I hope everybody had a great 4th of July holiday weekend. Minnesota will be in the spotlight this week  as the Twin Cities hosts the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Target Field. What a tremendous opportunity for people around the country to see what a great place Minnesota is.

Last Wednesday in Washington, I spoke at a special luncheon honoring Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenberg served as Swedish special envoy to Hungary during World War II and is credited with saving nearly 100,000 Jewish lives from the horrors of the Holocaust. His heroic actions were recognized in Congress as his family was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Thanks to everyone who came to my Congress on Your Corner event at the Cub Foods in Bloomington where I was able to meet with folks and here their questions, comments, and concerns. I always enjoy these mini townhall meetings so I can better represent you in Congress!

If I can be of help to you or your family, don’t hesitate to give my office a call. Join the conversation online by visiting my website, Facebook page, Twitter, and don't forget to watch my weekly video, Erik's Correspondence Corner.

Closing the 'Skills Gap'

Despite 12 million Americans still looking for work as our economy recovers, there are 3.6 million job openings that remain unfilled. The reason for this problem is what is known as the ‘Skills Gap’ – not enough workers have the skill level needed to fill these positions. The good news is that bipartisan agreement in the House and Senate to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act means we will streamline and improve federal job training programs. The President will sign this into law, improving our nation’s outdated job training programs with more local control to better focus job training skills so employers can fill job openings.

Flood Damage Repairs

I joined the rest of the Minnesota Congressional delegation in sending a letter to the President supporting calls for an emergency declaration to assist areas damaged by recent flooding. Many roadways have been washed out and need repair. This money – and resources secured through an emergency declartation – come from appropriated funds specifically for use in these types of situations. While visiting Chaska, Chanhassen and parts of Carver County on a recent flood tour I saw first-hand the work that needs to be done to return our local communities’ homes, businesses, and infrastructure back to normal.  

Fixing Our Broken Tax Code To Help Small Business

Short-term tax policy is bad for families, bad for business, and bad for economic growth and jobs. The United States is the only country in the world that let's important provisions of its tax code expire. The main reason the economy continues to grow at a sluggish pace is due to a lack of investment.

Every year or so a tax provision that incentivizes small businesses with bonus depreciation to invest in new capital equipment expires and is not renewed in a timely manner. The result: farmers and small businesses alter their plans to buy equipment because they're unsure about future tax consequences. This makes no sense. 

That's why I cosponsored, and the House passed, legislation to make this 'bonus depreciation' provision permanent. I believe Congress needs to stop doing short term and retroactive actions that don't do anything to provide confidence or predictability for small businesses. Making this provision permanent is expected to add $182 billion to the economy and create 212,000 jobs.

Erik chatting with a constituent at the Congress on Your Corner event in Bloomington

Congressman Paulsen speaking at an event honoring Raoul Wallenberg

Erik on the Capitol steps with summer interns in his D.C. office

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