Dear Neighbor, House Republicans continue showing up to do the people’s work at the Capitol. House Democrats continue staying home, refusing to do the work they were elected to do at the Capitol. In other words, not much has changed through the first couple weeks of session. The thing is, it’s not necessary for all 66 House Democrats to march right off the cliff in lockstep with their dereliction of duty. I’m just waiting for some of the more rational members from across the aisle to have a moment of clarity and come to the Capitol instead of letting the radical Democrats have their way with this extended boycott. We’ll see how that goes. The 2025 session is now two weeks old, and House Democrats remain absent. For now, here’s a look at just some of what House Republicans have done recently at the Capitol to help Minnesotans.  Anti-fraud bills House Republicans have introduced a series of efforts to curb fraud, waste, and abuse in state programs – including three bills I’ve co-authored. These bills will increase accountability and protect taxpayers at a time fraud and waste is rampant in Minnesota. A lack of oversight in state programs has been a big problem in Minnesota that we need to correct. From Feeding our Future to childcare assistance, frontline worker pay, and DHS and the Department of Education, reports of fraud and waste have cost Minnesota taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars – or more. House Republicans took one big step by establishing a new Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy this session. Now, we are following up that groundwork with bills I’ve co-sponsored to better protect public tax dollars establish and establish new criminal penalties for violations.” The first three bills House Republicans drafted to address this issue include: - House File 1: Establishes a centralized Office of the Inspector General to lead the fight against fraud across state programs. The bill consolidates agency-based inspector general offices into a unified entity, requires agencies to halt payments when fraud is suspected, and mandates the creation of a fraud reporting hotline. Additionally, it provides funding to ensure the new OIG has the resources to be effective.
- House File 2: Strengthens fraud prevention by mandating stricter reporting requirements for state agencies and equipping them with additional tools to identify and prevent fraudulent activities. This bill emphasizes transparency and swift action to address fraud concerns.
- House File 3: Establishes “fraud notes,” a groundbreaking tool to assess the susceptibility of proposed legislation to fraud. Similar to fiscal notes, fraud notes would provide lawmakers with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting new programs or policies.
 Affordable Minnesota Minnesotans have suffered historic inflation, irresponsible spending and unnecessary tax increases with Democrats in full control of the Capitol. It’s time to provide some relief for families and businesses in our state and that’s a top priority for House Republicans this session. A major point of emphasis is repealing the things that hurt family budgets. Bills we have introduced so far include: - House File 4: Proposes a constitutional amendment to make sure that substantial, future budget surpluses are returned to the taxpaying citizens of Minnesota.
- House File 5: Repeals many of the taxes that Democrats passed in 2023 including the automatic gas tax increase, the delivery tax and fully exempts social security from state income taxes. It also looks at options to reduce vehicle tab fees.
- House File 9: Rolls back some of the onerous mandates Democrats approved with full control of the Capitol, lifts Minnesota’s nuclear power moratorium, and expands the tax exemption on natural gas and electric derived residential heat to help save Minnesota families money.
March for Life  A most sincere thank-you to everyone who attended this week’s March for Life rally at the Capitol. The impressive show of support for the unborn from citizens all across our state was great to see. Watch for more soon from the Capitol as House Republicans continue tackling the issues Minnesotans care about most. We’re hard at work at the Capitol, so please stay in touch and let me know how I can help. Sincerely, Harry |