Tag: Dean Phillips

Phillips Measure to Support Gold Star Families Included in Defense Bill, Headed to President’s Desk

Eight Phillips Defense Bill amendments pass through Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2021, including the bipartisan “Cheryl Lankford Memorial to Improve Assistance for Gold Star Spouses and Other Dependents” amendment by Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03). The amendment will help keep bereaved military families from slipping through the cracks and ensure Gold Star dependent children can easily access the benefits they are owed.

“As a Gold Star Son, my gratitude to our servicemembers and their families is immeasurable,” said Phillips. “Gold Star Families have made unimaginable sacrifices, and we must do everything we can to deliver all benefits they are owed. Gold Star Families deserve our respect and support, and I am glad this amendment will soon be signed into law.”

Phillips voted for final passage of  NDAA in the House on December 8, 2020, which included eight of his amendments aimed at modernizing our national security, stabilizing international relationships, and preparing for the next global crisis, and supporting our veterans and their families: 

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Minnesotans in Congress hope for last-minute COVID relief deal

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan push in the U.S. Senate for a COVID-19 relief package faces unclear prospects in the waning days of the current Congress, but several Minnesota lawmakers still hope for a last-minute breakthrough.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said of a $908 billion proposal outlined Tuesday by moderate U.S. senators from both parties.

Klobuchar said she would “not come home until we get something done,” echoing colleagues who want Congress to act before the House and Senate break for Christmas. Continue reading.

Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Push Bicameral, Bipartisan Emergency COVID-19 Relief Package

With endorsements from President-Elect Biden and others, momentum is building for passage

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Thursday, December 3, 2020, Dean Phillips (D-MN) and other members of the Problem Solvers Caucus stood together to fight for their common-sense bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief package. It is being supported by a rapidly growing group of Senators on both sides of the aisle, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and others to help American families, small businesses, workers, and health care providers during this crisis.

Leaders in both parties have stated support for the Problem Solvers Caucus’ framework as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral legislation. On Wednesday night, President-Elect Joe Biden announced his support for the plan, calling it a needed “down payment” ahead of more proposed aid under his administration next year.

  • A breakdown of the COVID-19 emergency relief framework can be found here.

“Vision without action is just a daydream, and we have had enough daydreaming in Congress. We need to show Americans and our allies across the world that the great experiment of America still works. The clock is ticking, but we can and must pass the Emergency COVID Relief Framework. Failure is not an option when Americans are suffering,” said Rep. Dean Phillips.

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Rep. Dean Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Announce Bipartisan, Bicameral COVID package

Rep. Phillips joined Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Senate leaders to announce a $908 billion emergency relief package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, House Problem Solvers Caucus members Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) joined a bipartisan group of Senators in announcing a four-month, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief framework that will help American students, families, small businesses, workers, and health care providers during this crisis. The Problem Solvers Caucus, 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans, helped develop the bicameral package. 

A breakdown of the COVID-19 emergency relief framework can be found here.

This effort is the culmination of months of leadership from Phillips and the Problem Solvers Caucus, as members have worked to break through partisan gridlock on a COVID relief plan since they unveiled their “March to Common Ground” bipartisan framework in September. 

Reps. Dean Phillips (D-MN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Fred Upton (R-MI), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH)  joined Problem Solvers Co-Chairs Tom Reed (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) as well as Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jeanne Shaheen (R-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to announce the COVID-19 emergency relief framework that will help American students, families, businesses, workers, and health care providers during this crisis. The Problem Solvers Caucus, made up of 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans, helped draft and endorsed the package.

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Dean Phillips Wins Reelection in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District

DEEPHAVEN, MINNESOTA – Today, Dean Phillips won reelection in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District by historic proportions. With more than 243,000 votes cast in his favor, Phillips’s win represents the largest vote count ever earned by a candidate for Congress in MN-03. 

Dean Phillips released the following statement: 

“Tonight, our community chose optimism over fear, conversation over chaos, and decency over division. This is the best job I have ever had, and I am honored to have the opportunity to represent such a civically-engaged district for another two years.

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Reps. Phillips and Gonzalez sign Braver Angels letter committing to bipartisan support for a fair and nonviolent election

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) came together in a show of bipartisanship today to sign the Braver Angels “What we will do to hold America together” public letter, promoting bipartisanship in the lead-up and following this year’s Presidential election.

“…In this season of intense and legitimate partisanship, we the undersigned commit ourselves also to a higher partisanship – for the maintenance of our Union; for the importance of our shared civic life; and for those feelings of goodwill that Lincoln called the better angels of our nature,” reads the letter. “We the undersigned will work separately for what each of us believes is right, but we will also work together to protect the land we all love – to lift up American citizenship and the American promise in a time of peril and to find in ourselves the understanding that our differences don’t simply divide us, but can strengthen and complete us.”

The Braver Angels “Holding America Together” campaign calls upon Americans to embrace a higher partisanship and disavow all election related violence. The public letter, which has over 5,000 signatories to date — including elected officials and media figures across the political spectrum — resolves that should a consensus not be reached on who is the legitimately elected president following the election, the signers will work in a bipartisan manner for solutions grounded in the Constitution and guided by democratic and non-violent traditions. The campaign has also recruited thousands of Americans, and hundreds of institutions — including colleges, churches, and civic groups — to commit to holding post-election gatherings designed to help Americans hold their families, friendships, and communities together in the wake of the election, or during an ongoing election crisis.

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Rep. Phillips honors the life of longtime sports legend Sid Hartman

MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA — Today, Rep. Dean Phillips released a speech he is submitting to the official Congressional Record honoring the life of longtime Star Tribune columnist and Minnesota legend Sid Hartman, who passed away on Sunday, Oct. 18, at the age of 100.

The full text of the speech is below:

Madam Speaker, it is with profound sadness and great affection that I rise today to celebrate the extraordinary life of Sid Hartman, a Minnesota sports pioneer and giant in journalism who passed away this week at the age of 100.

A child of Jewish immigrant parents who grew up in North Minneapolis in the 1920’s, Sid sold newspapers on downtown street corners – unwittingly beginning what would become a 75-year career in the news business. His first column in the Star Tribune was published on September 11, 1945 – just days after the end of WWII – and by the time he published his last column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune on October 18, 2020, his total number of bylines reached 21,235.

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Dean Phillips Gives Minnesotans a Reason to Send Him Back to Congress in Final Debate

MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA —  In a one-hour debate on WCOO radio today, Dean Phillips rose above divisive fear tactics and gave Minnesotans a reason to send him back to Washington. For the second time in one week, Dean’s opponent declined to share his vision for our future, misrepresented the truth and doubled down on his support for Donald Trump. 

With unrelenting optimism in the face of dishonest attacks, Dean thoughtfully answered policy questions and shared details about the bipartisan success from his historic first term in Congress. Minnesotans are voting in record numbers, and they deserve the truth: 

  • Dean Phillips is a bipartisan leader and has voted four times more often with Pete Stauber than with Nancy Pelosi. 
    In Congress, Dean has voted 393 times with his fellow Problem Solvers Caucus member Pete Stauber (R-MN) and 79 times with Speaker Pelosi. As a proud member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Dean is inspiring a new era of collaboration in Washington. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce honored Dean with their 2020 Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship, he is the 27th most bipartisan out of 437 House members, and one out of every three bills Dean cosponsored was introduced by a Republican. 
  • Dean wants to see a new generation of leaders in Congress.
    No Democrat stepped forward to run against Nancy Pelosi for Speaker in the 116th Congress, but Dean remains committed to supporting a new generation of leaders in the House. As a crucial first step, Dean secured a “Break the Gridlock” rules change to ensure that no Speaker of the House can unilaterally block bills that have earned broad bipartisan support.  
  • Dean Phillips leads with optimism and gets results for Minnesota.
    President Trump signed Dean’s bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act into law, saving millions of small businesses and American jobs. Now, Dean is leading the Problem Solvers Caucus in introducing a bipartisan “March to Common Ground” framework to break the impasse on COVID-19 relief negotiations.
  • Dean Phillips works for the people and is a leading voice for transparency, accountability, and integrity.
    Dean is on a mission to end the corrupting influence of special interest money in our politics and on Capitol Hill. He refuses all campaign contributions from PACs, special interests, federal lobbyists, and other members of Congress, proudly serves on the House Ethics Committee, and authored the TRUTH Act, which would have required the federal government to disclose where COVID-19 relief money is going.
  • Dean Phillips builds strong coalitions, and Everyone’s Invited!
    The Star Tribune, labor unions, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association have all endorsed Dean. The Minnesota Farm Bureau calls Dean a “Friend of the Farm,” and the Campaign to Fix the Debt named Dean a “2020 Fiscal Hero.”