Valders renovations reap nearly $1 million from Senate

As a part of the $410 billion omnibus spending bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate, Luther College will receive a $951,500 grant to help pay for the Valders Hall renovation project currently taking place.

The grant’s inclusion in the omnibus bill can be attributed to work done by Iowa Congressman Tom Latham. Latham, however, voted against the bill, a decision that was made in light of Latham’s overall apprehension about the bill’s economic and political implications.

In an article for Decorah Newspaper, Fred Love, communications director for Latham’s Washington D.C. office, noted that the funding for the Valders project “was swept into a deeply flawed bill in Congress.”

“This costly omnibus appropriations bill, approved by the House on Feb. 25, made its way to the floor of the House through a corrupted appropriations process that lacked any transparency… when you combine the massive spending, the shadowy budgeting process and the Iowa job-killing provisions contained in the omnibus, it simply wasn’t an option for Congressman Latham to support the overall bill,” said Love.

Although Latham voted against the bill, his commitment to helping Luther has been a tradition of sorts, according to President Torgerson.

“I’ve been working with Latham’s office for a number of years,” Torgerson said. “He has helped get federal support for our science initiatives… as well as an earlier grant for our new building (Sampson-Hoffland), and he knew were also going to renovate Valders according to Leeds standards.”

The decision to renovate Valders according to Leeds standards, a set of criteria limiting a buildings energy consumption, carbon emissions and other environmental impacts, was important to attain federal funding.

“Congressman Latham has a history of support for Valders Hall funding and other Luther College projects throughout his time in Congress, and renovation of the science building will allow for the improvement of crucial facilities while taking advantage of the latest green technologies throughout the renovation and construction progress,” Love told Decorah Newspapers.

Some in the Decorah community, however, have questioned whether Latham has intentionally acted to present himself publicly as sole actor in securing the federal funding for Luther, despite his vote against the bill.

Jim Dale, vice-chair of the Winneshiek County Democratic Party, sees party interest playing a role in Latham’s decision.

“My guess is that Latham voted against the bill because it was initiated and supported by the Democrats. We often see his photo in the newspaper whenever government allocations benefit folks in his district, whether or not he has voted for the bills,” Dale said.

Indeed, despite calls for non-partisanship from President Obama, the bill barely passed in the Senate when eight Republicans ceded their votes to end a long and rancorous debate over the spending bill.

Nevertheless, Latham’s vote in the house against the bill didn’t stop it from passing, and federal funding for Luther’s Valders renovation project will act as an enormous financial windfall for the college; the money will cover nearly 10 percent of the renovations total costs.

According to Torgerson, the relationships Luther has developed with local politicians are important and beneficial to the college. Most important, however, is the fact that Latham’s vote against the bill won’t hinder the financial support Luther has gained from the omnibus bill.