There is new excitement and energy in the House of Representatives after a new Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, was elected last week. Speaker Ryan was praised for his fresh ideas from both Republicans and Democrats as well as his promise to have a more open, transparent process. I'm hopeful that we can get some really important things done under his leadership. Here's an article in MinnPost about the new Speaker, and I mentioned the one thing I would change about him if I could -- his Packers fandom!

A couple important developments happened on the trade front this week. First, I led a meeting between my Congressional colleagues and members of the European Parliament who were in Washington to talk about a potential trade agreement between the U.S. and Europe. Negotiations are still in the early stages, but a successful trade deal with our strong allies would be very beneficial to Minnesota's farmers, ranchers, workers, and small businesses.

In addition, the text for a new trade deal with Asia, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was just released this past week. Congress passed legislation earlier this year that guarantees this agreement is fully available to the public to review and scrutinize. I look forward to reading the agreement, asking questions, and evaluating its the merits. You can look at it yourself here.

On a lighter note, my office competed in a pumpkin carving contest to raise funds for children's brain cancer research. Our 'Frank-O-Lantern' took first place in the 'Horror' category! You can see the Frankensteinish design all lit up here.

Have a great week and if I can be of help to you or your family, please give my office a call. Join the conversation online by visiting my website, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, and please watch my latest Erik's Correspondence Corner video.

Military Working Dogs

Military working dogs have helped keep our troops safe on the front lines since World War I, and it's not surprising that many of our troops form long-lasting relationships with the animals they serve next to. Unfortunately, many of these military working dogs are forced to remain overseas even after they are retired despite service members and veterans looking to adopt them. The House recently passed my bill, the Military Working Dogs Act, to require the Department of Defense to retire these dogs in the United States. This will help address a waiting list of more than 1,200 people -- many of whom are troops and veterans -- who are waiting to adopt a military working dog. There's been more focus about military working dogs with the release of the motion picture, Max. I even met Max recently at an event.

Protecting Access to Prosthetics

The government agency that oversees Medicare proposed a rule that threatened to reduce access to quality prosthetics for countless Americans that use them. The agency's actions would force many patients to use outdated and uncomfortable prosthetics and even lead to higher health costs. I led an effort to stop the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from pursuing this proposal and instead get more input from physicians and patients. And, this week, CMS announced that they would forgo the rule and instead form a working group made up of clinicians, patient groups, and medical reseraches to determine a better way forward. This is a big win for users of prosthetics. Read the Star Tribune article on the news here.

Clean Energy Tour

Minnesota is a market leader in clean market innovation, ranking 8th in the country in number of patents filed. Last week, I spent half a day visiting with a number of these Minnesota innovators. I toured TruNorth Solar in Edina, EVS Engineering in Eden Prairie, Noble Conservation Solutions in Plymouth, and Renawable Resource Consultants in Maple Grove. Minnesota is leading in ideas for energy development. Channel 12 was there to cover my tour. Video is available here.

Erik joined his Minnesota colleagues Peterson, Kline, Nolan and Texas Rep. Vela on a bipartisan pheasant organized by Rep. Peterson.

Erik at TruNorth Solar on his Clean Energy Tour.

Congressman Paulsen leads discussion between Members of Congress and European Parliament about trade opportunities.

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