Dear John,

I spent much of this week back home in the Second Congressional District meeting with Minnesotans – a welcome break from the craziness of Washington DC.
 
I like to think that the time I spend here with my constituents is always the most important part of my job as your representative. It’s how I get to hear about your greatest needs and challenges, and it’s how I get to see firsthand how the federal investments we have secured together are improving our communities and boosting our state’s economy.
 
This week though, it felt especially important to be standing alongside Minnesotans as the Administration institutes across-the-board cuts to the federal workforce and pulls funding from community projects. That’s why, on Tuesday, Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith and I stood alongside veterans to oppose the Administration's illegal cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 
The VA is a non-partisan agency responsible for delivering care and benefits to our nation’s veterans – or so it should be. Of course, we should look for fraud, waste and abuse at every agency. But that’s not the approach the Administration is taking.
 
Slashing the VA workforce by 80,000 employees will impact veterans’ access to care. Not to mention, more than 25 percent of VA employees are veterans themselves – like John Helcl, a former law enforcement officer and veteran from CD2, who took a 40% pay cut from the private sector to work in the VA department that investigates alleged employee misconduct and underperformance. His job was literally to save the VA (and taxpayers) money. John was fired via text message while on leave for a funeral. These are the stories that I’m hearing.
 
I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Republican or Independent. This is not a political issue. This is not how we run the government or treat those who have served. Minnesota’s veterans have fought for us, and it’s our turn to fight for them.
 
You can watch a clip of my remarks at the press conference I held Tuesday here.
 
And as if that isn’t enough, the President signed an executive order yesterday attempting to dismantle the Department of Education. Those of you who have been following me know I have always stood up for Minnesota’s students, parents and teachers and have vehemently opposed any efforts to gut our public schools.
 
You can read my full statement on the executive order and learn more about what I’ve been doing to fight back here.  

Here’s what else I was up to this week: 
  
Keeping our first responders safe 

This week, we broke ground on Lakeville’s FiRST Center – a state-of-the-art training facility that will serve the entire South Metro. Right now, public safety personnel rely on local businesses, schools and temporary facilities to conduct critical training. That’s why I was proud to work with the City of Lakeville to secure this critical investment to support our police and fire departments. 
  
I also had the chance to meet with police and firefighters in Prior Lake and Le Sueur to discuss how I can continue to support their departments and help keep them safe on the job. 
  

Defending mental health research 

This week, I also joined Senator Tina Smith, Representative Kelly Morrison and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota to stand up against attacks on the National Institutes of Health – and the National Institute of Mental Health – that are jeopardizing critical mental health research and putting our communities at risk.  
  
Watch my video with Senator Smith and Rep. Morrison about why it’s so important that we protect funding for mental health research here.  
  

Meeting with county commissioners  

I also sat down with Le Sueur County Commissioners in Le Center to talk about how we can make sure community projects still get done – because our rural communities depend on it. 
  

Behind the scenes: 
  
Always great to see my friends and colleagues Senator Tina Smith and Representative Kelly Morrison here in Minnesota. This is that moment where one member of your staff asks you to grab a selfie! 

Have a great weekend! 

Until next time,
 

Angie Craig

Member of Congress