Dear neighbors,
Welcome to the second edition of my new email update. As I mentioned last time, every two weeks I'll send out an update with three clear messages:
Push. Build. Resist.
And since March is Women's History Month, the theme of this week's edition is economic policy related to women and their families.
PUSH.
Last year, I talked to a young mother in Irving Park with two kids who shared with me that her child care costs were even higher than her mortgage payments. Because she was paying so much out of pocket to have someone look after her kids while she worked, she could only afford to feed her children grilled cheese sandwiches with the cheapest, least healthy ingredients.
The simple truth is that we have an acute child care affordability crisis in Minnesota and in St. Louis County. As a mom, I'm committed to doing something about it. I know from firsthand experience that the current system is simply unsustainable, forcing many working parents to pay more for child care than they do for housing. What's more, it leaves many care providers in a lurch, having to choose between giving their staff a livable wage and serving more families.
So this week, I want to highlight a bill I am co-authoring, HF 723, which increases the reimbursement rate for Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and boosts funding for the Basic Sliding Fee (BSF) program that helps working-class parents access affordable child care.
This legislation is about our shared values as Minnesotans: I believe we should be doing everything we can to make it possible for families to move from surviving paycheck to paycheck to a place of thriving.
Because it has Republican and Democratic co-authors, HF 723 actually has legs this session. You can count on me to push this legislation with my colleagues. But if you'd like to help, I would encourage you to contact the chair of the Health and Human Services Finance committee, Rep. Matt Dean.
Together, we can push this legislation forward.
BUILD.
Last Friday, I was thrilled to serve on a panel organized by the Feminist Action Collective in Duluth, a group of women who took action after the election to build a better future for themselves and women everywhere. Joining me at the discussion were Mayor Emily Larson, St. Louis County Commissioner Beth Olson, and City Council Member Em Westerlund.
This kind of organic grassroots organizing will be key to building community in the future, and I'm happy to lend my support to their efforts.
At the state legislature, House DFL women also recognized #InternationalWomensDay by wearing red and taking a group photo after our floor session.
We have a great group of women in the Minnesota House of Representatives. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish as we continue to build our power inside and outside the State Capitol.
RESIST.
Last week, House Republicans pushed through HF 600. This so-called "preemption" bill would make it illegal for any city or county to pass an earned sick time, paid family leave, or minimum wage ordinance. Consistent with this week's theme, I stood up on the House floor to talk about earned sick leave from the perspective of a mother:
In Duluth, we are having a nuanced discussion about earned sick and safe time in order to craft an ordinance that meets the unique needs of our community. Preemption would stop that conversation in its tracks.
We should be raising the floor statewide for wages and workplace conditions, not creating a ceiling. Unless we can ensure workers are taken care of at the state level, we should allow local organizing efforts, like that happening around earned sick and safe time in Duluth, to take place.
Rep. Liz Olson
221 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
Phone: 651-296-4246
E-mail: rep.liz.olson@house.mn
Legislative Assistant: Madeleine Garces, 651-296-2955
