Tag: Rep. Vang

Dear Neighbors,

Deadline for Housing Assistance is Tonight!

If you are struggling paying the rent, mortgage, homeowners association dues, homeowners insurance or utilities there is still over $30 million in available funds to help Minnesotans like you. There is still significant help for you if your income has been affected by Covid, but you must apply by midnight tonight, you can apply here. Please, if you know anyone in your life who has struggled during the pandemic, encourage them to apply. This funding could go a long way to helping lesson the impact of our ongoing housing crisis. Please apply today!

New Budget Forecast

Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) announced the November Economic Forecast, projecting a $641 million surplus for the current budget cycle, while a deficit of $1.273 billion is projected for the 2022-2023 biennium beginning July 1. 

Dear Neighbors,

Special Session

On Monday, the House and Senate convened in a special session called by Governor Walz. The governor has extended the current peacetime emergency so he can continue to access the state’s toolbox to take quick, decisive action to protect Minnesotans through the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, the House voted to extend the governor’s emergency powers for another week. We can’t get complacent now after all of our sacrifice and hard work; we have seen that states that reduce precautions too quickly suffer from a major spike in cases.

This special session is an opportunity to finish important work for the people of Minnesota. After George Floyd’s killing, Minnesotans are still demanding improvements to public safety for everyone, in every community, so they can have confidence in law enforcement. We will continue to work to enact strong police accountability measures like the ones the House approved in the last special session. Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: July 16, 2020”

Dear Neighbors,

We are approaching the end of the first 2020 special session. I am hard at work alongside my colleagues to ensure that we pass critical legislation. While the Senate Republicans may wish to adjourn today, we in the House are committed to staying as long as it takes to pass the legislation our state needs.

House Passes CARES Act Funding for Our Local Governments
Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill to provide $841 million in federal CARES Act funding to Minnesota’s cities, counties, and towns, and make new investments in the people of Minnesota. It is now moving to the Senate to be approved. Cities would receive $350 million in aid, counties would receive $467 million, and towns would receive $24 million. The bill also includes critically needed investments in Minnesota and Minnesotans. These include the following: Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: June 19, 2020”

Dear Neighbors,

I hope this update finds you well and healthy. I know it has been quite a difficult time for all of us, but we can only get through this together. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation and the outpouring of community support. We are expected to return to a special session in about a week. Due to the recent turn of events, here is a quick update.

Working With the POCI Caucus to Answer the Cries of George Floyd

The events over the last week have made clear the need to hold our police accountable to our communities. I am committed to pursuing a more just Minnesota. The People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus has proposed a slew of policiesthat centers on:

• Reform the investigation and prosecution of officer-involved deaths and wrongful actions
  • Move primary investigation and prosecution of officer-involved deaths to the Attorney General’s Office
  • Modify use-of-force laws to prevent wrongful deaths
  • Create a new crime for unjustified use of force that results in death or great bodily harm
  • Strengthen independence of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and design an alternative independent body to their jurisdiction
  • Conduct a review of Medical Examiners to ensure independence and timely action
  • Change civil liability statute of limitations for families of individuals killed by police

Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: June 3, 2020”

Dear Neighbors,

We wrapped up the 2020 session yesterday. This session has been extraordinary in several ways, and we had to make difficult adjustments in order to pass needed legislation. By working together we passed significant COVID-19 legislation giving Minnesota some of the resources it needed to rise to the challenge. However, in the final week, Republicans decided to block a lot of important legislation, and while there may be an opportunity to reconsider these critical measures as we continue our efforts addressing COVID-19, this last weekend was our best shot at reaching a compromise. Here is some major legislation that we championed but were unable to pass through our Republicans colleagues in the final hours:

• ratification of state worker contracts; these state employees include nurses on the front lines of COVID-19, corrections officers, cleaning and sanitation workers, public health workers doing the essential job of testing, monitoring, tracing, and mitigating COVID-19 in Minnesota. They are critical to our fight against COVID-19 and Republicans let them down;
• $100 million in housing assistance for all Minnesotans; Minnesotans all across the state are facing difficulty paying their rent and mortgages, in order to fight this virus everyone needs a stable home;
• increased Minnesota Family Investment assistance for Minnesota families that need the most help;
• temporary wage increase for personal care assistants who are taking care of our most vulnerable;
• ensuring full pay for hourly school workers; these workers are helping raise and care for our children, they deserve to have financial assurance in these trying times;
• emergency loans for state small and minority owned businesses; this was something that I worked on because these businesses form the backbone of our communities and they need our assistance.

Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: May 18, 2020”

Dear Neighbors,

Last Wednesday was National Nurses Day, which kicked off National Nurses Week. Nurses, more than most other professions have stepped up in our time of need to fight this disease. We would be in a much worse place if we did not have the passion, integrity and expertise of our nurses to aid us through this crisis. To all nurses, thank you, we owe you all a great debt.

House Passes COVID Economic Security Act

Last week, the House passed HF 1507, a critical bill that will provide economic support for small businesses, fund broadband and telemedicine expansions, $100 million in housing assistance, and increase pay for personal care assistants. These funds are designed to specifically aid the small mom and pop stores that form the backbone of our communities. We have to take bold action in standing up for the most vulnerable if we are to make it through this crisis without causing harm to our state. By sticking to our shared values and helping each other wherever it is needed we can weather this storm. Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: May 11, 2020”

Dear Neighbors,

A breakthrough in testing for COVID-19 has been reached as a result of ongoing collaboration between the Legislature, Governor Walz, the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Hennepin Healthcare, and Minnesota’s health plans. You can watch a replay of the announcement here.

Soon, every Minnesotan with symptoms of COVID-19 will be able to get tested. Thanks to funding provided by the Legislature and the hard work of scientists and public health experts, we will establish capacity to deliver 20,000 molecular and 15,000 serology tests per day. This is a major milestone in our ongoing work to re-open Minnesota’s economy in a way that keeps people safe, prevents loss of life, and uses science to guide decision making.

Continue reading “Rep. Samantha Vang (HD40B) Update: April 24, 2020”