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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Shane Mekeland (R)

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Legislative update

Friday, March 25, 2022

Dear Neighbor,

We are approximately at the halfway point of the 2022 session and things are oddly quiet, starting with the fact there’s no real progress to report on fixing the tax increase House Democrats created by not passing an unemployment insurance bill by March 15.

Employers now experiencing tax increases some people may not even be aware were coming, yet there’s been no movement in the House to take up the bipartisan bill the Senate passed a month ago by a veto-proof majority.

With that issue still needlessly unresolved, House members are still spending most of our time in the committee hearings these days as we come up on the first deadline to move bills through the initial stages of the process.

One thing of note from this week is I co-signed a House Resolution “urging the President of the United States to consider the current geopolitical tensions and support policies and take measures to ensure America’s long-term energy affordability, security, leadership and progress, including actions that result in the continued operation of existing oil and natural gas pipelines, the construction of new pipelines, and an end to restrictions on developing our nation's onshore and offshore oil and natural gas resources.”

I continue to embrace an all-of-the-above approach to providing Minnesotans with access to affordable, reliable energy. This is a no-brainer to me anytime and especially so during a time such as this where global instability exposes vulnerabilities to relying on international energy sources. And, it goes without saying, we need to make sure our tax dollars aren’t being used to fund the atrocities being committed by Russia

All you have to do is look at the rising prices at the gas pump to see our nation’s lack of energy independence is doing us a disservice. We’re now seeing social media posts of truckers paying in excess of $1,000 to fill their tank.

Frankly, I don’t expect President Biden to suddenly improve his positions on energy based on the House Resolution we have authored. But we need to be having this conversation and must continue pushing back against the Biden/Walz administrations’ bad energy policies any way we can.

On a final note, I want to mention this is National Agriculture Week and it’s a good time to thank farmers in our area for all they do to keep people fed and our state and nation going every day.

Until next time, have a good weekend and please let me know how I may help.

Sincerely,

Shane

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