Senate DFL Leader Melisa López Franzen (DFL-Edina) said today that Senate DFLers will continue to press to enact frontline worker bonuses after efforts to approve them for 667,000 hard hit workers in communities across Minnesota were blocked on the floor Monday by the Senate Republican majority.
Senator López Franzen said that DFL lawmakers have been in communities across the state in recent days meeting with frontline workers, many of whom continue to be stretched to the breaking point by the ongoing and unpredictable pandemic. She said lawmakers from both parties promised to approve frontline worker bonuses by September of last year, but no bonuses have yet been approved.
“Our frontline workers have been the lifeblood of our businesses. They’ve ensured we had police and fire protection, health care, childcare, transportation services and groceries. They made sure our schools, our seniors, and our kids were kept safe – often at great risk to themselves. Above all, we know their work was indispensable in keeping our state going,” said Sen. López Franzen. “They believed us when we promised to recognize their work. We are long past the deadline of last September that both DFLers and Republicans agreed was time to help our frontline workers. Despite DFL efforts today, we still have not kept that promise and the Republican majority blocked a chance to keep it.”
Senate DFL Frontline Worker Amendment Blocked by Republican Majority
On Monday, Sen. López Franzen backed an amendment by Sen. Erin Murphy (DFL-St. Paul) that would help recognize all of Minnesota’s frontline workers for their sacrifices during the past two years with a one-time $1,500 bonus. The measure had overwhelming majority support among Senate DFLers but was blocked by Republicans during floor debate today.
In the past two weeks, DFL lawmakers from both the Senate and the House have met with frontline workers in Duluth, Rochester, St. Cloud, Moorhead, and St. Paul.
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