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ST. PAUL — On Thursday, Nov. 11, Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Herke, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Reps. Angie Craig and Dean Phillips met at the St. Paul Veterans Center to mark the Veterans Day holiday and draw attention to efforts to boost access to mental health resources for vets.  The policymakers emphasized the value of vet centers around… Read more »

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - State and federal lawmakers in Minnesota marked Veterans Day on Thursday by urging the passage of legislation to bring more Vet Centers to Minnesota.  Speaking from the St. Paul Vet Center, Rep. Dean Phillips says North Dakota has more of the centers, which provide mental health and other support for veterans, than Minnesota, which is home to only… Read more »

 -- This week, Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Congressman Bryan Steil (R-WI) are introducing the ‘No Veteran Falls Through the Cracks Act,’ legislation to ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) follows up with veterans rescheduling mental health appointments at the VA. Currently, if a veteran cancels a mental health appointment online the VA… Read more »

Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) announced the introduction of the Vet Center Support Act, H.R. 3674, a bill that would identify barriers to constructing new Vet Centers and increasing staff capacity to assess how well veterans’ mental health needs are being met in underserved areas. Minnesota only has three Vet Centers statewide – one Center for every 100,000 veterans… Read more »

Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) and a bipartisan coalition of Representatives reintroduced H.R. 3000, the Inspire to Serve Act. Sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), the Inspire to Serve Act would modernize and strengthen national and public service programs – including the military, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps – in order to ensure that the United States can recruit and… Read more »

Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) helped introduce, H.R. 1997, the TRICARE Fairness for National Guard and Reserve Retirees Act. Co-led with Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), this bipartisan bill would correct an inconsistency in federal law and lower health care costs for thousands of Minnesota veterans. Under current law, retired members of the National Guard and Reserve under the… Read more »

This week, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) announced the introduction of a Congressional Resolution to honor Officer Brian D. Sicknick, a 12-year veteran of the Capitol Police who passed away as a result of injuries sustained defending the United States Capitol against rioters on Jan. 6th. Officer Sicknick was the fourth U.S. Capitol Police officer in history to be killed in the line of duty. … Read more »

Today, U.S. Representatives Dean Phillips, Jason Crow, Jimmy Panetta, and Lauren Underwood announced the introduction of the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act, legislation that would invest billions in the nation’s public health jobs and infrastructure and aid the country’s lagging vaccine distribution campaign. The bicameral legislation… Read more »

Today, veterans advocates in Minnesota are praising a measure authored by Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03). The amendment, which became law on January 1, 2021 in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), was inspired by recommendations from Phillips’s Veterans Advisory Council and builds on Minnesota’s best practices to ensure veterans receive high-quality assistance regardless… Read more »