Rep. Phil Sterner Building Safer and Stronger Communities

Dear Neighbors,

The 2009 Legislative Session adjourned on May 18. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this wonderful district.

Despite an historic budget shortfall, the 2009 Legislature passed important bills to create and preserve jobs, maintain public safety, protect our natural resources, and improve transportation. In addition, we provided steady, stable funding for early childhood and K-12 schools – a significant accomplishment in this challenging economy.

As an Apple Valley High School graduate, a small business owner, and a 40-year resident of this community, it’s an honor to serve as your voice at the State Capitol. Like you, I expect hard work, accountability and results from state government and the people who represent me. I’ll continue working hard on your behalf, making it my top priority to advance legislation that will directly benefit the residents Rosemount and Apple Valley and keep our community a great place to live, work and raise a family.

For government to work well, we all need to be involved. Please contact me at 651-296-4306 or by email at rep.phil.sterner@house.mn with any questions or concerns related to state government. I appreciate the input and support you’ve given me throughout my first session – it’s helped me better represent you in St. Paul.

It is an honor to serve as your State Representative!

Sincerely,
Phil Sterner
State Representative

Join Rep. Phil Sterner and volunteers as they march in the Apple Valley Freedom Days parade.
The parade is on Saturday, July 4, 2009. Meet at 11:30 a.m. on Whitney Avenue in Apple Valley (enter Whitney Avenue at the intersection of Whitney and Cedar Avenues and a guide will tell you where to go). The parade starts at 1 p.m. and will take two hours. Water and refreshments will be provided.

As most of you know, 2009 was a challenging budget year at the Legislature. But despite a record budget shortfall, Minnesota stood strong in its commitment to our veterans, active duty military members, National Guard members and their families.

With unanimous bi-cameral and bi-partisan support, the Legislature passed a veterans bill that increases funding for Minnesota Veterans Homes to allow them to maintain and improve their current level of service. The bill also increases funding for county veterans service programs and included the Governor’s recommendations to expand the Hastings Mental Health program that serves so many Dakota County veterans. We enacted a $3 million enlistment incentive program and improved transportation to VA hospitals. We also worked with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, the Minnesota Departments of Commerce and the Veterans Affairs Division to clarify confusion over state and federal law that threatened the Disabled American Veterans organization’s ability to gather clothing donations. This means that the DAV can continue serving our veterans.

Minnesota’s commitment to our men and women in uniform has never been stronger. But it wasn’t so long ago that Minnesotans coming home were denied the warm welcome home, or the thanks that they deserved so much. That’s the reason I was pleased to co-author a bill that was signed into law designating June 13 of this year as Honoring All Vietnam Era Veterans Day in Minnesota.

On Saturday, June 13, Minnesota held its long-overdue Vietnam Veterans ceremony on the grounds of the State Capitol. The day, dedicated to honoring, respecting, and remembering Vietnam veterans and their families, started with a Gold Star Mothers prayer service, and culminated with a formal ceremony at 1:30. Thousands of Vietnam veterans and their families attended the event, including Tom Werner, the past commander of the Rosemount American Legion. It was a moving tribute to all of the men and women who served our country in the Vietnam War, including the 1,080 Minnesotans who gave their lives and the 43 Minnesotans who remain missing in action.

Today, Minnesotans in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world spend months and years away from their families. They continue to sacrifice a great deal to make our world a safer, more just place to live. To all of those who have stood in service to our state, our nation and to a higher ideal – including all of our military families who share their husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons with us – we thank you, and we are proud of you.

I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the fall and summer, and am honored to serve as your State Representative. As always, please continue to contact me with any questions or concerns related to state government. I look forward to hearing from you and look forward to your input.

In my first term as your representative, I expected to face significant challenges. However, an unprecedented $6.4 billion budget shortfall made this session one of the most difficult in Minnesota history.

For the most part, the Legislature and Governor Pawlenty worked well together. The Governor signed most of our bills, enacting provisions to protect K-12 and early childhood education, preserve public safety, create jobs, and support veterans. I was proud to sponsor some of the earliest bills he signed, including one to reduce the risk of shaken baby syndrome in young children and another to improve Minnesota’s lakes.

Unfortunately, we were unable to reach agreement on a final budget. Both sides proposed budget cuts to close the shortfall (the House proposed more cuts than the Governor), and both agreed that cuts alone would cause too much long-lasting damage to our state.

The primary disagreement surrounded what kind of new revenue is most responsible and fair. The Governor proposed borrowing $1 billion in one-time money, and paying it back over 20 years at an additional cost of between $600 - $800 million. As a fiscal conservative, I’ve been dismayed by “borrow and spend” practices by the federal government, and could not in good conscience support a similar plan for Minnesota. By the same token, I voted against an early revenue- raising bill that reached too deeply into Minnesota families’ pockets, only favoring a more modest and responsible “pay-as you go” introduced later in the session.

Without consensus on a balanced-budget plan, the Governor will use the process of unallotment to balance the budget. To do so, he will need to cut about $3 billion, and has signaled his intention to focus largely on health and human services. He has already cut a program that provides funding for the state’s sickest and poorest citizens and the hospitals that care for them. Further cuts of millions or more from this budget area could devastate health care institutions statewide, forcing them to eliminate services and jobs. These changes will drive up health care costs for everyone and diminish overall quality of care.

As details of the unallotment plans are released, I’ll continue working with citizens and local officials to ensure we understand the nature of the cuts and to help minimize the impact on our community and our state.

I am just taking some time out of my day to wish everyone a special Memorial Day. Today must not be treated just as some time away from work, but a day of reflection. Today is a day when we remember the countless sacrifices of known and un-known faces. We enjoy a freedom unlike many countries because of the sacrifices of our armed forces.

I am happy to report that this session I was an author of SF1142 which made June 13, 2009 a day to honor all Vietnam Veterans and made March 25 as a designated Medal of Honor day to honor individuals from Minnesota who have received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

This last session, despite a record budget shortfall, the House DFL introduced and passed legislation that increased funding for Veterans homes by $4.4 million or 5.3% and we have increased Veterans Services programs by $1.7 million. We increase funding for the Minnesota Assistance Council of Veterans and Veterans’ Service Organizations. Beyond taking care of our veterans, we also passed an appropriation increase for the Department of Military Affairs (Minnesota National Guard) by 7.67% and provided new funding for $3 million in enlistment incentives.

This summer I plan to continue my work on veterans issues. I introduced three bills late last session that were not given hearings. These bills would make financial counseling services availability required for recently discharged veterans, mental health counseling services availability required for recently deployed service members and would allow unpaid leave of absence from employment provided for an immediate family member of a person ordered into active military service during a time of war or other national emergency.

I believe it is important to highlight what actions we have and will continue to take to honor and provide for our service members and veterans. I think it is important that we reflect, honor and cherish the service that so many have given to our country. I hope you were able to take some time out of your day to reflect on the wonderful freedom that has been provided to us.