Safe Communities and Law Enforcement Support

Record violent crime levels are dominating the headlines. Senate Republicans will address the urgent need to increase police presence, provide the tools and resources to fight crime, and recruit and retain police officers.

We know our law enforcement departments are challenged more than ever before. Sadly, the political leadership in some of our major cities has led to massive reductions in police personnel. To address this crisis, we will work with law enforcement agencies to create incentive and retention policies to help them fill their open positions and restore the peace in our communities.

Much of the crime wave has been attributed to progressive policies like reducing or eliminating bail so criminals get released right away, and county prosecutors ignoring various low-level crimes that only embolden bad actors. Closing loopholes and stiffening penalties for certain crimes that lower the quality of life will be considered.

We will remember the victims first before we make public policy. The highest priority of any government is to ensure safety for our citizens. The actions of a few prosecutors are destroying that mission.

Helping People Afford Their Lives

We are hearing from folks across the state and people are concerned. Crime is up, kids are falling behind, and record inflation is eating away at family budgets. Things are moving in the wrong direction and Senate Republicans are focused on solutions to get Minnesota back on the Right Track. We will fund more police officers and hold criminals accountable to reduce crime. We’ll empower parents to be partners in their kids’ education so they can catch up and meet expectations after nearly two years of disrupted learning. We will provide permanent, ongoing tax relief so people have more money in their pockets after every paycheck. Finally, we will make it a priority to eliminate the social security tax to provide relief to senior citizens.

The state’s projected $7.7 billion surplus will be one of the most discussed items in St. Paul. Government bank accounts are doing well but Minnesotans are paying for it. Their bank accounts are getting squeezed thanks to stubborn and record inflation from runaway congressional spending. Minnesotans aren’t a never-ending ATM for a government spending spree – they drive our economy and they paid for the surplus.

Republicans passed billions in tax cuts in the last five years, stopped Gov. Walz’s massive tax increases, and passed the first income rate tax cuts in 20 years. Minnesotans deserve a break, and Senate Republicans will continue the fight for meaningful and permanent tax relief.

Empowering Parents as Education Partners

The closure of schools due to COVID has been an eye-opening experience for parents across the state. Parents, overnight, became teachers for their children. The stress of working from home, managing their kids’ distance learning, and trying to stay safe in a pandemic was exhausting for them. This year, we will keep our education policies simple and get schools back to the basics: meeting reading and math scores. Too many kids are still behind from COVID learning loss. That needs to be our school’s top priority.

Across the nation, many parents have raised concerns about their kids’ education coming at the cost of political activism. To that end, Republicans propose increasing transparency and accountability in school to the parents and empowering parents to be active partners in their child’s education.

Parents have seen what is happening in the classroom because that classroom was the kitchen table. And they didn’t like what they saw. We will empower parents as informed advocates and partners to ensure kids are meeting their educational goals and get future generations on the Right Track.