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State Representative Andrew Falk
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4228
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
COMMON SENSE, COMPASSION, AND COOPERATION
Our rural hospitals keep getting pounded. For years the Pawlenty Administration has been pulling the rug out from under them. Last session the Governor line-item vetoed General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), denying tens of millions in needed reimbursements to our local hospitals. And now, the House passed a bill that would cut our hospitals even more.
Someone needs to draw a line in the sand and say, enough. Someone needs to articulate the clear difference between right and wrong. Someone needs to stand up and fight for jobs in our community, and the health and safety of our friends and neighbors. As your state representative, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
It’s why I voted against millions more in cuts to local hospitals this week. It’s why I voted against a watered-down GAMC fix last month that severely shortchanged rural hospitals.
But I’m not just saying no to bad ideas. I’m working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to build the coalitions necessary to restore crucial funding to our hospitals, nursing homes, and the most vulnerable among us.
During debate on the Health and Human Services bill this week, I voted to shut down offshore tax havens for businesses that cheat on taxes, and send local jobs overseas. That $55 million would have been used to help fund Minnesota nursing homes and long-term care facilities. And I voted to implement a surcharge on for-profit HMOs to minimize cuts to Minnesota hospitals.
As thousands of local jobs continue disappearing in Minnesota, and showing up overseas, our state cannot tolerate corporations that hide money in offshore tax havens. And at a time when Stephen Hemsley, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group Inc., made $102 million last year, the least we can do is ask HMOs to contribute $10 million in profits to prevent devastating cuts to rural hospitals.
Everyone needs to share in the solution. That’s what Governor Pawlenty and Republicans have forgotten. Minnesota used to be a place where shared sacrifices went hand-in-hand with shared benefits. As Paul Wellstone said, “We all do better when we all do better." It’s a tradition of compassion and common sense that has made Minnesota one of the greatest states in the union.
But go-it-alone, slash and burn partisan politics have put our schools, our safety, and our future at risk. That’s why I’m so pleased that the Supreme Court this week ruled that the Governor’s $2.7 billion in unallotments last session were illegal. That ruling proved that the common sense checks and balances engrained in our constitution are still at play in today’s politics, protecting the interests and voices of all Minnesotans.
Now, we have to work together and do the work Minnesotans elected us to do. In the weeks ahead, state leaders need to come together to resolve the budget crisis, and put our state on course for economic recovery. That is my commitment to you and our state.
Please contact me in the remaining days of session with your questions, concerns, and suggestions. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Andrew Falk
State Representative
District 20A
(651) 296-4288
rep.andrew.falk@house.mn
News Items
- Budget Forecast: Major budget problems remain for 2014-15 Fiscal crisis in Washington creates uncertainty and concerns - (Posted: Dec 5 2012 12:00AM)
- Budget Forecast: Major budget problems remain for 2014-15 Fiscal crisis in Washington creates uncertainty and concerns - (Posted: 2012-12-05 00:00:00)
- 2012 SESSION WRAP UP - (Posted: 2012-07-05 00:00:00)
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