Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Here is an update with the latest news from St. Paul.
Second Deadline
We’ve wrapped up Health and Human Services Policy committee, and now we’re waiting for the Democrats to roll out the HHS omnibus bill that will need to be heard in the HHS Finance committee before the third deadline on April 12th.
Disaster Relief Funding
Yesterday, we passed a bill to allocate $10 million for the disaster relief account ahead of the anticipated flooding across the state. There was an amendment proposed, which I voted for, that would have increased the funding to $43 million over the next two years, since last year $10 million was spent on flood response and cleanup for just two communities. I believe we will need more than $10 million to respond to the extensive flooding that is expected, as well as any other natural disasters that may happen in the state.
CCAP Bill
I am a coauthor on a bill introduced by House Republicans this week to address the widespread fraud in the CCAP program identified by the nonpartisan Legislative Auditor. The bill is meant to make sure our public programs, CCAP in particular, are working for the people they are meant to help instead of spending millions of dollars on those perpetrating fraud.
This Week
I had great conversations this week with nursing home administrators and staff from McIntosh and Red Lake Falls!
It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. I am here to serve you!
Sincerely,
Deb