Legislative Update - Join Us for Next Week’s Town Hall

Dear Neighbors,

As our work continues in the Minnesota Legislature, it seems like nearly every day we’re met with new, damaging actions and policies from the federal government.

Whether it’s undermining public education, imposing tariffs that drive up the cost of living and doing business, firing thousands of federal workers with no warning, or cutting Medicaid to give tax breaks to billionaires, the Trump administration’s policies are making life worse for everyone.

To discuss the latest actions from the White House, their impact on our community, and what we can do to fight for Moorhead and Minnesota, I encourage you to join us for our Town Hall next Wednesday, April 16, at 3pm.

Please RSVP here to register and receive the location information.

I’ll be joined by Sen. Rob Kupec, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, House DFL Floor Leader Jamie Long, and Rep. Luke Frederick. This event will feature a presentation about how the federal government’s actions are hurting the people of Minnesota, and most importantly, it’s an opportunity for people in our area to voice their fears, frustrations, and ideas. I’m eager to listen to what you have to say and work together to stand up for our shared values.

I hope to see you there!

Addressing Attendance in Our Schools

Last year, I had the honor of chairing the Student Attendance and Truancy Legislative Study Group, where a bipartisan group of legislators, with various experiences in education, met with stakeholders from all over Minnesota to address the issue of truancy. We fought for historic investments in education last session, but if our kids aren’t in the classroom, these investments don’t do much good.

After the end of our study group’s work, we finalized a set of recommendations for the Minnesota Legislature, and this week we took our first steps in passing some of those recommendations when two of my bills passed with unanimous support off the House Floor.

There’s a massive amount of work that remains to be done, but to effectively take on this issue we first need to clarify state law on reporting attendance. Passing these bills and setting this foundation will better equip us to make our schools more welcoming and engaging for all of Minnesota’s students.

You can read more about our bill here.

Small Business Impact Survey

Amid the confusion and changes around federal tariffs, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is gathering information from affected small businesses in Minnesota.

In this period of uncertainty, there may be a lag in data, so this survey is a way for our Moorhead business owners to communicate directly with the department now. The survey takes less than five minutes to complete. By collaborating with Minnesota's locally owned small businesses, which face significant challenges, we can proactively plan for the state's future needs.

Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth

We need to treat young people who are sexually exploited as victims and survivors, not criminals. They need supportive housing where they can heal and be around people that can effectively care for them.

I spent the last week in the House’s Human Services and Health committees, presenting my bill to fund safe harbor housing throughout Minnesota - because this is a border-to-border issue. You can watch my remarks from these hearings here. 

The safe harbor shelter and housing grant program was established to provide grants to providers who are committed to serving sexually exploited youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation. Youth 24 years of age or younger are eligible for all shelter, housing beds, and services provided under this program.


Protect Medicaid, Not Millionaires

While President Trump and Congressional Republicans look to subsidize tax cuts for the wealthy by reducing federal funding for Medicaid, my DFL colleagues introduced legislation that would raise taxes on millionaires at the level necessary to offset any cuts to this crucial program. Medicaid is the largest single source of health insurance in Minnesota, serving senior citizens, children, families, and people with disabilities.

A report from Congress’s Joint Economic Committee found that if Republicans in Congress pass their proposed budget and cut Medicaid, Minnesota could see 89,000 rural residents lose their health coverage,130,000 children lose their health insurance, more than 1 in 6 seniors lose their nursing home care and, in total, nearly 400,000 people cut off from their health insurance. If these callous cuts go through without additional revenue raised by Minnesota, it will have a direct and immediate negative effect on health in Minnesota, costing lives and doing harm.

Modernizing the Department of Corrections’ American Indian Cultural Program

With a tied Minnesota House, only bipartisan, common-ground legislation is currently moving forward, like my bill to modernize the Department of Corrections’ American Indian Cultural Program.

Natives make up 1% of the state, yet 9% of the incarcerated population. Even more troubling, 20% of incarcerated women are Native. Taking on this disparity is going to require multiple solutions, and my bill provides the first steps by revising outdated and racially insensitive language. When corrections systems are reflective of impacted cultures, we see lower recidivism rates - that’s what we’re striving for in Minnesota.

Thank you, Fred Desjarlait, for joining me during the bill presentation. The bill passed committee yesterday with unanimous support, and now heads to a vote on the House Floor.
 

Stay Connected

Besides our Town Hall, there is no official legislative work being conducted next week due to the Easter and Passover holiday, meaning that when we return on April 21, we’ll be in the final weeks of the legislative session. 

As we work to finalize our state budget and respond to policies from the federal level, now is a great time to reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas you may have. Always feel free to reach out to me at 651-296-5515 or rep.heather.keeler@house.mn.gov. You can also follow along on my legislative Facebook page.

I look forward to hearing from you!

In community, 

Heather Keeler

Minnesota House of Representatives