As we enter the final weeks of session, I continue to be frustrated by the Senate’s lack of progress on the issues that are on the minds of Minnesotans. Whenever I’m back home in our district, I constantly hear about the same issues over and over again: People want to know what we're doing about fraud and whether anyone is ever going to be held accountable, and they want to know what we are doing about affordability.
The answer to both, so far, is very little. The Senate has not passed any bills that will provide meaningful relief for Minnesota families, nor have we passed any bills to stop fraud or hold anyone accountable for fraud.
Instead, Democrats have been prioritizing bills that seem designed to score political points or help primarily their allies.
Case in point: On April 30, we passed a bill that steals $100 million out of the Minnesota Forward Fund --- an economic development fund that exists to attract new businesses to Minnesota --- and gives it to grants for businesses claiming harm from protests and boycotts. I spoke strongly against this bill on the floor, because the damage was caused by the inflammatory rhetoric of Gov. Walz, Attorney General Ellison, and so many other Democrat leaders here. The operation could have run smoothly had influential Democrats not stoked the fires of chaos at every opportunity.
The Minnesota Promise program, a similar small business grant effort, is currently under a full audit by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.
Investigative reporters found businesses operating outside qualifying areas, businesses with revoked licenses receiving tens of thousands of dollars, and a lot of other red flags that should have been caught before checks went out. You would think that history would create some appetite for tight guardrails on this new program.
It did not. In fact, most of our attempts to add basic protections were rejected. Guardrails like requiring real eligibility verification beyond self-attestation, confirming businesses are in good standing with the state, and preventing people here illegally from receiving funds were all voted down.
This bill appears to have no path forward in the House, so it makes a person wonder why we spent any time on it at all when we could have been working on ways to provide Minnesotans with tax relief.