Dear Fourth District Constituent,
We all held our breath on Monday after hearing the news that Delta Airlines flight 4819 departing from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport had crash-landed in Toronto. Miraculously, all passengers survived, including several Minnesotans. My heart goes out to all of those impacted as well as their families. I am deeply grateful for the heroic actions of the Delta flight crew and Canadian emergency responders who ensured that all passengers made it to safety. Moments like these remind us that life is precious, and that Congress must commit to doing everything we can to maintain aviation safety.
Mass Trump-Musk Layoffs Impacting Aviation Security and Critical Services
Several recent high profile aviation accidents underscore the need for the maintenance of aviation safety. Unfortunately, President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk are making massive and indiscriminate layoffs across the federal government, including safety specialists among the 400 laid off at the FAA, which is a growing threat to safety for the flying public.
Here in Minnesota, layoffs of public servants are also threatening access to essential services, including those provided by the Veterans Administration, Small Business Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and more.
Veterans Administration
The Veterans Administration
announced the dismissal of more than 1,000 employees last week. While the VA hasn't announced how many employees have been fired from Minnesota locations, we know that these cuts are impacting Minnesotans. News reports indicate that the Minneapolis VA has stopped hiring workers after President Trump's executive order initiating a hiring freeze, and they've rescinded employment offers to dozens of people who would have served in important positions helping veterans access the healthcare that they need.
I am deeply concerned that the cuts to the VA are impacting critical services. When veterans complete their service, access to VA medical care is not a privilege. It is a benefit earned by veterans and they are entitled to the best care available.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The U.S. EPA’s Midwest office is now at its lowest staffing level since the 1980s, with dozens of public servants whose jurisdiction includes Minnesota’s air and water fired over the weekend. The workers at our EPA regional office include those who responded to the Flint, Michigan water crisis; the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; and the toxic waste abandoned at the former Plating, Inc. facility in St. Paul. President Trump and Musk have fired public servants who pick up the phone when our community members are concerned about pollution in their neighborhoods, and the prosecutors who help enforce the laws protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink.
National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service
The firings of thousands of permanent employees at the National Park Service and Forest Service mean that we will have fewer Park Rangers to protect and guide visitors to Minnesota's national treasures: The Superior National Forest, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Voyageurs National Park, and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, which runs through Minnesota’s Fourth District. There will be fewer dedicated public servants working on public lands across our nation on everything from cutting back hazardous fuels and rehabilitating land after a fire to responding to visitor emergencies to operating campgrounds and cleaning bathrooms.
Cuts to the Forest Service and National Park Service means that visitors from Minnesota and beyond will have fewer Park Rangers onsite to help facilitate a safe and immersive experience at Minnesota's national treasures including the Superior National Forest, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and Voyageurs National Park.
Republican Budget Would Increase Hunger and Threaten Access to Health Care for Minnesota Seniors and Children
The budget released by the House Republican majority and endorsed by President Trump contains a plan to make a drastic $230 million cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides access to healthy food for seniors, children, and low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being.
Over 450,000 Minnesotans, or 8% of the state's population, relies on SNAP to help pay for groceries. SNAP is an anti-hunger program that reduces poverty in communities across Minnesota. In fact, SNAP lifted an average of 58,000 people out of poverty in Minnesota, including 26,000 children, per year between 2015 and 2019 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities).
That same Republican budget would make an $880 billion cut to Medicaid. Here in Minnesota, 31% of kids in Minnesota rely on Medicaid. More than a third of Minnesota moms giving birth and their newborn babies are on Medicaid, as are 42% of working-age adults with disabilities as well as the majority of Minnesotans living in nursing homes.
An $880 billion cut to Medicaid would have a devastating impact on everyone.
The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits sent a letter to my office to detail how this budget proposal would impact Minnesotans. Here's what they had to say:
- Minnesota’s nonprofit sector cannot make up the difference from the dramatic proposed cuts to essential services.
- The health and financial well-being of more than one million Minnesotans will be put in danger from proposed cuts to Medicaid.
- More Minnesotans would go hungry under proposed cuts to nutrition services like SNAP and school meals.
- Cuts to cash assistance would harm our most struggling neighbors.
- In the proposed budget plans, these and other budget cuts that would increase poverty and hardship would be used to pay for tax cuts that give the biggest benefits to the most fortunate.
Help Congress Fight Back by Sharing Your Story
If the recent layoffs and funding freezes made by the Trump Administration have impacted you or someone you know personally, I want to hear how these actions have affected you. House Democrats are challenging Trump and Musk in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities. By sharing your personal stories, I will be better able to fight to protect you. I strongly encourage you to
Share Your Story.
Town Hall at Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation
This week at a town hall meeting, union members shared their concerns with me about the illegal and unconstitutional actions by President Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk.
Congresswoman McCollum addresses union members at the Saint Paul Labor Center.
I stand with working families in Minnesota and across the nation who expect the president to work with Congress in a bipartisan way to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, enact a fair tax code, and protect workers’ rights. Minnesota labor unions have a critical role to carry out the important work of protecting middle class families.
Holding Elon Musk Accountable for his Conflicts of Interest
This week, I cosponsored H.R. 1321, the
Reveal and Stop Elon Musk's Conflicts of Interest Act. Musk is exempt from filing public financial disclosure documents because he has chosen not to take a salary as a White House employee and, therefore, is under the disclosure filling threshold. This bill would ensure that all government employees are required to file a financial disclosure if they own, control, or are the CEO of a company receiving federal contracts. It also takes the review and waiver process out of the hands of Trump appointees and into the Office of Government Ethics, an independent agency. Additionally, the bill would prohibit employees under the review process from completing work. Currently, employees are authorized to work for 90 days while their disclosure is under review.
How I'm Taking Action Against Illegal and Unconstitutional Actions by the Trump Administration
- Letter to the Trump Administration expressing deep concerns about the illegal and unconstitutional closure of USAID, which has ended U.S. assistance to women and girls around the globe.
- Letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the terrible decision by the Trump Administration to end the USAID Democracy Assistance Program, which supports emerging democracies around the world.
Neighborhood Office Hours
In addition to serving constituents Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, at my St. Paul office, my staff holds neighborhood office hours at a variety of locations across the Fourth District. The next neighborhood office hours will take place in Saint Paul on Tuesday, February 25th, 2025, at the Rice Street Library in the group meeting room from 10:00 AM until noon.
If you need assistance with a federal agency, you can stop by or call my office to make an appointment. My staff and I are here to serve you, and we are happy to help you with any issues you may have that involve a federal agency. For more info, visit my website.
Taxes Due on April 15
As always, please stay in touch: Voice your policy opinion, ask for help with a federal agency, or find all of my recent statements at mccollum.house.gov.
Sincerely,
Betty McCollum
Member of Congress
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