Minnesota State Wire

[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, and House Speaker Melissa Hortman met with senior White House officials in Washington D.C. to celebrate Minnesota’s economic development and infrastructure investments and paid family and medical leave legislation.

“Thanks to the leadership and partnership of the Biden-Harris Administration, we are ushering in a golden age of infrastructure in Minnesota,”said Governor Walz. “ What we’re doing in Minnesota to lower costs and improve the lives of working families is creating a blueprint for the rest of the country to follow. I’m excited that the White House is highlighting the investments we made this session to leverage historic infrastructure funding, drive climate action, and create economic security for families. These investments will benefit Minnesotans in every corner of our state and bring us closer to our goal of making Minnesota the best place in the nation to raise a family.”

“So many of the investments and policies passed this legislative session speak to our mission to make it easier for Minnesotans to navigate and afford their lives – investments in paid family and medical leave and infrastructure are shining examples of this work,” said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. “By ensuring our roads and bridges are safe, our community organizations are strong, and Minnesotans are able to care for themselves and their loved ones without losing a paycheck, we’re building strong, connected, and safe communities across our state, with equity embedded in all of our work. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share Minnesota’s story with our leaders at the federal level and across the country.”

"Minnesota has a great story to tell about the investments we are making in Minnesota families, communities, businesses, and our collective future,” said Majority Leader Dziedzic. “Now at the White House we detailed those investments for national officials, who are eager to hear about our historic efforts on paid family and medical leave, job-creating infrastructure improvements, and our transformative actions to protect our climate. I was pleased that Senator Alice Mann, who skillfully led Senate efforts on paid family and medical leave, joined our meeting to discuss her work to get the legislation signed into law.”

“The efforts and ongoing partnership of the Biden-Harris Administration directly contributed to the success of our legislative session, allowing us to leverage federal dollars to make historic investments in infrastructure, economic development, and climate action across Minnesota. Combined with Minnesota’s enactment of paid family and medical leave, we’re making progress in building a state and an economy that works better for everyone,” said House Speaker Hortman. “It was a pleasure to share our unique Minnesota story with the White House and to discuss how we can continue working together to build on the good work of this session.”

At the White House, Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan discussed Minnesota’s infrastructure, economic development, and climate investments made this past session. They also discussed ways Minnesota leveraged historic federal infrastructure funding. Approximately $2.4 billion of the recently enacted One Minnesota budget will go toward leveraging federal funding opportunities to improve infrastructure across the state, support Minnesota’s clean energy economy, and expand economic opportunity while creating good-paying jobs. White House Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, and Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation John Podesta attended the meeting.

White House senior officials also applauded Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for passing paid family and medical leave this session. The paid family and medical leave program will provide Minnesotans with partial wage replacement for medical leave, bonding, or caring for a family member. Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Aviva Aron-Dine attended the event.

Governor Walz will conclude his trip to Washington, DC by attending a state dinner with President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening.

Original source can be found here.