Dear Neighbors,

Join Attorney General Keith Ellison and me for a Community Forum on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. We will meet at Como Park Senior High School in the cafeteria.

We will outline the findings of the Attorney General’s Pharmaceutical Drug Prices, a panel on which I had the opportunity to serve. The taskforce developed several recommendations, including a ban on prescription drug price gouging. I already am the author of legislation which does that, and last week the House Health and Human Services Finance Division approved that proposal. You can watch the public hearing here.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with House Public Information Services to preview the session and talk about our community and our priorities. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Action on Issues Important to Minnesotans

Last week on the House Floor we approved several of the House DFL’s key priorities. It’s unacceptable that one in four diabetics ration their insulin because of its high cost. In fact, it’s tripled over a decade.

On Wednesday, the House approved the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, which creates a statewide assistance program to allow people with diabetes to access a refill of insulin if they in an emergency situation where they can’t afford their prescription. It also caps co-pays at $30 and connects diabetics with options for long-term affordable insulin coverage. The legislation will largely be funded by a fee on the three multi-national insulin manufacturers that control over 90 percent of the market and recorded $20 billion in profits in the last 12 months. It’s time for Big Pharma to help pay for a solution to this crisis.

We also approved legislation to protect the privacy of voters in our presidential primary. It would give voters the ability to opt-out of sharing their party preference in the upcoming presidential primary while also restricting the sharing of that data only to a national party representative, and only for the purpose of verifying participation in the primary. Of course, the candidate someone votes for wouldn’t be shared with anyone.

As the presidential primary law is currently written, all four major parties will receive the data about which voters chose which party’s ballot, and this could then be for sale to the highest bidder. I supported these new protections to ensure no one has to hesitate before participating in our democratic process because of privacy concerns.

House DFLers also acted on two critical pieces of gun violence prevention legislation: expanded criminal background checks and red flag laws. All Minnesotans deserve to feel safe in their communities, and we've experienced too many heartbreaking tragedies as a result of senseless gun violence. I'm proud to support the many passionate folks in our community vocally advocating for more responsible gun laws, and enthusiastically voted “yes” on both of these solutions to our gun violence epidemic. Now, it’s time for the Senate – led by Republicans – to stand with the vast majority of Minnesotans of all political ideologies who support these initiatives, and not with the powerful gun lobby.

Great Start Act

All Minnesota children deserve a great start in life. Unfortunately, too many families find affordable child care spots limited, and early education opportunities aren’t keeping up with the demand. These both contribute to a persistent opportunity gap that keeps children of color and those from low incomes from reaching their full potential.

My House DFL colleagues and I have introduced the Great Start for All Minnesota Children Act would boost investments in early learning scholarships, child care assistance, voluntary pre-K programs and other strategies to ensure our youngest learners are equipped to achieve in the classroom and succeed later on in life.

These investments aren’t just good for children, they are good for our economy as well. Too many child care providers are struggling to stay in business with low reimbursement rates, and a lack of access to affordable child care prevents parents from entering the workforce. Further, for every dollar we invest in early learning, research shows a return of as much as $16 to our economy.

All Minnesota children deserve the opportunity to have a great start in life and I strongly support this package of key investments in Minnesota’s future.

If you find these updates valuable, please consider sharing them with a friend or neighbor. Invite them to subscribe here. Also, you’re invited to like my official State Capitol Facebook page here.

Please continue to contact me with your feedback, input, and ideas. It’s an honor to represent you.

Sincerely,

John Lesch
State Representative