House’s Economic Security Plan for Minnesotans
Yesterday, the House outlined our economic security agenda to assist Minnesotans during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Many of the proposals are moving forward in the House but are being held up by the Senate Majority.
In response to the pandemic, we are focused on the following priorities:
- Keeping Minnesotans safe in their homes with a $100 million investment in housing assistance for renters and homeowners
- Ensuring economic security for our education professionals by ensuring full pay for our hourly school employees
- Delivering economic security for the personal care assistants who care for vulnerable Minnesotans through a well-deserved and long-overdue wage increase
- Keeping Minnesotans connected by ensuring all Minnesotans have access to the broadband they need to go online for school, work, or e-commerce
- Helping families make ends meet by using available federal funding to boost payments for low-income working Minnesotans in the Minnesota Family Investment Program
Working together, we can decide our future by following public health recommendations to keep our communities safe as we look toward building a stronger, safer Minnesota and the next steps we must take as a state to address the pandemic.
Minnesota Expands Testing Capacity
As you may have heard, Governor Walz, Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and Hennepin Healthcare, recently unveiled a plan to dramatically ramp up COVID-19 testing. This statewide strategy will allow our state and health care providers to test as many as 20,000 people per day, isolate confirmed cases, and expand public health surveillance tools. Improving our ability to test, trace, and isolate cases is vital to keeping people safe as we start reopening parts of our economy.
Governor Walz also launched a website to help people determine if they should get tested and find a nearby testing location. The new website can be found here.
Getting Minnesotans Safely Back to Work
This week, approximately 80,000 to 100,000 Minnesotans were able to return to work safely via executive action of the Governor. Developed in partnership with hundreds of businesses, labor and worker organizations, and public health experts, this action will allow people who cannot tele-work to return to their non-customer facing industrial, manufacturing, and office settings jobs.
With the health and safety of Minnesotans his top priority, the Governor has made clear the Stay Home order remains in effect as we consider ways to gradually loosen restrictions and “turn the dials” starting with settings most conducive to safe practices.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Available
Unemployment benefits are now available for self-employed workers, independent contractors, and others who aren’t eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance. On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced that they’ve fully implemented the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program and begun making payments to eligible workers.
If you’ve already applied for regular unemployment benefits, you don’t need to do anything extra to qualify for PUA. DEED will contact you if you’re eligible for these benefits. If you haven’t applied yet, special instructions for self-employed people and independent contractors are available here. Additional information, including answers to frequently asked questions, can be found here.
Save the Date for our Virtual Town Hall Meeting
On Monday, May 11, Senator Clausen, Rep. Huot, and I will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting at 7:00 p.m. It’s a great way to connect with your neighbors online and ask any questions you might have about our ongoing work at the Legislature.
The event will be live streamed here: facebook.com/RepJohnHuot/
If you’d like to submit a question in advance, please feel free to do so at rep.robert.bierman@house.mn.
Keep in Touch
Please contact me anytime with questions or feedback. I appreciate your input! Don’t hesitate to let me know how I can be of assistance.
Follow me on my official Facebook page for additional updates and news.
It’s an honor to represent you at the Capitol (currently, Apple Valley).
Sincerely,
Robert Bierman
State Representative
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