 14 Democrats seeking the nomination.

Energy

Walz said China is spending more on renewable energy this year than it is on defense. He said the Chinese missed the industrial and social revolutions and don’t intend on missing the next revolution. He said they want to have an economy free of dependence on foreign sources for energy.

He noted the conservative Heritage Foundation called the work in Congress on the next energy bill a bipartisan effort. He said Congress needs to get rid of the moratorium on discussing nuclear power — which is not the same as going ahead with nuclear power.

He said Minnesota is in a good position to be ahead of the rest of the country on renewable energy, a field that will bring jobs, as opposed to fossil fuels sending jobs to the Middle East.

Walz said politicians can cut the budget all they want and it won’t help Americans. What will help Americans and fight the federal budget woes at the same time is growth. The Chinese see the domestic benefits of renewable energy, and the Americans need to catch on.