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Dear Neighbors,

We’re over halfway through the legislative session, and as we focus on finalizing the state budget in the next few weeks, that process is made all the more difficult from the cuts and uncertainty coming from the federal government.

Every week we’re met with new policies coming from the White House, and while my legislative work is at the state level, much of our work is often mixed together, especially when it comes to funding programs and agencies in our state.

I’m going to make a point in these newsletters to regularly highlight recent federal policies and how they impact our community, and I’ll start off with the recent news surrounding the Minnesota Department of Health.

The Minnesota Department of Health announced last week [ [link removed] ] that the Trump administration is unilaterally rescinding $226 million in federal grants related to the COVID-19 pandemic - funds that had already been allocated and budgeted for.

The cuts amount to about 25% of MDH’s current budget, according to KARE-11 [ [link removed] ], and are likely to result in the layoffs of around 200 employees. The actions are part of a broader nationwide effort to eliminate $11 billion in spending by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The recent federal funding cuts raise serious concerns about healthcare access for all Minnesotans and may exacerbate existing medical care disparities across our state. These changes could potentially impact vaccination programs, and ongoing pandemic research initiatives.

Blowing a massive hole in budgets is not how we make Minnesota better. In the state legislature, we’ll do what we can to produce a strong, balanced budget for Minnesota, but we need our partners in the federal government to start taking this seriously. 

 

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*Small Business Impact Survey*

Amid additional federal tariffs announced this week, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development [ [link removed] ] is gathering information from affected small businesses in Minnesota.

In this period of uncertainty, there may be a lag in data, so this survey is a way for our Mankato business owners to communicate directly with the department now. The survey [ [link removed] ] takes less than five minutes to complete. By collaborating with Minnesota's locally owned small businesses, which face significant challenges, we can proactively plan for the state's future needs.

 

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*A “Landing Spot” for Federal Workers*

In addition to MDH employees, hundreds of federal employees are also grappling with unemployment, having either already been laid off or facing an uncertain future with rampant federal cuts. Last month, Governor Walz announced that the state launched a new website aimed at connecting these workers with new jobs [ [link removed] ], whether within state government or the private sector. 






Supporting Laid-Off Federal Workers





In addition to this new resource, I encourage any job seekers in our community to check out the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s website [ [link removed] ], which is home to several resources for job seekers. 

 

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*Stay Connected*

We’ve got less than two months left of the legislative session. To stay in the loop these remaining weeks, the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services will once again be offering nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily [ [link removed] ] publication. Subscribe to receive these here [ [link removed] ]. To track bills of interest through the legislative process, I encourage you to utilize the MyBills [ [link removed] ] feature on the Minnesota House of Representatives’ website. You can also visit my House of Representatives website [ [link removed] ].

I welcome your questions and comments anytime. You can send an email to [email protected] or call me at (651) 296-3248. Also, please visit and “like” my Facebook [ [link removed] ] page for more Capitol and community updates.

Thank you for the privilege of representing you in the legislature.

Sincerely, 

 

Luke Frederick

State Representative






*District 18B* – [email protected] <[email protected]>
5th Floor, Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar St.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-3248








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