Hot dish 09.10.24

By Sydney Kashiwagi

Hello and welcome back to another DC Dish.

Monday was Congress’ first day back in session after more than a month-long August recess.

They are now sprinting to pass a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown at the end of September.

Republicans introduced their version of legislation to avert a shutdown on Friday. But the bill includes hot-button measures such as one that would require states to obtain proof of citizenship when people register to vote. That measure is a nonstarter in the Senate and Democrats have already expressed reluctance to adopt the proposal.

Now that they’re back, I asked Minnesota’s 10 federal lawmakers what their top priorities are for the rest of the year. Here’s what they told me.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, D: Is focused on funding local infrastructure projects, the farm bill, her legislation to ensure firefighters and their families get the benefits they deserve and AI consumer bills.

SEN. TINA SMITH, D: Is working to avert a government shutdown and pass a bipartisan bill to keep it open. She’s also focused on moving her bipartisan housing reform proposals, including her legislation to make necessary updates to the Rural Housing Service. Another priority is ensuring clean and renewable energy funding she helped secure in the Inflation Reduction Act, such as through REAP and the New ERA program.

REP. BRAD FINSTAD, R-CD1: Is working on lowering costs for American families, he also plans to work on securing the border by passing H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, as part of that effort. He also wants to pass a Farm Bill that’s “written by farmers, for farmers and by rural communities for rural communities.”

REP. ANGIE CRAIG, D-CD2: Is focused on passing her bipartisan Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act to stop fentanyl trafficking on social media platforms and help local law enforcement prosecute these crimes. She is also working to pass her Task Force to Stop Price Gouging Act to help lower costs at the grocery store, hold big corporations accountable and rein in wasteful government spending.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS, D-CD3: Is pushing for stability in the Middle East by supporting the Biden-Harris effort for a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. He would also like to see a “day after” plan to rebuild Gaza. Phillips is also focused on his Porch Pirates Act that would crack down on porch theft by making it a federal crime. He also wants to work on an effort to study the impact of cell phones on students.

REP. BETTY MCCOLLUM, D-CD4: Is working to prevent a “Republican government shutdown” and enact a bipartisan FY25 omnibus appropriations bill that funds infrastructure projects across her district.

REP. ILHAN OMAR, D-CD5: Working on tackling the affordable housing crisis, addressing long COVID, ending child hunger and fighting to end gun violence.

REP. TOM EMMER, R-CD6: The House Majority Whip is focused on his bipartisan Securing Facilities for Mental Health Services Act, that would get rid of a provision in the National Housing Act that currently prevents inpatient psychiatric hospitals from applying for mortgage assistance. He’s also focused on his Main Street Growth Act, a bill that would encourage more initial public offerings and supporting Minnesota’s National Guard and its C-130 program.

REP. MICHELLE FISCHBACH, R-CD7: Is focused on passing the Investing in Rural America Act that would bring capital investment to rural communities. She’s also focused on getting the Farm Bill over the finish line and working on one that would put “our farmers first,” protect crop insurance, and promote market access for U.S. producers.

REP. PETE STAUBER, R-CD8: “My top priorities are ending the Biden-Harris border crisis, eliminating their anti-American energy policies, and putting forward common-sense policies that address the inflation currently hurting every family in Minnesota,” he said.

AD ALERT: Craig released her third TV ad of the cycle today. The ad features a Minnesota OB-GYN who talks about her concern for her patients, her daughter and herself if Republican Joe Teirab beats Craig in November.

“Joe Teirab would take the intimate decisions and conversations I have with patients about their reproductive care and give it over to the government. That’s just too far out there and it’s terrifying,” the doctor says, adding that Craig would protect reproductive freedoms.

Teirab has said he opposes abortion but supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. He said he believes abortion is a state issue and has said he would oppose a federal abortion ban. However, he has a long history of opposing abortion, which remains a potent issue Democrats are using against Republicans this year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

HARMFUL IMAGES: Klobuchar held a virtual press conference Monday to advocate for her bipartisan Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution (SHIELD) Act. It’s a bill that would help federal law enforcement crack down on the online exploitation of explicit images of children and adults.

“While some states, including Minnesota, have their own state laws on the books, there’s still no federal law addressing these serious, tragic privacy violations, and so much of it goes across state lines,” Klobuchar said.

The bill is now making its way through the U.S. House after it passed the U.S. Senate earlier this summer.

TRUMP VS. HARRIS: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will hold their first debate tonight. My colleague Louis Krauss wrote about how to watch it.

And my colleague Josie Albertson-Grove looked at how Minnesota’s Democratic leaders are focusing on Trump and abortion rights heading into November.

During a press conference on Monday, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin focused on the conservative Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025,” a collection of policy proposals the think tank wants to see enacted if Trump is reelected, and the possibility that abortion would be banned nationwide.

“Half the women in this country do not have access to safe, legal abortions,” Flanagan said. “We know that because they are coming here.”

Tayler Rahm, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign in Minnesota, said he expected Trump to talk about how prices were lower during his presidency, and about border security and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza that began while Harris has been serving as vice president.

Rahm said whatever policy proposals Harris brings up, he wants to know what she has been doing for three and a half years as vice president to advance them.

CANDIDATE FORUM: The Presbyterian Homes & Services and Leading Age Minnesota are hosting a candidate forum from 2 to 4 p.m. this afternoon at Shorewood Landing. The forum will include Tracey Brazeale (D-45A), state Rep. Andrew Myers (R-45A), state Rep. Patty Acomb (D-45B), former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart (D-45), and Kathleen Fowke (R-45). They will discuss issues that impact older adults and the state’s aging services sector.

WHERE’S WALZ:

Gov. Tim Walz has no public events scheduled. But on the campaign trail:

At 9:30 a.m. Walz will deliver remarks at a campaign reception in Las Vegas.

In the afternoon, Walz will join a series of political engagements in Phoenix.

At 5:30 p.m., Walz will deliver remarks at a political event in Phoenix.

READING LIST

Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.

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