WoMN Focus

To say that it has been a challenging week for progressives is a bit of an understatement.  There was a defeat in Massachusets, the Citizens United ruling, and the loss of Air America.  And that doesn’t even touch on the challenges of getting any kind of comprehensive health care reform passed, let alone reform that protects women’s access to reproductive health services.

As if that were not bad enough, states like Minnesota that have made a commitment to women can anticipate a full-throttled attack on that commitment.  I provided a policy overview of what health care reform would look like in Minnesota here but want to draw attention to one point–Medicaid.  Now I know nothing puts people to sleep quite like talking about state funding vehicles, so I’ll be brief.  Minnesota is one of a handful of states that currently uses Medicaid funds to provide abortion-related services to recipients beyond the circumstances of rape and/or incest.  The funding mechanisms and the insurance exchanges put forth in federal health care reform, combined with razor-thin support for continued funding and billion-dollar state deficits makes this an easy target for “reform.”  Whatever happens with health care reform on the national level we can expect to see another assault on choice and access at the state level.  And if reform passes, expect a broader coalition of groups and legislators going after this Medicaid funding.

Many choice activists felt blindsided by the Stupak/Nelson/Hatch abortion shennanigans in the crafting of health care reform legislation.  There’s no reason why we should be as blindsided at the state level.  Consider yourself warned and let’s get prepared.

St. Paul, Minn. — For the chair of the House Tax Committee, the state’s projected $4.6 billion deficit provides a rare opportunity for reform in government.

Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, says the House tax bill would make the tax code fairer and deliver the most significant reform in 20 years.

“This bill shrinks government by removing permanently a number of tax preferences in the tax code,” she said. “It also attempts to ensure those that we think are worthy are means-tested, and returned to folks who need it most. We’re in a tough time and we just plain old can’t afford to continue to provide some of these tax preferences.”

Read the whole piece from Minnesota Public Radio here.

Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher was on MPR’s Midday radio program today with Sen. Larry Pogemiller. On the show she discussed the state budget crisis and what legislature intends to do to address it. Click here to listen to the full broadcast.

For more information on upcoming appearances, be sure to follow her either in Facebook or Twitter.