Dear neighbors,
As has become tradition, I'm thrilled to focus on three main messages here in my legislative update:
Push. Build. Resist.
Every two weeks, I'll provide one way you can help me push good policy in the state legislature, one way we can build a better community, and one way we can resist tactics meant to divide us.
PUSH.
Thanks to the steady leadership of Gov. Mark Dayton over the last six years, we have turned our back on chronic budget deficits. The latest estimate shows we now have a projected budget surplus of $1.65 billion. The question now becomes how do we use that surplus in a way that lifts up Minnesota families in a meaningful way?
Republicans have proposed spending that money on tax cuts for corporations and the rich. But I'm strongly in favor of the Governor's proposal to both leave more money in the Rainy Day Fund to prepare for changes to health care coming from Congress and to significantly expand voluntary Pre-K across the state.
In Minnesota, we value community. And part of building a better community means taking care of our youngest Minnesotans. The Governor's $175 million proposal would provide access to voluntary Pre-K to 12,900 more Minnesota four-year-olds and their families across the state. Combined with the 3,300 four-year-olds already enrolled in Pre-K, this would bring the total number served to more than 16,200 four-year-olds, with 1,000 additional students gaining access each year beginning in 2019.
But these families will only have access to Pre-K if we keep up the pressure on Minnesota Republicans to fund the Governor's proposal.
If you want to make a difference, call and email Education Finance Chair Jenifer Loon and House Speaker Kurt Daudt. Tell them we want a budget that gives our children the best possible start in life, no matter where they call home. Tell them to fully fund the Governor's Pre-K expansion.
BUILD.
I am a firm believer that the legislative process should be transparent, inclusive, and responsive to your needs. So I communicate with constituents in several different ways. But one more way I hope to talk to you is through the 2017 Legislative Survey. Through this survey, I want to know three simple things:
What are your values? What are your barriers? And, most importantly, what is your story?
In addition to talking to constituents, I also think a critical part of building a better Duluth is working collaboratively with local leaders.
On Monday, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson gave her State of the City address, where she encouraged us to "mend this part of the world that is within our reach." I'm taking that advice to heart by working on three different local projects at the legislature. As we think about how to build community in Duluth, I'm glad to have an ally like Mayor Larson by my side as we advocate for Duluth.
RESIST.
The more details that come out about the federal health care law, the worse it seems to get. We know hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans may lose their insurance, and the individual market could spiral out of control. We also know that block granting Medicaid will cause major budget problems for us at the state legislature, forcing us to make difficult cuts to health and human services.
Watching this debate unfold is heartbreaking to me and to many of us who have spent our lives trying to lift up Minnesotans families who need affordable health care to survive. But what is perhaps more frustrating is sitting in Health and Human Services committee meetings and watching many legislators act as if these significant changes aren't coming. So I decided to do something about it.
We saw 332 different bills be referred to the Health and Human Services Reform committee this year, and yet we still have not been able to hear a solution to this federal problem. In Minnesota, we value leadership. That’s why we should budget responsibly to prepare for uncertainty and ensure stability into the future. As long as I am a representative for working families in the legislature, I will continue to resist this federal health care law and put forward practical Minnesota solutions to mitigate its effects on vulnerable Minnesotans who are just trying to get by.
Rep. Liz Olson
221 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
