A legislative update is available in English and Hmong here.
Neighbors,
Thank you so much to everyone who came to our town hall over the weekend! Your input was thoughtful, helpful and important. In case you missed it, here’s an update on the major things we’ve been working on over the past week.
Minnesota Values Budget
One of the most important jobs of the legislature this year is to craft a two-year budget for Minnesota. This week we announced a budget that reflects the values of Minnesotans by making significant investments in education, affordable health care, and in our communities. This budget supports a Minnesota that works for everyone, not just corporations and the wealthy. You can read more about the announcement from MPR here.
The Cost of Health Care
Alec Smith was a 26-year-old who lived in Minneapolis and needed Insulin to survive. He died last summer, when he lost his parents’ health insurance and could no longer afford the $1,200 per month for the medication he needed to survive. His story isn’t unique – nearly 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. struggle to afford their prescription drugs, and it forces people to make painful choices.
This week the Minnesota House DFL proposed a comprehensive plan to make prescription drugs more affordable by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and putting more power in the hands of Minnesotans. Our plan is among the strongest efforts to address the rising cost of prescription drugs in the country. It increases transparency for drug manufacturers, improves public scrutiny of pharmaceutical middle men, leverages the State of Minnesota’s purchasing power to cut health care costs, and puts more power back in the hands patients and their doctors.
Closing the Opportunity Gap
This morning in the Jobs and Economic Development Committee I presented a billintended to close the opportunity gap, which I’m carrying with the support of Governor. The bill would create workforce training and entrepreneurship investments targeted at reducing the economic disparities negatively affecting people of color. This bill will lift up all of our communities and improve our economy by making sure that the organizations working to address Minnesota’s deep and persistent disparities can continue their momentum in the next biennium.
Constituent Shout-Outs
Thank you to AFSCME Council 5 and MAPE members for sharing your time with me. I was so glad to see the huge turnout for your day on the hill. Weekends, paid time off, and the 8 hour workday didn’t happen by themselves. I am proud to be a co-author of these bills to protect working Minnesotans:
HF5 - paid family medical leave act
HF13 - equal rights amendment
HF485 - price control on life saving medication
Thank you so much for reading and for your input! Please feel free to reach out at any time. Do you know someone who wants to receive these updates? They can sign up here.
Sincerely,
Kaohly Her
State Representative - District 64A |
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