Rep. Jim Ramstad spoke at his final Edina town hall meeting Aug. 27 at the Southdale Library. Ramstad told the audience that after he leaves Congress he plans to teach temporarily at Harvard University. (CRAIG LASSIG SUN NEWSPAPERS)

Rep. Jim Ramstad is in office for only a few more months, but he hopes that is enough time to get legislation passed that he has been working on for 12 years.

The Republican congressman for Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District is a co-sponsor of the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. It passed the House in March, and Ramstad will try to get the bill signed into law when Congress reconvenes later this month.

"First and foremost I want to see the mental health and addiction bill become law and the prospects are good," Ramstad said.

The congressman had his last town meetings last week in Edina, Maple Grove and Wayzata.

Ramstad told the audience in Edina that after he leaves Congress, he plans to teach at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for a few months.

At the Edina meeting at Southdale Library Aug. 27, he discussed the results of a survey he sent to constituents and took questions from the audience.

Ramstad usually has town hall meetings twice a year to talk with constituents.

"I think Jim Ramstad was a great role model for reaching out and listening to constituents," said state Sen. Geoff Michel, R-Edina. "I think the quality that made him stand out is he listened more than he spoke."

Edina resident Gene Persha said Ramstad's strongest quality is that he works in a bipartisan way.

"The mental health bill he's stuck with for 12 years, trying to get insurance companies to treat alcoholism and mental health issues the same as other diseases," Persha said.

Ramstad said the root cause of why many people are in prison can be traced back to addictions to drugs and alcohol.

The issue of most concern to constituents is energy and gas prices, according to Ramstad's 2008 survey, which received 14,600 responses. Eighteen percent of respondents listed that as the issue most important to them, while 17 percent said the economy and jobs was the most important. Healthcare and education were tied at 14 percent.

"These are really tough times for a lot of people. A lot of families are hurting," Ramstad said.

Elected officials from all parties need to work together to come up with ways to stimulate the economy, he said.

To lower energy and gas costs, he said there needs to be both a short-term and a long-term plan. In the short term the United States should build more refineries, increase the supply of oil and use more of the strategic oil reserves, which Ramstad said was a relic of the Cold War.

He said he was in favor of allowing offshore drilling as long as it is at least 50 miles off shore.

In the long-term, the government needs to increase incentives for renewable fuel and decrease the country's dependence on foreign and fossil fuels.

Craig Ostrem, a resident of Edina, brought up the trade embargo with Cuba and said it was time to normalize relations with the country.

Ramstad agreed that the embargo has not produced positive results.

"It hasn't worked. Minnesota businesses have plans to expand there. I think it's a counter productive philosophy. It's better to talk to adversaries," Ramstad said.

The congressman said he was comfortable being labeled a centrist, and some of his views on how the Iraq War has gone differed from the administration's. Since the Iraqi government wants the United States to set a timetable for troop withdrawal, he said the United States should honor that.

He added that he was disappointed the president did not adopt the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which was bipartisan.

He admitted he was wrong, however, about the effectiveness of the surge, which he voted against.

Ramstad was first elected to Congress November 1990 and is retiring at the end of the year.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.

"These are really tough times for a lot of people. A lot of families are hurting," Ramstad said.

Elected officials from all parties need to work together to come up with ways to stimulate the economy, he said.

To lower energy and gas costs, he said there needs to be both a short-term and a long-term plan. In the short term the United States should build more refineries, increase the supply of oil and use more of the strategic oil reserves, which Ramstad said was a relic of the Cold War.

He said he was in favor of allowing offshore drilling as long as it is at least 50 miles off shore.

In the long-term, the government needs to increase incentives for renewable fuel and decrease the country's dependence on foreign and fossil fuels.

Craig Ostrem, a resident of Edina, brought up the trade embargo with Cuba and said it was time to normalize relations with the country.

Ramstad agreed that the embargo has not produced positive results.

"It hasn't worked. Minnesota businesses have plans to expand there. I think it's a counter productive philosophy. It's better to talk to adversaries," Ramstad said.

The congressman said he was comfortable being labeled a centrist, and some of his views on how the Iraq War has gone differed from the administration's. Since the Iraqi government wants the United States to set a timetable for troop withdrawal, he said the United States should honor that.

He added that he was disappointed the president did not adopt the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which was bipartisan.

He admitted he was wrong, however, about the effectiveness of the surge, which he voted against.

Ramstad was first elected to Congress November 1990 and is retiring at the end of the year.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.