Senate Republican ‘Vision 2020’ Agenda: Our Promise to Minnesotans
I believe the best way to earn someone’s trust is say what you’re going to do, and then follow through on it. This is exactly what I have tried to do my entire time in the Senate.
I said I would work until the long overdue Highway 14 expansion was funded. We got it done.
I said I would work to stabilize the individual health insurance market and rein in costs that were skyrocketing because of MNsure. Upon taking the Senate majority we immediately passed a landmark reinsurance program. When we did, premiums were rising by 40, 50, 60 percent or more every year. Now they are stable. There’s still more work to do and costs are still too high, but we are on the right track.
I said I would make tax relief a priority. We passed the first middle income tax rate reduction in almost two decades.
So when you look at the Senate Republican Vision 2020 agenda for the upcoming legislative session, you can have confidence that we are serious about our priorities.
This agenda didn’t materialize out of thin air. It was compiled based on countless conversations we have had with our constituents all summer, fall, and winter. We asked what you thought, and these are the issues that kept coming up.
Here’s a taste:
On transportation, we will continue the same approach that has worked so well the last few years by investing more dollars into road and bridge construction without regressive tax hikes. One way we will do this is by prioritizing roads and bridges in this year’s bonding bill.
We will also reform the driver’s licensing testing process. If you have children, you know how broken that system is. It is our mission to end the extraordinarily long wait times at state-run driver’s testing stations.
In education, we have already invested historic amounts of money into K-12 schools, and we will continue working to reduce the persistent achievement gap by focusing on our youngest learners. We will place even more emphasis on 3rd grade reading proficiency, which has been a priority for Senate Republicans. We will use data to identify which programs work and scuttle the ones that don’t.
We will strengthen family budgets by giving the state’s $1.33 billion surplus back to taxpayers in the form of tax relief for workers, farmers, and the mom-and-pop businesses that you can find on every corner in our local communities.
And it’s a bonding year, so we will pass a responsible budget bill. The governor wants to spend more than $2 billion, and Democrats in the House have talked about a $3 billion bill.
I support bonding. I sit on the committee that reviews capital project requests. But we also have a duty to be responsible with taxpayer money. The Republican bonding bill will focus on statewide priorities that communities need – like roads, bridges, and sewer and water infrastructure.
No matter what the issue, our agenda boils down to this: Republicans care about you and your family.
We care that you have a good-paying, stable job and can take care of your loved ones. We care about making sure you get home from work safely. We care about making sure you can afford your health insurance, and we care about making sure your kids get a great education.
We want to put you in the driver’s seat, so you can live your own life.
I invite you to take a look at our entire Vision 2020 agenda on our website: https://www.mnsenaterepublicans.com/2020-vision/.
I would love to hear your feedback. Send me an email anytime at Sen.John.Jasinski@senate.mn.