Update from Tina Liebling

02/08/2005

February 6, 2005

Dear Friends:

Starting today, I’ll be writing regular updates for you, so you can be part of what is happening here at the Capitol and give me your feedback.

Eventually I will be sending these updates on an automated list instead of over the Olmsted DFL list.  If you would like to be on it, please e-mail me at Rep.Tina.Liebling@House.Mn If you have friends who would like to receive it, have them send me an e-mail too.

After almost five weeks on the job, I still feel awed every time I walk into the House chamber.  Even more, I am awed when constituents tell me about the things they care about and look to me for help and solutions.  It is really an honor and a privilege to serve you.

Committee assignments
I serve on three committees—Government Operations and Veterans’ Affairs, Commerce and Finance, and a subcommittee called Technology, Bioscience, and Medical Products. 

Government Operations oversees the functioning of just about every government agency. 

The first few weeks were devoted to overviews of those agencies, which were sometimes quite complex and detailed. It is fascinating to see how Minnesota government works and to think about how the systems serve Minnesotans.  The veterans’ affairs part concerns the Minnesota National Guard and Reserves—many of whom are serving in Iraq—and the agencies that serve our veterans when they return home.

Commerce and Finance is also quite interesting and overlaps some with Government Operations. C & F oversees banking, insurance, and the pension board, among other things. Learning about these issues is challenging, and I am grateful for my legal training. 

The pace of work has been frantic. I suspect that part of the reason is the special nature of this session: we are doing the work of last session (bonding) as we do the work of this regular session.

Bills I’m working on
I have taken leadership on the bonding proposal to improve facilities for nursing and allied health students at RCTC.  This project would benefit our community in many ways.  It would remodel an empty gymnasium into a state of the art facility to help meet the critical shortage of nurses and other health workers.  It would also provide space for community medical and dental clinics to serve low-income folks.  Unfortunately, the project was not included in the governor’s bonding request but is included in the Senate bonding bill.

Speaking of health, many of you are probably concerned about the governor’s budget proposal, which relies upon gambling contracts that are not yet negotiated and more cuts to MinnesotaCare.  As you probably know, MinnesotaCare is a program that provides health insurance for working people who don’t earn enough to buy health insurance in the private market. Policy-holders pay their premiums on a sliding scale.  The governor calls this “welfare health care.” I am working with other legislators to put together a budget proposal that is fairer. Balancing our budget by taking away health insurance for low-income workers is financially foolish and unworthy of us as a state.

Solving problems through bipartisan coalitions
Several bipartisan caucuses have formed, which I hope will be vehicles to problem-solve and help us forge consensus on major issues.  I am a charter member of the Mental Health Caucus, a bipartisan and bicameral (both House and Senate) group that met for the first time last week.  I am also a member of the Early Childhood caucus.  There is so much interest in early childhood issues--among legislators of both parties--that I am hopeful we will see improvements in that area.

I am committed to moving past the posturing that typically occurs here, so we can work toward achieving many of the goals we discussed during the campaign. To do so, we’re going to have to be more about substance and less about political advantage.  As one of my colleagues said today, when I campaign I am a Democrat and you are a Republican.  During the session, we are all Minnesotans.  It’s a vision we are struggling to keep, and I hope that in our closely divided legislature, we can make it a reality.

Stay in touch.  It brightens my day to when you take the time to call, e-mail, or visit.

Best, Tina