Today, we passed legislation to stop devastating tax increases on small businesses and provide meaningful bonuses to frontline workers. The legislationresolves the differences between the Senate and House on repaying and refilling the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund and providing bonuses to workers who worked the frontline during the COVID pandemic.

There was no better way to kill job growth in Minnesota than to leave this Unemployment Insurance issue unaddressed. When the pandemic shutdowns began, thousands of Minnesotans were laid off and relied on this fund. We promised our small businesses that we would not hold them responsible for replenishing that fund. Unfortunately, Democrats did not join us until now to follow through. Getting this done was always a top priority for Republicans. Without action, our employers faced the potential of a business breaking tax. Today’s legislation allows us to keep our promise, replenish the fund, and get Minnesota’s economy back on track.

The agreement means $2.7 billion will be used to pay off the loan from the federal government and refill the UI fund to its necessary balance using primarily federal funds. As part of the agreement, $500 million from the surplus will go to frontline workers most at risk during the COVID pandemic. As the Senate proposed two weeks ago, the House DFL will choose which workers will get bonuses.

Minnesota also owes a tremendous debt to the men and women who put their wellbeing on the line to keep us safe and healthy throughout the pandemic. I am glad we could secure an agreement to honor our frontline workers whose contributions and sacrifices supported us all during the pandemic.

Funding for the legislation came out of the remaining balance of federal dollars that Minnesota had leftover from the American Rescue Plan Act.