Dear Neighbors,
On Friday morning, I was honored to serve as the House Chaplain and offer a prayer before the House of Representatives before the start of that day's session. Below is text from the prayer I gave honoring our mother's on this Mother's Day weekend.
Loving Lord,
We thank you for adopting us into your family through the miracle of your grace –
for the love of the mothers you have given us, and for calling us to be brothers and sisters to each other.
We thank you for the love of our mothers that is so precious that it can never be measured, whose patience seems to have no end.
Today, Lord, we pray for our mothers
Who cared for us when we were helpless
Who comforted us when we were hurt
Whose love and care we often took for granted
Today we pray for
Those who are grieving the loss of their mother
Those who never knew their biological mother and now yearn for her
Those who have experienced the wonder of an adopted mother’s love
For families separated by deployment or other service in the military or by jobs or schooling
In all these incidences may we know that your loving hand is behind them and guiding them and we ask for a special touch from you for each and every one of them.
Gracious God, we pray for those mothers who fear they will run out of love or time, or patience and we ask that you bless them with your own special love
We pray for new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility
For expectant mothers, wondering and waiting
For those who are tired, stressed or depressed
For those who struggle to balance the task of work and family
For those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty
For those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities
For those who raise children on their own
For those who have lost a child
For those whose children have left home.
Lord, may you grant each mother in this room a special blessing and may all the work of their hand not be forgotten in YOUR sight.
Let her example to her children be a guiding force in their lives and may wisdom be passed down to the next generation of mothers.
Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender
And that they may lead their children to know
And to do what is good, living not for themselves,
But for you, Lord.
In the name of our Risen Lord,
Amen.
The Legislature has entered the final stages of the 2019 legislative session and the House wrapped up work last week on its major omnibus finance bills. I was unable to support the majority of these omnibus finance bills because of the massive spending, excessive taxes, and controversial provisions that were included. And, remember, the state has a billion dollar surplus.
As is the case with most omnibus packages, there are provisions in each of these bills that I would likely be able to support if the provision was given a simple up or down vote. However, the reality is that members have to consider the entirety of the omnibus package, policy and spending included, when making a determination on how they may vote on a particular omnibus bill.
Now that the Democrat majority’s full budget has passed the House, we can take a step back and look at their tax and spending priorities.
In their budget, Democrats are proposing to spend over $49 billion during the next two years. This is about a $3 billion increase in state spending when compared to the budget that was passed and signed into law by Governor Dayton in 2017. Such massive growth in state government is simply unsustainable.
In addition to a huge increase in overall spending, House Democrats are seeking to raise taxes by more than $12 billion over the next four years. These tax increases manifest themselves in a variety of ways across the entirety of their budget including a 70% gas tax hike, $2.5 billion in health care taxes, and billions in new payroll taxes that will take money directly out of Minnesotans’ paychecks.
With such a massive increase in overall spending, it should come as no surprise that Democrats want to raise your taxes by more than $12 billion over the next four years. However, what may surprise you is that Governor Walz’s own administration admits that middle and low-income Minnesotans will be hardest hit by the proposed tax increases.
Last month, an analysis released by Governor Walz's own administration, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, found that tax changes proposed in the governor's budget would increase the tax burden for Minnesotans making less than $45,000 by double-digit percentages, raise taxes on Minnesotans of every income level, and make Minnesota's tax code more regressive.
As you can see, the Democrats’ tax and spend bonanza is a bad deal for Minnesota families. I will continue to support smaller government that includes no tax increases for Minnesotans.
Staying in Touch
Former Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, was in St. Paul this week to discuss the importance of balancing not only the state budget but the federal budget as well
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share your thoughts and concerns regarding budget negotiations or any matter related to state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6746 or via email at rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Sondra