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Dear Neighbors,

This week, we’re finalizing the House’s proposals for our state budget. I want to lift up our efforts in the Agriculture Committee, which has already passed our 2025 budget proposal and now awaits a vote on the House Floor. In a tied House, we must work together, and I’m proud to report we reached a bipartisan agreement while still delivering a strong budget that improves Minnesotans’ lives.

DFLers fought to:


* Address the federal cuts to programs that keep Minnesotans fed, winning increases to the Local Food Purchasing program and the Farm to School program.
* Tackle corporate consolidation and level the playing field for emerging small farmers by increasing funding for the Down Payment Assistance Program.

* Protect workers and consumers from bird flu by increasing workplace protections for farm and meat processing workers and ensuring retail testing of milk and poultry products.

Other committee areas of mine, like Capital Investment, still have a road ahead of them for passing the House’s proposal. While not part of our state budget, a Capital Investment bill is still crucial for funding Minnesota’s infrastructure projects - especially as the Trump administration threatens federal funding [ [link removed] ].

This week in our Capital Investment Committee, I was joined by Attorney General Keith Ellison to present my bipartisan bill to expand the state’s mental health safety net, which I worked on in collaboration with the AG’s office, Minnesota counties, and the mental health community. People are sitting in jails and hospitals throughout the state where they're unable to get the help and support they need. That’s unacceptable, and my bill aims to address that.






Capital Investment Hearing




Next week, neither the House or Senate are in session in recognition of the Easter and Passover holidays. During the week, I’ll be in our community meeting with constituents, as well as attending town halls with colleagues throughout the state. It’ll be a nice break from the committee room before we dive back in for the home stretch of the legislative session. In those final weeks, we’ll be putting our House budget proposals up against the Senate’s and recommendations from Governor Walz.

In the end, we’ll come out with a final state budget for the next two years, but the uncertainty in Washington and Congress’ proposed tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires [ [link removed] ] don't make this process any easier. It’s difficult to budget when we have a federal partner that might cut Medicaid or take back funding that’s already been allocated.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted as our budget bills continue through the legislative process.

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Federal Funding Cuts

*This week, Governor Walz announced a new dashboard Minnesotans can use to track disruptions and cancellations of federal funding [ [link removed] ] and their impact on services available to Minnesotans. Federal disruptions and cuts so far include grants to track measles and avian influenza, provide heating assistance, and mitigate flooding - all crucial investments.






Federal Cuts [ [link removed] ]





Despite court orders prohibiting the federal government from freezing many funding streams, disruptions to federal funds [ [link removed] ] have continued. Some disruptions are short-lived. Other grants and awards are abruptly canceled altogether, resulting in layoffs and fewer services for Minnesotans.

As a state legislator, there’s not much I can do to stop the Trump administration, but I’m not without options when it comes to defending our state and preparing our budget for the cuts coming our way. It would help if Minnesota Republicans in D.C. and St. Paul took their heads out of the sand, but I’m committed to providing our state with the resources it needs to weather these next four years.

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Stay Connected*

Once we get back from the Easter and Passover break, we’ll truly be in the home stretch 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.Happy Easter and Passover to all who celebrate.

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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