June 2023: Avoiding Default

Dear friend,

It’s great to be back in Minnesota after a busy time in Washington. Last week, Congress voted to avoid default. I voted for the legislation because defaulting on our bills would send millions of people into poverty, plunge Minnesota and the world into a recession, and risk basic necessities for the people I represent. The bill is far from perfect, there was plenty I disagreed with, but President Biden deserves credit for staving off much worse cuts for Minnesotans.

Moving forward, we must take the threat of default off the table. That means eliminating the debt ceiling, and it means the President exercising his constitutional authority to ensure that the validity of the public debt shall not be questioned.

You can read my full statement here.

LGBTQ+ Leaders Roundtable

I kicked off Pride Month by holding a roundtable with leaders of the LGBTQ+ community in Minnesota and discussed how our office is pushing back against attacks on their rights. We talked about the need for infrastructure support for organizations that serve the community. While Minnesota is an LGBTQ friendly state, we need more funding for community.

Roosevelt High School Visit

I visited Roosevelt High School in Minnesota this week. It is always great to connect with students in the district and hear about their vision and hopes for the future.

Town Hall at Nokomis Community Center

I joined Minneapolis City Council Member Emily Koski, Minnesota State Senator Zaynab Mohamed, and Minnesota State Representative Emma Greenman for a Town Hall with residents of Ward 11 in Minneapolis. We celebrated all the excellent work of the Minnesota legislature this session, and I gave an update on my work in Congress—including the recent debt ceiling bill.

Ella Baker School Global Celebration

I stopped by the Ella Baker Global Studies and Humanities Magnet School to see student performances, a gallery of student work tied to our global competencies and enjoy games, food prepared by our global families and community art projects. It was a celebration of the diversity and global outlook that makes our district great!

In service,

Ilhan Omar