Friends and Neighbors,
I ran into some of you while out walking yesterday evening and, keeping a respectable social distance of 6 feet, fielded some of your questions about what we are doing and not doing in the legislature. I said that even though we are not physically meeting in session, we are getting a lot done through teleconferencing, group e-mails, and one-on-one phone calls and e-mails. In fact we are extremely busy laying solid legislative groundwork and once we achieve a degree of consensus, we will be called to Saint Paul to meet in committees and on the Senate/House floor.
For example, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Larry Herke, called me at home Sunday afternoon from his office in Saint Paul to bring me up to date on what is happening at the Minnesota Veteran’s Homes, veteran’s cemeteries, relations with the Minneapolis VA and, specifically, Governor Walz’s proposed revised veteran’s budget. As the DFL Lead on the Senate Veterans Committee, I am regularly called and visited by the Commissioner and his very capable staff. After hanging up, the Commissioner and I almost immediately exchanged e-mails to further clarify his call. Shortly after that I received an e-mail from the Commissioner’s Legislative Liaison scheduling a conference call for Monday to lay out the Governor’s funding request for an additional $6.2 million to help Minnesota veterans and survivors of veterans who are now struggling or will struggle to make ends meet as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
There was an exchange of e-mails Monday morning followed by a one-hour conference call in the afternoon that was carefully coordinated so that only the Chair and Lead of the Senate and House Veterans Committee were on the phone with the staffs of the Commissioner and Governor Walz. We read and debated the proposed wording for the increase in funding. The four legislators asked questions and added thoughts as to what should be included in drafting and implementing the funding bill. At the end of the hour there was consensus and we directed staff to begin preparing draft bills, which we will review in a day or two before they are brought before our respective committees. There they will be expedited to the floor for a vote and signature by Governor Walz.
Currently, there is as much or more being done by legislators from home without us being physically in Saint Paul. So, when I say this is a bipartisan, collaborative effort, it is just that. In our contacts we debate, we treat each other with respect, listen to each other’s views and offer suggestions and adjustments as needed. This is being accomplished across party lines and is happening within committees, and between the committees of the two legislative houses. We are working both individually and together to accomplish everything possible to help the residents and businesses of Minnesota make it through the current crisis. Additionally, Governor Walz, Majority Leader Gazelka, Speaker Hortman and Minority Leaders Kent and Daudt all deserve praise for their collegial leadership in this trying time.
A full list of the executive orders signed by Governor Walz can be found here. For the most up to date information about the Coronavirus in Minnesota, go the Minnesota Department of Health website here.
If you have any questions or wish to unsubscribe from this Newsletter please feel free to contact my office at 651-296-2556 or by email at sen.jerry.newton@senate.mn.
Thank you and be well,
Jerry Newton
State Senator
District 37