ST. PAUL, Minn. — A $1.5 billion capital investment bill was presented on the Senate floor and blocked by Republicans who voted to defeat the bill. Senator Nicole Mitchell (DFL-Woodbury), a Lt. Col. serving in the National Guard and vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Committee, issued the following statement following the floor vote:
“There are so many important projects that would be funded in this bill. When our session started, we heard Republicans lamenting that the DFL didn’t care about our veterans. I took offense to that, and this bill proves that they were wrong. The capital investment package we presented on the floor today would provide more than $25 million for Readiness Centers in Rosemount, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, and Marshall, as well as $5.7 million for the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum at Camp Ripley. Another $12.3 million would go toward maintenance and upkeep of veterans homes in Minneapolis, Luverne, Fergus Falls and Silver Bay. Maybe the single most desperately needed project for our veterans is the $77.7 million to upgrade, modernize and rebuild the veterans home in Hastings. That’s among the biggest projects in this entire bill and reflects that taking care of our veterans is absolutely a priority for the DFL caucus. If Republicans want to support veterans, they should join us in voting to pass a capital investment bill and fund these projects. I look forward to the opportunity to revisit this vital funding to meet the needs of our veterans this session.”
In a subsequent vote, the bill was laid on the table for possible reconsideration at a later date.
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