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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Jay Xiong (DFL)

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Legislative Update- May 2, 2020

Saturday, May 2, 2020
Rep. Xiong

Dear Neighbors,

A warm thank you to everyone who attended and participated in our virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday. It’s clear Eastsiders are engaged, they care about each other, and they’re extremely dedicated in banding together to strengthen our neighborhoods. If you missed the event, you can watch a recap here. Please continue to reach out to us with additional questions or input.

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May is AAPI Month

May is nationally recognized as AAPI Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation (Public Law 95-419) on October 5, 1978 to make annually the week of May encompassing May 7 and May 10 as Asian American history week, to commemorate the first arrival of Japanese Americans (May 7, 1843) and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroads respectively (May 10, 1869).

We stand on the shoulders of great ancestors, and that is why we have the privilege to exercise our rights and power today. For this month of May, we owe our thanks to Jeanie Jew, a former Capitol Hill staffer, who in the 1970s, upon observing the lack of recognition of Asian Americans in the Bicentennial celebration of 1976, approached US Rep. Frank Horton of New York to do something about this. Jew's great-grandfather, M.Y. Lee had come to America to help build the railroad. Like countless others, he labored to build bridges, span chasms, carve out caves, dig ditches, break rocks, flatten and move earth, dynamite away the hills and valleys of America to connect us by train coast to coast. Representative Horton and Senator Daniel Inouye worked hard to recognize the first week of May for Asian Americans in the legislative session of 1977. 

As a state legislator, I thank Representative Horton and Senator Inouye for recognizing us. I honor and respect the pioneering leadership that Asian Americans before me such as Senator Inouye have modeled so that a generation later, a new Hmong son of refugee parents like myself can run for office in Minnesota.


COVID-19 Update from Gov. Walz:

From building out critical hospital capacity to launching a landmark testing strategy, Minnesota has made meaningful progress in preparing for the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesotans have made this possible by staying home and holding down the rate of infection.

But now is not the time for sudden movements. There’s more work to be done. We need to keep this virus at a simmer, not a boil. We must prioritize the safety of Minnesotans while taking cautious, strategic steps toward getting people safely back to work.

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Our Stay Home Order has been extended until May 18. While retail businesses can begin offering curbside pickup on Monday, we’re asking Minnesotans to continue to stay home, practice social distancing, and wear cloth masks as we turn the dial toward reopening society.

Adjusting the Dials

COVID-19 Update from the Legislature:

This week the House and Senate DFL outlined our COVID-19 economic security agenda, focusing on the following priorities:

  • Keeping Minnesotans safe in their homes with a $100 million investment in housing assistance
  • Providing economic security for our education professionals by ensuring full pay for our hourly school employees
  • Providing economic security for the personal care assistants who care for vulnerable Minnesotans through a well-deserved and long-overdue wage increase
  • Keeping Minnesotans connected by ensuring all Minnesotans have access to the broadband they need to go online
  • Helping families make ends meet by using available federal funding to boost payments for low-income working Minnesotans in the Minnesota Family Investment Program

You can read more about our economic security plan online.

House Economic Agenda

Caring for our Community

I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Sanneh Foundation at the former Conway Rec Center on the Eastside today to distribute food to nearly 300 families. If anyone is in need, please reach out to me. I’d also like to give a shout out our Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Met Councilman Chai Lee for joining us. It was great to partner with the foundation and local leaders to give back to the Eastside community, especially during these times of great needs. I’m proud of Tony Sanneh and community partners for their commitment to our neighbors.

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Keep in Touch

Please contact me with questions, ideas, or input at rep.jay.xiong@house.mn. I appreciate hearing from you, so please never hesitate to let me know how I can be of assistance.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend.

In solidarity,

Jay Xiong

State Representative