Dear John,

Happy Small Business Week! I’m proud to represent so many amazing small businesses in Minnesota’s Second District. And when I say that small businesses are the backbone of our local economies, I mean it—over 93% of employers in my district are small businesses, and it’s long overdue that we recenter our focus on making sure they have the resources they need to succeed. 

I’ve spent my career in Congress working across the aisle to make life easier for hardworking Minnesotans, so I’m no stranger to bipartisanship. However—my Republican colleagues seem to have no interest in lowering costs and making life easier for small business owners and hardworking Minnesotans. 

Instead, they spent this Small Business Week scheming cuts to Medicaid and SNAP for Minnesota’s veterans, kids and seniors—all to fund tax breaks for the wealthy and large corporations. I believe Congress needs to put more money back into the pockets of the middle class, not the top 1%. 

 
That’s why this week, I was proud to reintroduce my Small Business Tax Relief Act, which cuts taxes and increases the self-employment tax deduction for small businesses—all while helping to reduce the national deficit. It’s time to cut taxes for the middle class in this country, and I’m leading the charge.  

I won’t stop advocating for Minnesota’s small business owners. We need to make sure they have the resources and support they need—not just to keep the lights on but to continue growing and fueling our economy. 

Here’s what else I was up to this week:

Standing up for SNAP  

This week, I joined House Democratic Leadership to stand up against the Republicans' attacks on SNAP and Medicaid—because we won't support a budget bill that takes food and health care away from hardworking Americans. 

I also led House Ag Committee Democrats in a press conference outside of the Capitol to stand up against our Republican colleagues’ attempts to cut SNAP. We joined moms, veterans and farmers to make it clear that we won’t support a budget bill that makes America’s kids, seniors and veterans hungrier and poorer. 

Meeting with MN health care groups  

Medicaid is under attack, and now more than ever, we need to fight for Minnesotans’ access to quality, affordable health care. This week, I met with Minnesota radiologists to talk about how we can support physicians and protect Medicaid for folks across our state. 

Medicaid also covers dental care for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans. I also had the chance to sit down with the Dental Trade Alliance to discuss how we can protect this vital coverage, and to celebrate the new Solventum Dental facility that’s bringing 2,000 new jobs to MN-02.

Protecting early education  

The President’s attempt to halt Head Start programming would devastate over 800,000 early learners, families and local communities. This week I led the charge to fight the Administration's proposal to eliminate this critical program.

Last year in Minnesota alone, over 12,000 students attended 33 Head Start and Early Head Start Centers, including in Dakota County.

While I am all for rooting out waste and abuse in government, attempting to cut funding for early education programming and indiscriminately attacking our nation’s most vulnerable families is not the appropriate way to increase government efficiency. 

You can read more about the letter I sent to President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, here. 

Strengthening global ag partnerships  

On Wednesday, I met with Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Julio Berdegué Sacristán. We discussed the importance of our partnership as we work together to strengthen the ag supply chain and continue feeding the world. 

Behind the scenes:

One of the farmers who participated in my press conference outside the U.S. Capitol was Carah Ronan, who traveled all the way from rural Montana to advocate for SNAP.  

She moved back to her family farm three years ago to care for her 91-year-old grandmother. Carah shared how SNAP programs help her small family farm operation stay profitable, and how these programs support her local economy.   

After the press conference, she wanted a selfie with me (and the Capitol). Thanks for being part of the fight, Carah!  

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,
 

Angie Craig

Member of Congress