Many in Minnesota were saddened to learn of the loss of two legends from our state over the past few weeks. The first was Glen Nelson, a medical pioneer and philanthropist who helped develop critical technology that have helped countless patients. I spoke on the floor to remember Glen and the innovation he helped lead. I was also saddened to hear that my friend and Minnesota civic leader Wheelock Whitney had passed away. Wheelock was a business leader, teacher, and was instrumental in bringing a number of professional sports franchieses to the Twin Cities. I remembered Wheelock in a speech on the floor of the House.

On another note, legislation I authored to help give law enforcement more tools to find missing children continues to gain momentum, and i'm hopeful to see it pass the Senate soon. The legislation was especially relevent this week as Wednesday was National Missing Children Day. You can see me talk about my bill when I joined Esme Murhpy on WCCO recently.

Another initiative I'm working on to provide tax relief to small brewers, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, reached a big milestone this week. There are now more than 218 cosponsors of the bill, meaning that over half of the House supports the legislation, which is a good sign for the bill's prospects. Even better, it signals that local craft breweries will be better able to grow and create jobs.

Have a great wonderful Memorial Day as we remember those who sacrifice and serve our country. Please let me know whenever I can be of assistance to you or your family. Join the conversation online by visiting my website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Combating the Spread of the Zika Virus

The concern over the Zika Virus is well-founded and many experts are very concerned about its spread and the threat it poses to pregnant women and their newborns. Zika has spread throughout Latin America and causes a birth defect called microcephaly as well as other brain defects. Recently, the CDC confirmed 544 cases of Zika in the U.S. with 279 of those cases being pregnant women.

I'm supporting $1.2 billion in funding to combat the spread of the virus. All of the money specified to fight this serious disease is offset by reductions in other spending. We need to provide focus and the necessary tools to develop a vaccine that is safe and effective in preventing Zika.

The other aspect is controlling the mosquito population that spreads the disease. On top of the funding that will be used in this effort, I supported a bipartisan bill in the House that reduces onerous regulatory barriers for mosquito population control.

 

Email Privacy Poll Results

The House passed legislation recently that would update email privacy laws for the first time since 1986. Under current law, your emails are considered "abandoned" after 180 days and any government agency is permitted to read them. That means the IRS, EPA, or any government agency can legally snoop around in your private emails that are over six months old. I spoke about this on a recent correspondence corner video. I also sent out a poll question asking the following: "Should the government be required to obtain a warrant to look at private citizens' emails?" Results of the poll are below:

 

Supporting Needed Hospital Reforms

Last year, a new law changed how Medicare reimburses services performed at hospital outpatient departments, which provide services such as cancer treatment. However, several Minnesota hospitals were penalized because they had begun investing in new facilities that would be negatively impacted by these changes. I worked with my colleagues to fix this problem to ensure hospitals would not be punished and that patient access would be preserved.

This week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation, the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care (HHIPC) Act to grandfather in these hospitals and provide more access in local communities. In addition, it included a provision I coauthored to prevent hospitals that serve more low-income, Medicare, and Medicaid patients from being unfairly penalized under the Hospital Readmissions Program – a provision also supported by the Minnesota Hospital Association.

 

National Foster Care Month

There are currently 415,000 children living in foster care in the United States. Children in foster care experience an average of three different placements, which often leads to disruption of routines and the need to change schools and leave familiar surroundings. National Foster Care Month was established over 25 years ago to bring foster care issues to the forefront and highlight the importance of permanency for every child, and recognize the essential role that foster parents, social workers, and advocates have in the lives of children in foster care.

As part of National Foster Care Month, Malcolm from Coon Rapids shadowed me around the Capitol on Wednesday. He sat in on meetings and saw debate up close, seeing what a day in the life of a Congressman is like. And, I got to learn about his hopes and aspirations. It was great having him out in Washington!

 

Erik chats with a constituent at his Congress on Your Corner event in Bloomington.

 

Congressman Paulsen joined Senator Klobuchar and Governor Dayton at the grand opening of the new Smiths Medical facility in Plymouth.

 

Erik joined WCCO's Esme Murphy to talk about his legislation to help find missing children.

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