John,
It was a busy and productive week in Washington and back home in Minnesota. From securing infrastructure investments and standing up for our farmers to pushing for accountability and oversight in Washington, we’re delivering results for families and communities across the Seventh District.
I am proud to announce that my team and I secured more than $9 million for 11 critical infrastructure projects across Minnesota’s Seventh District. These investments will strengthen rural communities by improving clean drinking water, modernizing wastewater systems, and supporting public health and agriculture. Many of these projects address aging infrastructure in small towns with an insufficient population and tax base to raise the needed funds on their own. By prioritizing these needs through the appropriations process, we are helping small towns complete projects that are often mandated on them by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). I will continue being an advocate in Washington to ensure rural Minnesota gets the attention and resources it needs to serve its residents.
Recently, I met with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to make the case for urgent relief for sugar beet farmers who are under serious economic pressure. We discussed the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, an initiative to assist row crop farmers, and the need to ensure sugar beet producers are fairly included as USDA finalizes emergency assistance. Across western Minnesota, growers are dealing with collapsing prices and rising input costs that are threatening family farms and cooperative operations entire communities depend on. I made it clear sugar beet producers cannot be an afterthought in this process. These farmers are vital to our economy, and they deserve timely support. I will keep pushing for relief that reflects the real losses farmers are facing right now.
I joined my colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee in sending a letter to the IRS demanding accountability after major fraud in Minnesota’s nonprofit sector came to light. Reports show organizations continued receiving federal benefits even after losing their tax-exempt status, while state and federal systems failed to communicate basic enforcement actions. This breakdown resulted in the misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars during COVID, with minimal oversight and delayed consequences. In our letter, we pressed the IRS to strengthen enforcement of 501(c)(3) rules, modernize its reporting systems, and coordinate more closely with state agencies. Tax-exempt status cannot become a loophole that invites abuse or shields bad actors. Minnesotans expect their tax dollars to be used wisely, not wasted, and I will continue pushing for real reforms to make sure this kind of failure does not happen again.
