I hope everyone got a chance to visit the State Fair this past week. The Great Minnesota Get-Together is a wonderful tradition. It was fun to see so many of you. 

 

At the Fair I sat down with John Hines at the WCCO front porch (listen to the interview here) before joining a press conference with law enforcement and other leaders to launch a new anti-human trafficking awareness campaign by Polaris and Clear Channel. More than 50 digital billboards across Minnesota are going up to alert victims about how they can reach out for help on a 1-800 tip line to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, as well as raise public awareness about the true nature of this modern slavery. Read the Star Tribune report here, listen to WCCO's radio report here, and watch KSTP's coverage of the press conference here.

 

As a strong advocate on this bipartisan issue, I believe this awareness campaign is an important and meaningful step to eliminating this horrible practice. By coming together, educating our communities about available resources, and empowering others to play a role in combating human trafficking, we can all contribute in this fight.

 

I also swung by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild’s Land of 10,000 Beers exhibit to give an update on my bill to help craft breweries. Minnesota now has over 100 craft breweries. The bipartisan Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act provides tax and regulatory reforms so these entrepreneurs can continue to grow and boost our local economies. 

 

Other notables over the last few weeks include visits to Emerson Climate Technologies in Chanhassen, North Memorial Hospital and their emergency room in Maple Grove, medical technology manufacturer Holaira in Plymouth, and ENKI Brewing in Victoria. I also met with representatives and advocates from the AARP, JDRF, and the National Kidney Foundation, among others.   

 

As always, 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, and please watch the latest Erik's Correspondence Corner video.

Last Wednesday, I joined the Minnesota National Guard and Senator Amy Klobuchar at a ceremony recognizing North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park as a Yellow Ribbon Institution for their dedication to our veterans and their families. They were recognized by Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, which is a terrific organization. 

 

North Hennepin's acknowledgement by Beyond the Yellow Ribbon is part of an effort to make sure the sacrifices of our service members and their families are never forgotten. The program unites the community by synchronizing access to services, education training, and other resources for the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families as they transition into civilian life or prepare for deployment. Congratulations to North Hennepin!

You are likely aware about the news reports regarding the price increase of EpiPens. I sent a letter to the CEO of Mylan, the company that produces them, asking her to address these concerns and to share the available resources and assistance for those who may be unable to pay for EpiPens.

 

Overall, the rising cost of health care, including drug prices, is a serious problem, especially as deductibles have gone up and out of pocket co-pays have risen in recent years. To fix that, consumers deserve more transparency about whether their doctor is in their network, whether the medicine they need is covered, and what their out-of-pocket costs are. When looking at possible solutions, it’s important that we encourage competition, new health care delivery models, patient adherence, and innovation. 

 

We also need to address the backlog of new generic drug applications at the FDA. There is a 50 month backlog at the FDA to approve a single generic application. Quickly processing the thousands of pending applications would help patients access less expensive versions of their drugs. I am working on proposals to improve this process.

 

Periodically I meet with local sheriffs and police chiefs to discuss issues of importance to the law enforcement community. At a recent round table, we discussed police training programs, heroin and opioids, asset forfeiture, as well as challenges surrounding mental health.

 

You may recall that one of the new laws I authored and was signed by the President is the Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act. It ensures police officers, firefighters, and first responders killed in the line of duty do not have their federal or state survivor benefits subject to income tax.