Dear Friends,
Prior to the start of the 2010 Legislative Session, lawmakers had identified three important priorities: pass a jobs-focused bonding bill to maintain our state’s infrastructure, balance the state budget and find a solution to responsibly restore General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC).
With less than a month of the session behind us, we’ve made good progress on all three priorities. We’ve passed an affordable, responsible Capital Investment bill designed to put thousands of Minnesotans back to work and make critical investments in our state’s infrastructure. While there have been some bumps in the road, a spirit of bipartisan cooperation led to progress, especially on finding a solution to restore and reform GAMC.
With overwhelming bipartisan support – 125 yes votes out of 134 – the House voted to restore health care to our state’s poorest and sickest citizens at an overall cost savings. The legislative solution restores GAMC to 85,000 Minnesotans for 16 months. As Rep. Erin Murphy says of the temporary fix, it represents core Minnesota values – compassion, common sense, and fiscal responsibility.
Unfortunately, within hours of the bill’s passage by both the House and Senate, the governor vetoed it. At the time of this update, we are considering the best and most responsible way to move forward, including meeting with the Governor’s office to craft a compromise. If those discussions do not yield an agreement, it is likely the House will attempt to override the veto as the Senate did yesterday.
If an override is not successful, on April 1st hospital payments will be cut and thousands of the poorest and sickest Minnesotans will lose their health care coverage. Soon after, another 20,000 working Minnesotans will be cut from MinnesotaCare. We simply cannot afford this result, and I will vote again to restore GAMC. I will continue to keep you updated as this process evolves.
Creating jobs, providing better healthcare at a lower cost, and investing in our state’s future are not partisan issues. While significant challenges confront us, not the least of which is solving a $1.2 billion budget deficit, I remain optimistic about our ability to meet and overcome them. My top priority continues to be working to get Minnesotans working – whether through legislation like the bonding bill or creating a more favorable climate for the small businesses that are our state’s largest job creators.
