|
Dear Friends,
I had a great meeting with teachers yesterday from Forest Lake. I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear their concerns and discuss how the legislature can best support teachers, students, and parents.
Letter Requesting Update on SOB Renovations
This week I sent a letter, along with my other Republican colleagues, to Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Jamie Long urging them to immediately provide an update to legislators and the public on the half a billion-dollar State Office Building (SOB) renovation and expansion. No information on the SOB renovations have been released to legislators or the public since the Rules committee approved funding in December 2022.
We called on Democrat leadership to create a ?SOB Expansion Tracker? webpage on the Minnesota House of Representatives website to provide regular and easily accessible updates to the public. You can read the full letter here.
For a project costing nearly half a billion dollars, the lack of transparency on costs to renovate and expand the State Office Building has been shocking. House Republicans are calling on Democrat leadership to promptly release information on the status of the project ? its current cost, scope, and security improvements ? in order to provide more transparency and accountability to Minnesota?s taxpayers.
By the way, not one Republican member of the Rules Committee voted in favor of this project. The issues with the building could be solved by a renovation of the HVAC system.
Legislative Auditor Report on SWLRT
On Wednesday, the Legislative Auditor released their newest report: "Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making."?The Legislative Auditor found that the Southwest Light Rail Project (SWLRT) project has been grossly mismanaged and that the Metropolitan Council is not being an effective steward of public funds.?They also reported the Met Council was not fully cooperative with the Audit process and was not forthcoming with either the legislature or the public. Some key findings from the report include:
- ?The Metropolitan Council obligated itself to spend more money on Southwest LRT than the funds committed to the project.?
- ?The Council did not hold its civil construction contractor accountable for failures to provide an acceptable project schedule.?
- ?The Council has also not been fully transparent about the project?s delays and cost increases.?
The Auditor?s report reveals the Metropolitan Council has misled the public and the legislature from nearly the beginning. They knew that it would have substantial cost overruns, ignored warnings, and went ahead with the project anyway. The Legislative Auditor recommends that the Legislature ?create a framework in which the government entity responsible for light rail transition construction also bears some financial responsibility for construction costs and any potential cost increases.?
The SWLRT project cannot continue. We cannot afford to waste more taxpayer money on a project that has been plagued with mismanagement from the beginning.
More Feeding Our Future Indictments Announced
This week 10 more people were charged related to the Feeding Our Future scandal. According to the Star Tribune, $66.6 million in property has been seized, including an airplane purchased by one of those charged. It is thought upwards of $250 million has been laundered as a part of the Feeding Our Future fraud. The U.S. Attorney, Andrew Luger, says more indictments are to be expected.
It is astonishing that the Democrat-controlled legislature has not moved to close any gaps at the Departments of Education or Human Services in order to prevent future fraud from occurring. Taxpayers deserve accountability with their tax dollars, and yet the Democrat majority has failed to provide any this session.
|
