Grams' Last-Minute Attacks Falling Short by Congressman James L. Oberstar Appearing in Press Release on 2006-11-05. Duluth – Eighth District Congressional challenger Rod Grams has been trying to get his failing campaign back on track with a series of press releases that distort the record of U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar, and falsely overstate his own achievements. But Oberstar is certain that this tactic is failing miserably and Grams is going to have a very disappointing election night. On Friday, Grams claimed that he was responsible for a recent action by the U.S. Forest Service to extend existing timber-harvesting contracts in the Superior and Chippewa National Forests. This is simply not true. In fact, the decision by the Forest Service came after Congressman Oberstar called a meeting on October 12th in Grand Rapids with Randy Moore of the U.S. Forest Service, Region 9 and Corbin Newman, Director of National Forest Systems, about the issue. The Forest Service had set the starting bid prices for logging contracts higher than local loggers could afford and Oberstar wanted the problem addressed. After the meeting, the Forest Service extended harvesting contracts for another year to provide loggers more time to log during the current period of inflated lumber prices. “I have been working with forest managers to ensure that we increase logging for some time,” said Oberstar. “We are also pushing the Forest Service to put more timber up for public sale. This is critical to keep our forests healthy, reduce fire hazards, and keep our loggers working. I am committed to doing all I can to keep our wood products industry thriving.” Throughout the campaign Grams has criticized Oberstar’s efforts to promote walking and biking as alternatives to building new highways. Saturday, Grams took a shot at Oberstar’s latest efforts to make it possible for people to bike to airports to catch their flights. “Rod would rather build more roads, build bigger parking lots, burn more gas, and create more pollution,” said Oberstar. “This is a low-cost alternative to driving for many people.” “Rod just doesn’t get it. People aren’t going to vote for him unless he starts spending more time talking about his own ideas,” said Oberstar. “Instead, he has spent the entire campaign trying to distort my record. People don’t like it. They aren’t interested in hearing you complain, they want solutions, and I think they are going to tell him that on election night.” ###

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