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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) will join Moms Demand Action, Protect Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz, local elected officials, faith leaders, survivors of gun violence, and concerned Minnesotans on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol for a rally against gun violence and hate. Phillips has long been committed to preventing gun violence and issued the following statement after domestic terrorist attacks in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH killed 29 and wounded dozens more in less than 24 hours this weekend:

“We spend billions of dollars and countless hours to keep our nation safe from foreign attacks, and it is baffling that we can’t do the same to save lives from domestic terrorism and gun violence. Our nation is crying out for reform – for universal background checks, for an assault weapons ban, and for closing dangerous loopholes that make it too easy to purchase firearms. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that you, me, or more of our loved ones are victims of the next shooting. We need to stop this madness. I resolve to work with sensible members of Congress to identify solutions to this epidemic.”

In February, the United States House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Phillips, which would require universal background checks on all gun sales, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused bring it up for a vote in the Senate. The House also allotted $50 million dollars for the Center For Disease Control to study gun violence – the first such funding in 20 years – which has again been delayed by McConnell. Continue reading “Today in St. Paul: Phillips to Speak at Rally Against Gun Violence and Hate”

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you’re having a wonderful summer! Since the Legislature adjourned in late May, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to connect with folks in the community. I’ve seen many familiar faces while out and about in Blaine, Coon Rapids, and Spring Lake Park this summer.

New Laws Take Effect
The laws that my colleagues and I approved this session start taking effect this summer. The budget legislation that I described in my last email became law in July. Two of my bills took effect on August 1. One makes Minnesota roads safer by requiring drivers to follow instructions from flaggers when passing through a construction zone. Another allows deployed service members to participate remotely in local government hearings.

New laws that have already taken effect will: Continue reading “Rep. Erin Koegel (HD37A) Update: August 5, 2019”

The “Last Week Tonight” host called out the president for creating an environment where “white nationalism and anti-immigrant hysteria … can fester and indeed thrive.”

View the complete August 5 article by Ed Mazza on the Huffington Post website here.

At campaign rallies before last year’s midterm elections, President Trump repeatedly warned that America was under attack by immigrants heading for the border. “You look at what is marching up, that is an invasion!” he declared at one rally. “That is an invasion!”

Nine months later, a 21-year-old white man is accused of opening fire in a Walmart in El Paso, killing 20 people and injuring dozens more after writing a manifesto railing against immigration and announcing that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

The suspect wrote that his views “predate Trump,” as if anticipating the political debate that would follow the blood bath. But if Mr. Trump did not originally inspire the gunman, he has brought into the mainstream polarizing ideas and people once consigned to the fringes of American society.

View the complete August 4 article by Peter Baker and Michael D. Shear on The New York Times website here.

DETROIT — The red-brick apartment on Westminster Street once resembled a scene from a horror film — or from a Donald Trump tweet about urban America.

The roof was caving in. The walls were rotten. And in the center of the living room, amid vermin and trash, the chalk outline of a murder victim.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” said David Alade, the young developer who, with his partner, bought the building in Detroit’s fabled but faded North End.

“Just completely dilapidated.”

Not today. With marble tiles, gleaming wood floors and gobs of fresh paint, the century-old building has been given a makeover. So has Detroit. And so have cities across the nation.

View the complete August 3 article by Griff Witte on The Washington Post website here.

WASHINGTON — Seven months into a new era of divided government, the Republican-led Senate limped out of Washington this week after the fewest legislative debates of any in recent memory, without floor votes on issues that both parties view as urgent: the high cost of prescription drugs, a broken immigration system and crumbling infrastructure.

The number of Senate roll call votes on amendments — a key indicator of whether lawmakers are engaged in free and open debate — plummeted to only 18 this year, according to a review of congressional data. During the same time period in the 10 previous Congresses, senators took anywhere from 34 to 231 amendment votes.

The inaction stands in stark contrast to the promises of Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. After his party took control of the Senate in 2015, Mr. McConnell vowed to end the gridlock that had gripped the chamber under his Democratic predecessor, Harry Reid, and pledged to allow both parties to offer amendments to legislation — even if it forced Republicans to risk taking politically unpopular votes.

View the complete August 3 article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg on The New York Times website here.

Next month, Jamestown will mark four hundred years since the first slaves set foot in North America—a year before the Mayflower’s Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Harbor. There were only “twenty and odd,” according to an early account from John Rolfe, Virginia’s first tobacco planter and the widower of Pocahontas. The slaves had been captured in Angola and herded, with hundreds of others, onto a slave ship bound for Veracruz, in today’s Mexico. British pirates seized them in a raid on the high seas while searching for gold and silver. In Jamestown, the pirates exchanged their human loot for provisions. Jamestown became ground zero for slavery in the Americas. Among that first generation were Isabella and Antony, who worked in the household of Captain William Tucker. They were allowed to marry, according to historical accounts in Jamestown. In 1624, their son William was the first recorded birth of an African-American in what became the United States.

On Tuesday, President Trump visited Jamestown, which is also marking four hundred years since settlers there founded the first representative assembly in the Western Hemisphere. In 1619, twenty-two representatives of local settlements and plantations met in a small wooden church to create a new legislative body, the House of Burgesses. Jamestown was ground zero for democracy in the Americas, too. Four hundred years later, the theme on Tuesday was not the celebration of democracy but the stench of racism that has increasingly pervaded Trump’s Presidency. Most recently, the President, on Twitter, attacked four congresswomen of color and Representative Elijah Cummings, an African-American politician who represents Baltimore. Cummings is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which recently subpoenaed the personal e-mails and texts of Trump, his inner circle, and his key associates. The President says he is simply attacking his critics, but his remarks repeatedly smack of racism. Continue reading “The Rhetoric and Reality of Donald Trump’s Racism”

Legislators to hit the road, listen to Minnesotans in their own communities

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – The Minnesota House of Representatives today announced plans to convene a mini-session October 2-4, 2019, in southeastern Minnesota. The mini-session events will take place in the City of Winona and surrounding communities. Fourteen mini-sessions occurred from 1987-1997, with this year marking the 30th anniversary of the 1989 mini-session in Winona.

“In addition to welcoming citizen participation in the State Capitol in St. Paul, the Legislature should go out into communities across the state,” said Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman. “This year we held more than 10 House committee field hearings that took place during the 2019 regular session. The mini-session is a continuation of our effort to make the Legislature more accessible and responsive to Minnesotans.”

The purpose of this year’s mini-session is to make it easier for Minnesotans to engage with legislators and the legislative process. Members are currently helping to shape the agenda, and it will be released at a later date once it is finalized. Continue reading “Minnesota House lawmakers announce October 2019 Mini-Session in Winona”

When President Donald Trump unleashes his racist attacks on public figures of color like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), and Al Sharpton, it provides direct comfort and support to the most repugnant and dangerous parts of the white supremacist movement.

But while unabashed racism has become ubiquitous in Trump’s rhetoric, a couple of remarks in his recent Twitter tirades jumped out at me as particularly strong dog whistles for darkest corners of the bigoted right-wing.

As part of his recent attacks, Trump said — without explanation — that Cummings is “racist.” Targeting Sharpton, he was even more specific about what he meant, saying the he “Hates Whites & Cops!”

View the complete July 30 article by Cody Fenwick from AlterNet on the National Memo website here.

2020 Election
White House scrambles to create healthcare agenda for Trump’s campaign, Washington Post

Attorney General Keith Ellison
Minnesota Attorney General concerned about cellphone mega-merger, Grand Forks Herald
Workers demand better protections against wage theft, Star Tribune

Business
The Facebook Settlement Amounts to Bribery of a Federal Agency, The American Prospect

Congress
Senate braces for brawl over Trump’s spy chief, The Hill
Top House lawyer takes center stage in legal battles against Trump, Politico Continue reading “In the Know: July 31, 2019”