Dear Neighbor,
The legislature wrapped up its work for the year and House Republicans scored major victories for Minnesotans after restoring balance at the Capitol. Not only did we end the reckless spending and unnecessary tax increases Minnesotans suffered under two years of full Democrat control at the Capitol, but we also reversed some of their radical policies.
For starters, we eliminated free (taxpayer-funded) health insurance for illegal immigrants, made the largest spending cut in state history and rejected tax increases on Minnesota families during a special session Monday. The special session was necessary after the legislature’s May 19 deadline to adjourn passed with less than half of the state’s next two-year budget having been approved. House Democrats stayed home the first 23 days of this year’s regular session, putting us behind from the start.
In the end, we made significant strides in cleaning up the mess Democrats created when they spent the $18 billion surplus, increased state spending by nearly 40 percent, raised taxes by $10 billion in the last biennium and caused our state to face a $6 billion shortfall.
Democrats still have a one-seat majority in the Senate and occupy the governor’s office. But, by gaining a mere tie in the House, Republicans defeated all proposals to further raise taxes on Minnesota families this year. Most notably, we prevented the creation of a fifth-tier income tax bracket ($8 billion), blocked the governor’s sales tax increase ($400 million) and stopped the expansion of sales taxes to professional services ($334 million).
House Republicans also delivered the largest reduction to government spending in state history. The finished product results in a $2 billion budget cut and, overall, includes $5 billion less spending than the previous budget. These moves help us eliminate more than half of the projected $6 billion shortfall.
The subject of taxpayer-funded health insurance for illegal immigrants was another top issue this year. Enrollment and projected costs have soared since the Democrats’ expansion of MinnesotaCare to include people here illegally took effect just five months ago. It already has exceeded 20,000 people – nearly four times the Walz Administration’s first-year projection of 5,500. The original cost estimate, $196 million over four years, was based on that 5,500-enrollee figure. Furthermore, unlike MinnesotaCare recipients who are citizens, illegal immigrants receive zero federal reimbursement. Minnesota taxpayers cover 100 percent of the cost.
Progressive states like California and Illinois have recognized the unsustainable cost of such a program and are backpedaling. The Minnesota legislature on Monday approved legislation making adult illegal immigrants ineligible for the program. The fact we did it as a stand-alone bill puts the exclamation point on ending this radical, activist-driven Democrat policy. This comes after we successfully rolled back the Democrats’ bias registry funding during the regular 2025 session, dealing a blow to another one of their extreme laws of the last biennium.
Along the way, House Republicans blocked the governor’s proposed cut to non-public pupil aid and spared charter schools from major reductions primarily impacting funding for nurses and transportation. House Republicans also successfully defeated a Democrat proposal to shift tax revenue away from counties and toward mass transit. This issue was a major concern for county leaders – including Anoka – but we were able to fix this problem.
We still have more work to do in getting our state back on track after the reckless spending, unnecessary tax increases and extreme policies Democrats put into law back when they had full control of the Capitol. That said, there are many victories to celebrate this year after House Republicans restored balance at the Capitol. We stopped the radical agenda and made progress in crucial areas such as cutting state spending and protecting taxpayers – without even having full power in either the House, the Senate or the governor’s office.
I will continue doing my best to represent the people of our district and throughout Minnesota. Today is a good day and I’m confident even better times are in store for our state.
Sincerely,
Harry