Hi Friend,
Greetings from Washington! I’m checking in after another full week of conversations, hearings and votes. Read on to learn more about how I represented you this week:
PROTECTING OUR KIDS FROM THE TRAUMA OF GUN VIOLENCE
For the second week in a row, I joined my colleagues on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for a hearing on our nation’s gun violence epidemic. This time, I had the opportunity to ask a panel of experts about the emotional and psychological toll active shooter drills, lockdowns, and the fear of gun violence have on our students and educators. Their answers were profoundly heartbreaking. We cannot let gun violence in America become normalized, and we cannot not let the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate obstruct the will of the people. That’s why I’m doing everything I can to get common sense gun violence prevention bills passed into law.
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| Click here to watch our hearing on the emotional and psychological toll gun violence is taking on our children. |
COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
On Wednesday, I stood with my colleagues on the New Democrat Climate Change Task Force to announce our package of climate policy proposals. The New Democrat Coalition makes up nearly one quarter of the entire House, and together, we’re demanding climate action — because climate change is real and it’s in our backyard. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in a global climate strike in every corner of the world this week. The message is loud and clear: our planet needs a clean energy future, and our proposals would make sure America takes the lead.
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| Climate change is an urgent global problem, and our climate policy principles will ensure that America takes the lead. Read them here. |
BIPARTISAN WORKING GROUP ON ADDICTION
Earlier this year, I hosted a community conversation on opioids in Minnesota. Since then, I’ve been working hard to identify ways to better support Minnesotans suffering from addiction. That’s why I joined the bipartisan Freshmen Working Group on Addiction. At our meeting today, I had the honor of introducing the National Director of Hazelden Betty Ford’s Children’s Program, who spoke to us about the impact addiction has on children and families, and the work Hazelden is doing in our community at its Plymouth campus.
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| I welcomed addiction program experts from Plymouth to our Freshmen Working Group on Addiction breakfast today. |
As always, I invite you to stop by mobile office hours, which will be in Osseo next week, to meet my outstanding team of constituent advocates and learn how they can be of assistance to you and your family. And if you’re planning to visit Washington this fall, make sure to check our Donuts with Dean schedule – I’d love to see you on Capitol Hill!
Keep in touch,
Dean Phillips
Member of Congress