US House 31 , CD3 DFL

Rep. Dean Phillips (CD3): Working with You and for You

Hi Neighbors,

It has been a transformative spring in Minnesota, and my heart is with all the families, students, faculty, and staff in our community who endured moments of horror this week when a student fired multiple shots inside Plymouth Middle School. It’s a miracle that no one was hurt and a clarion call to responsible gun owners to always use locking devices and keep firearms in a safe or lock box.

Like many of you, I watched in uneasy anticipation as we received a verdict in the Derek Chauvin case, a verdict that I sincerely hope will be turning point in our history. George Floyd should be alive, but I hope that this conviction is a step towards accountability for George Floyd’s family. America’s work, our work, to ensure justice, safety and opportunity for all will continue with more intention, more fortitude, and more purpose. We must work together to reduce violence in our society and create a safer society for all of our neighbors, and I look forward to doing that with you. Onwards.

Through it all, I’m working for you in Washington and in Minnesota. Read on to learn more:

Phillips Earns “Spirit of the Alley” Award for Commitment to Entrepreneurship and Innovation in HealthE Care

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) thanked the Medical Alley community for presenting him with the Spirit of the Alley Award, in honor of Phillips’s work to support small businesses in Minnesota and foster innovation in health care.

In 2019, Phillips helped achieve a permanent repeal of the medical device tax, which had previously stifled productivity, hampered job growth, and disproportionately harmed Minnesota, the birthplace and epicenter of the medical device industry. Furthermore, since the beginning of the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Phillips has introduced two bills – the IGNITE American Innovation Act and New Business Preservation Act – that would protect American start-ups and encourage investment in a time of economic turmoil.

“It’s a great honor to represent Minnesota’s Third District and all of the ground-breaking – and often lifesaving – innovations that happen right here in the Medical Alley,” said Rep. Phillips. “I’m humbled and grateful for this recognition, and I’m proud to champion our state’s unparalleled community of health care entrepreneurs. In the months and years to come, I will continue to elevate ideas that decrease costs and improve health outcomes for Minnesotans, and I invite those of all political persuasions to join me in that endeavor.”

Phillips Introduces Bipartisan Ethics Reform Bill to Prohibit Lobbying by Elected Officials

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Reps. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Van Taylor (R-TX) introduced H.R. 2902, the Elected Official Lobbying Prohibition Act. This bipartisan legislation would close a long-standing loophole that allows elected officials to lobby on behalf of private clients.

Under current law, state and local officials can leverage their political influence to advance the goals of private sector patrons and special interests. H.R. 2902 would end that corrupt practice once and for all. However, the bill does not prohibit state and local officials from advocating at the federal level on behalf of their constituents. The complete text of H.R. 2902 can be found here.

“This isn’t controversial – elected officials should serve the people, not their pocketbook,” said Rep. Phillips. “Current law allows our leaders to lobby Washington on behalf of special interests, never mind the needs of their constituents. That is a blatant betrayal of the public trust, and it must be prohibited immediately. This bipartisan legislation is a victory for the American people and a much-needed step toward restoring their faith in our government.”

Democrats demand release of secret vaccine contracts inked under Trump

Dozens of congressional Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday urged top Biden officials to release unredacted copies of multi-billion-dollar coronavirus vaccine contracts that the Trump administration negotiated in secret with major pharmaceutical companies last year—and refused to divulge to lawmakers.

In a letter (pdf) to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, 50 lawmakers from the House and Senate argue that public knowledge of the specific terms of the vaccine contracts “has become all the more important as manufacturers talk of boosters and seasonal immunizations, while considering ‘post-pandemic’ price increases.”

“Taxpayers should know how their funds were spent and what secret deals were reached.”
—Rep. Lloyd Doggett

“Taxpayers are serving as the angel investors in Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutic development, assuming the costs and risk,” the letter reads. “It is imperative that they also receive a stake in the outcome as well as complete transparency on how billions of tax dollars have been spent and what terms were agreed to and may still be renegotiated.”

Visualizing the unique, historic diversity of the dais at Biden’s speech

In the first seconds of his first address to a joint session of Congress, President Biden acknowledged the historic nature of the people who sat behind him.

“Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President,” he began. “No president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words. And it’s about time.”

He was referring, of course, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — the only woman to have ever held that position — and Vice President Harris, the only woman and person of Black or Asian descent to ever have done so. It was a moment without equal in American history. Continue reading.

Watch: GOP leader McCarthy squirms as Chris Wallace grills him on Trump’s seditious Jan. 6 behavior

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Sunday disputed allegations that President Donald Trump reached out to him to coordinate an alibi after the Capitol was attacked by Trump-supporting insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted McCarthy about a telephone call he had with Trump soon after the attack on the Capitol was underway.

“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” Trump reportedly told McCarthy at the time, according to Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA). Continue reading.

Democrats warn Waters censure move opens floodgates

House Democrats are warning that Republicans are opening a Pandora’s box after forcing a vote on censuring Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) this week.

Multiple Democrats have introduced resolutions in recent months to censure or even expel Republicans, primarily over inflammatory rhetoric making false claims about election fraud ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

After Republicans forced the party-line vote on Waters this week, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) circulated a letter renewing his effort to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from Congress and urging more fellow Democrats to sign onto his resolution. Continue reading.

Phillips Opens Voting for Congressional Art Competition “People’s Choice Aaward” – Now Featuring Ranked Choice Ballots

MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) invited Minnesotans to begin voting for the 2021 Congressional Art Competition “People’s Choice Award.” Forty-seven talented students from nine high schools across Minnesota’s Third District submitted incredible works of art for the national competition. For the first time in MN-03 history, the People’s Choice Award will be decided using Ranked Choice Voting, a system of voting that is proven to build consensus and discourage division. In addition to the Congressional Art Competition, Rep. Phillips supports the use of Ranked Choice Voting to decide comparatively lower-stakes elections, such as U.S. congressional races.

“Throughout the most challenging year in generations, our young people have shown remarkable resilience and spirit” said Rep. Phillips. “That is abundantly clear in all of this year’s submissions, which are among the most moving and impressive works my office has seen in the three years we’ve hosted the Congressional Art Competition. Congratulations to all of the extraordinary students who submitted works of art, our judges and voters have a challenging task ahead!”

MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross nails GOP as ‘weird, creepy white guy party’ of abusers, rapists and Matt Gaetz

Former President Donald Trump released a statement attacking NBA player Lebron James. Evidently, the former president “came out of hiding,” MSNBC’s Joy Reid said, because he was so triggered by James posting a photo of the police officer who shot and killed a 16-year-old girl in Ohio this week.

Fellow MSNBC host Tiffany Cross, whose show “The Crossfire Connection” airs on weekend mornings, flatly said, “Who cares what Trump has to say.” James, she explained was expressing his feelings as a Black man in pain for his community. Trump’s pain is still election-related or related to being called impotent on Fox News ads.

“Speaking of bums,” Reid interjected. “Matt Gaetz is begging for money. He says he wants to run some ads to try to help himself. There is an interesting piece in ProPublica that talks about the fact all of these far-right figures like Matt Gaetz, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, et cetera, Josh Hawley. They all sort of go out and make it seem like every time there is a controversy, they are raising tons of money. But it’s not really clear that that’s happening. These organizations, that are gleaning money from sometimes small donations from, you know, Republican donors. A lot of the time, they are keeping most of the money. And the fundraising isn’t really real. It’s kind of smoke and mirrors. Do you think that we, in the media — you wrote a great book, ‘Say It Louder,’ Tiffany Cross, about the media. Do we need to maybe take a step back before touting everything crazy they do is major fundraising? Because sometimes, it’s really not true.” Continue reading.

Trump-loving insurrectionist couple arrested for attacking Capitol police after leaving evidence all over Facebook

Mark and Jalise Middleton, a husband and wife from rural Texas, have been arrested on charges that include “engaging in physical violence” against police officers at the January 6 Capitol riot.

The Middletons, from Forestburg TX, are accused of having made a couples’ activity out of assaulting officers on the front line of the Capitol insurrection. Here’s some of the description from the FBI complaint, citing footage from police body cams:

“Officers begin struggling against rioters who are refusing repeated orders to step back from the barricade and are attempting to breach the police line. As the struggle ensues, a male individual wearing a red, white, and blue “Trump” beanie hat, red and white scarf, gray or silver jacket, blue jeans, red and white “Nike” shoes, and gray backpack with a red logo on the back—later identified as Mark Middleton— pushes against the barricades and the police line with his body. As officers repeatedly order (him) and other rioters to “get back,” (he) is heard yelling “fuck you!” as he continues pushing against the barricade. Continue reading.

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