Dear Friends,
Today I was proud to attend the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) March for Life rally in St. Paul with my youngest daughter Ainsley. Due to the frigid weather the rally had to be moved indoors, but that hardly dampened the enthusiasm of the hundreds of Minnesotans who turned out to rally for such an important cause.
Protecting the unborn is a cause that Minnesotans from all walks of life support, and a cause that oftentimes can transcend party lines. Last year in the House, Republicans partnered with a coalition of pro-life Democrats to pass a number of pro-life amendments to bills such as the Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange, now known as MNsure. Unfortunately there weren't enough pro-life Democrats in the Senate, and those provisions were ultimately stripped out of the final bill.
You can count on me to continue to stand for life and protect the unborn this session.
Earlier this week I attended an all-school, all-community anti-bullying program in Swanville. The program is known as the Olweus Bully Prevention Program, and is intended to reach the entire community -- not just the schools. The program aims to improve peer relations among students, and make sure that parents and community members step up to do their part.
I applaud the Swanville Community for taking initiative and taking steps to prevent bullying in their schools and around their community. Next session, the legislature is likely to take up a bill related to bullying. It's likely to be a one-size-fits-all solution that won't do much to address the fundamental causes of bullying, but rather increases bureaucracy and spending at the Minnesota Department of Education. I believe school districts and local communities are best equipped to tackle the bullying problems in our schools -- not the state government.
Finally, in the spirit of education and standing up for our children, I am supporting legislation to expand early childhood scholarships. This bill will allow parents to have a choice in the most formative years of their children's education. Most of a child's language is formed before the age of five and children who are not read to and educated fall behind and never recover. Providing our next generation of children with a strong foundation for education will help alleviate the academic gap. Standing up for our youngest children, whether they are born or unborn is in my DNA. Giving parents the right to choose how to educate and where is just the right thing to do.
It's almost a month until session starts again. The legislature returns on February 25th, and I'm looking forward to getting back to work for our community. If you have comments, suggestions, or questions about what to expect or what the legislature should focus on next session, please feel free to contact me either by phone at
651-296-4247 or by email at
rep.ron.kresha@house.mn.
Take care and stay warm,
Ron