Good morning, and welcome to Thursday.
The school shooting in Texas is spurring motion in the United States Senate, but it’s unclear if it will result in any action. The Associated Press reports: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly set in motion a pair of background-check bills for gun buyers Wednesday in response to the school massacre in Texas. But the Democrat acknowledged Congress' unyielding rejection of previous legislation to curb the national epidemic of gun violence. Schumer implored his Republican colleagues to cast aside the powerful gun lobby and reach across the aisle for even a modest compromise bill. But no votes are being scheduled. "Please, please, please damn it — put yourselves in the shoes of these parents just for once,” Schumer said as he opened the Senate. He essentially threw up his hands at the idea of what might seem an inevitable outcome: “If the slaughter of schoolchildren can't convince Republicans to buck the NRA, what can we do?”
Minnesota’s two U.S. Senators–Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith–support new laws, but the state’s Republican members of Congress don’t.The Star Tribune has a roundup of Minnesota politicians’ response to the shooting: "I'm struggling because I can't force my Republican colleagues to do the right thing here," Democratic Sen. Tina Smith said. "And yet they have the power to stop me from doing the right thing. And that is intensely frustrating." Despite Democrats holding narrow control of Congress, the odds of the Senate passing gun legislation remains difficult in the aftermath of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. To break an expected filibuster, 10 Republicans would likely have to join every Democrat in the chamber. Minnesota's Republican Congress members — Reps. Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber — said they were heartbroken and horrified by the tragedy. "Praying for the entire Robb Elementary community and the families of those lost in today's senseless act of violence," Emmer tweeted. "Every child should be safe in their homes and schools. This was pure evil. The families of these innocent victims are in our prayers," posted Stauber.
George Floyd’s family members joined hundreds of people in Minneapolis Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil to commemorate the second anniversary of his murder by police. MPR’s Matt Sepic reports that before the vigil, the Floyd family welcomed Mayor Jacob Frey for the unveiling of an honorary George Perry Floyd Square street sign on Chicago Avenue. But the ceremony was delayed for about a half hour after some in the crowd demanded that the mayor leave. After waiting with the family inside a coffee shop, they came out, and Frey watched as Floyd’s relatives unveiled the sign. Later in the evening — after the mayor left — Floyd’s aunt Angela Harrelson said her nephew’s murder awakened a sleeping giant. “When he died, those doors just flushed wide open. And we as brown and Black America are saying no more, no more.” Additional events honoring Floyd are scheduled through Saturday.
And President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to improve accountability in policing. Members of Floyd's family were in the audience at the White House. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison posted on Twitter that he also attended the signing, commending Biden for taking "decisive action." Most of Biden's order is focused on federal law enforcement agencies. It requires them to review and revise policies on use of force. It will also create a database to help track officer misconduct. The order also is designed to restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police.
Back in Minnesota some groups are trying to increase pressure on state lawmakers to agree to a special legislative session. MPR’s Dan Kraker reports public defenders and other court personnel are urging Gov. Tim Walz to call a special session to improve pay and staffing in the state court system. They say they can't hire for open positions for court reporters and other staff because the pay is too low to attract candidates. Jessen Alexander, a state public defender for nearly 10 years in northwestern Minnesota, said attorneys are constantly leaving. "I currently have 190 files open right now. I can't do my job effectively as what's constitutionally required,” Alexander said. “As far as I'm concerned. I'm doing triage work. And I'm continually asked to do more with less." Court workers say the Legislature should allocate some of the state's budget surplus to better support public defenders, court reporters, and other judicial staff. "I took a pay cut when I took this job. My starting salary was $11 an hour. 23 years later, the starting salary is about $18 an hour, the same as you can get working nights and weekends at Culvers,” said Heather Ahern, a court operations associate in Goodhue County. Ahern and others say courts are unable to hire for open positions because of low pay and understaffing.
Minnesota's long-term-care providers are concerned about the financial strain on many in their industry after the Legislature ended its session without addressing their funding. They're hoping for a special session soon and an increase in reimbursement rates for Medicaid, which they say would help to stabilize several facilities that are facing financial issues. Kari Thurlow with Leading Age Minnesota, which represents the industry, said an increase in those rates is the way they can improve pay for caregivers. Many have been leaving the industry in high numbers in the last year in part because of wages. "The theory is by improving wages, we are able to better improve our staffing and care for more seniors in these settings and turn around the finances in these settings,” Thurlow said. So we need lawmaker help to turn this crisis around and we need them to act swiftly.” It’s not clear whether there will be a special session.
One thing that did pass during the session was bonus pay for those who were on the front lines of the pandemic. Applications for $500 million worth of pandemic frontline worker bonuses will start being accepted in about two weeks , MPR’s Brian Bakst reports. The state agency managing the distribution process says a 45-day application window should open on June 8 and run through July 22. There is also an appeals process. It means that a final list of eligible recipients will be known by the end of August and checks should start going out in early September. The number of qualified recipients will determine the size of the checks, which are to be equal in amount. Nurses, first responders, child care staff, grocery workers and others whose jobs required them to spend at least 120 hours in a risky setting during COVID-19 could get payments. There are income limits. | 