3rd Congressional District 3 , CD3 DFL

Rep. Dean Phillips (CD3): Will America Cede or Lead?

Hi Neighbors,

Happy Pride Month! As you may know, every June we celebrate our LGBTQ+ community and honor those dedicated to ending discrimination in all of its forms. In that spirit, I hope you will join me this month in advocating for justice, preaching acceptance, and spreading love to all corners of our district.

Supporting Our Veterans

Our nation always finds the resources it needs to go war. It’s time we also find the resources to support our veterans and military families when they come home. The tragic rate of suicide in our veteran communities is a crisis; experts estimate that 17 veterans take their lives each day. We must do more to support those who have sacrificed for our nation, and that means ensuring that every veteran, servicemember, and their family has access to the mental health care and readjustment services they need. After hearing from veterans, service organizations, state officials, and my own Veterans Advisory Council, I introduced a new bill, the Vet Center Support Act, to address shortages in veterans’ mental health care across the country.

LaMettry’s Collision Donates Car To Veteran

LaMettry’s Collision, a Minnesota-based auto body business, donated a newly refurbished vehicle to a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, according to a press release.

“It is a privilege and honor to be part of a company and an industry that is willing to invest time and dollars to make this happen. It is humbling that people from various industry entities work in harmony for what is ultimately for the common good of our community,” LaMettry’s president of operations Darrell Amberson says in the release.

Teri, a Marine veteran from Minnesota, received a Honda Odyssey that was donated by American Family, and fully restored by LaMettry’s Collision and its industry partners. Continue reading.

Rep. Phillips Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Support Hard-Hit Startups

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Reps. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced the IGNITE American Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill to provide relief for startup businesses that were ineligible for other types of aid passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. startups are some of the most innovative firms in the world, and for the past year many have been working on products to fight the COVID-19 crisis and future pandemic threats. Phillips’s IGNITE American Innovation Act will allow small and mid-size businesses left out of the CARES Act to access fast and efficient capital, so that they can continue that important work and accelerate our nation’s recovery.

“The Great Recession did severe and lasting damage to American entrepreneurship,” said Rep. Phillips. “We cannot and must not allow the COVID-19 pandemic to do the same. This bipartisan bill will deliver long-overdue relief to our nation’s innovators and ensure that they continue to develop the lifesaving and game-changing technologies our economy and communities rely on.”

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (CD3): Service and Sacrifice

Hi Neighbors,

I hope you had a reflective and meaningful Memorial Day.

I was born in January of 1969, right here in Minnesota. Six months later, my father Artie was killed in action while serving his country in Vietnam. I think about my father every day, and his patriotism and selflessness inspires my own service in Congress.

Ahead of Memorial Day, Rep. Phillips Introduces Legislation to Improve Veterans’ Access to Lifesaving Mental Health Care

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) announced the introduction of the Vet Center Support Act, a bill that would identify barriers to constructing new Vet Centers and increasing staff capacity to assess how well veterans’ mental health needs are being met in underserved areas. Minnesota only has three Vet Centers statewide – one Center for every 100,000 veterans – one of the worst ratios in the country.

Vet Centers are community-based health providers that offer mental health services and readjustment counseling to veterans, active duty, National Guard members, Reservists, and their families. Yet, despite their proven track record of suicide prevention and excellent care, as well as the growing demand for their services, the state of Minnesota has not gained a new Vet Center in over a decade. After hearing from veterans, service organizations, state officials, and the Congressman’s own Veterans Advisory Council, Rep. Phillips wrote the Vet Center Support Act to address shortages in veterans’ mental health care across the country.

With Capitol insurrection commission delayed in the Senate, Rep. Phillips calls for filibuster reform

WASHINGTON, DC — With the Senate vote on the bipartisan commission to investigate delayed, Rep. Phillips issues the following statement:

“I value tradition. Like most Americans, I yearn for the days when Senators debated rather than divided and broke bread rather than our collective trust in government. But here we are, just months removed from an insurrection, merging from a pandemic, witnessing graphic displays of corruption, and at risk of irretrievable erosion of faith in elections – the very foundation of our democratic republic. I believe a bipartisan January 6 Commission and HR1, the For The People Act, are too important to forgo without debate, deliberation and a floor vote in the Senate. So it’s time to call on tradition and return the filibuster to its roots; the talking filibuster. Senators who wish to prevent a bill from a facing a simple majority vote would have to be so committed to obstruction that they’re willing to speak on the floor for as many hours or days or even months as it takes to force the others to concede. I believe in tradition, and tradition dictates Senators should be debating and voting, or have to work a whole lot harder to do nothing at all.”

Phillips Conducts Oversight of SBA Pandemic Grant Programs

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations, led by Chairman Dean Phillips (D-MN), held a hearing focused on assessing the implementation and effectiveness of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) pandemic related grant programs. The hearing gathered small business owners and stakeholders to testify on their experience obtaining relief and their recommendations for improving the programs.

“Recognizing the need for alternative relief options, Congress and this Committee have worked to provide direct economic relief to small firms that can’t afford to weigh down their balance sheets with more debt,” said Chairman Phillips. “I hope that by taking a closer look at these programs, we can gain a better understanding of the challenges that federal grant programs face, as well as the important relief that these programs are providing to struggling small businesses across the country.”

Since the COVID crisis began devastating small businesses, Congress has worked to provide small firms that couldn’t afford to take on more debt with direct economic relief through grants. The hearing focused on two SBA grant programs implemented in 2021 to reach the most impacted sectors of the economy, the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant (SVOG) program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Over the course of the year these programs will deliver nearly $50 billion to struggling small businesses across the country.

Reps. Phillips, Van Duyne Introduce Bipartisan Restaurant Recovery Fairness Act

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) has helped introduce a bipartisan bill, the Restaurant Recovery Fairness Act, co-led by his Republican counterpart on the Small Business Committee’s Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee ranking member Beth Van Duyne (R-TX).

The Restaurant Recovery Fairness Act will add a vital oversight component to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund. American restaurants have submitted requests for over $69 billion in funding, making this oversight crucial to ensure that only proper recipients receive funds.

This morning at a Small Business Committee hearing, Rep. Phillips questioned Isabella Casillas Guzman, the new administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, on the viability and oversight of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Paycheck Protection Program, and other aid programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. Dean Phillips (CD3) Statement on the Anniversary of George Floyd’s Death

WASHINGTON, DC ― Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) released the following statement on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, as police reform negotiations continue, led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that includes Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Phillips’s colleagues on the Problem Solvers Caucus:

“It was one year ago, today. George Floyd’s murder finally forced our country to acknowledge and confront the systemic racism that has ended too many Black lives and dreams. And while progress is being made, justice and opportunity for all requires a collective commitment. As we stand at the cusp of a bipartisan agreement on policing reforms to ensure accountability and enhance safety for all Americans, I urge President Biden and Congressional leaders to choose what is just over what is easy. Inaction is unacceptable, and the time is now.”

Park Center Student Wins Congressional Art Competition Hosted by Rep. Phillips

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) congratulated Tai Nguyen for winning the 2021 Congressional Art Competition in Minnesota’s Third District. Tai’s beautiful piece, Entrenched Blossoms, was selected by a panel of expert judges and will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol alongside winning artwork from across the country for one year.

“I want to issue a heartfelt congratulations to Tai for winning this year’s Congressional Art Competition,”said Rep. Phillips. “All of our student artists showed remarkable resilience, spirit, and skill in their pieces, which were among the most moving and impressive my office has seen in the three years we’ve hosted the Congressional Art Competition.”

The House of Representatives has sponsored this nationwide high school arts competition every spring since 1982, and more than 650,000 students have participated over three decades. In Minnesota’s Third District, a panel of expert judges including Ken Herren, artist and CEO of Your Art’s Desire, Stephanie Frey, Minnesota artist and art educator, and Jenny Stice, another Minnesota artist and art educator, reviewed 47 pieces from students at nine high schools for originality and technical skill. Second place was awarded to Tess Nelson from PiM Arts High School, third place was awarded to Matthew Macmillan from Maple Grove, fourth place was awarded to Noreen Si from Bloomington Jefferson, and fifth place was awarded to Marie Heyda from Providence Academy.

Supporting Our Veterans

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