Newsletter: Paulsen Post - May 3, 2015

Statement

Dear Friend,

Stopping the crime of human trafficking is a cause I am passionate about. One of the first legislative actions taken by the House of Representatives this year was passing a bill I authored to protect victims of trafficking by expanding 'Safe Harbor' laws. Last week, the Senate followed suit by passing a series of bills to combat trafficking including my legislation. We are now very close to having these important bills signed into law to stop this horrifc crime and bring traffickers to justice.

Also, this week, the House began passing various appropriation bills. In fact, this is the quickest action to move appropriations bills in the past 40 years -- finally Washington is functioning a little better! First, we approved an appropriation bill to fund the VA and ensure our veterans are receiving the care they deserve. With the backlog at the VA continuing to make our veterans wait for months to even see a doctor, the House passed the largest year-to-year increase in VA funding ever that is targeted efficiently and effectively. Importantly, it also addresses repeated mismanagement at the agency to ensure that administrators are held accountable.

And, the House finalized a budget for the year -- passing a budget that actually balances, puts us on a path to fiscal responsibility, and on course to pay down the national debt.

Have a great week and if I can be of help to you or your family, please give my office a call. Join the conversation online by visiting my website, Facebook page, Twitter, and make sure to watch my most recent video, Erik's Correspondence Corner.

Education Day in Minnesota

Last week, I held an 'Education Day' in Minnesota meeting with students, teachers, and administrators. The day started with a visit to read to Ms. Eisenmann's 1st grade class at Excelsior Elementary. After that, I met with some of our local superintendents to discuss reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and ensuring the best ways to provide local flexibility and control of our schools. I spent school lunch dining with second graders in the cafeteria at Shirley Hills Elementary in Mound Westonka before heading out to meet with the Chanhassen and Chaska high school robotics teams. STEM programs are critical to preparing our youth for the jobs of tomorrow and seeing the knowledge and ability of these students was pretty impressive.

I concluded the day by hosting a reception for the 6th Annual Congressional Art Competition at the Bloomington Art and Theatre Center. My office received nearly 100 entries from 11 high schools this year, and it was a very tough decision for the judges to pick a winner. However, Kayla Bolston from Rogers High School was selected as the Grand Prize winner for her piece, In the City. It will now be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building for the upcoming year.

Keeping Innovation in America

It makes no sense that our immigration laws result in kicking the best and brightest minds out of America and back to their home countries to become our competitors. That's because foreign-born students who obtain degrees at American colleges and universities are limited in options to stay in the United States after graduation because of antiquated immigration quotas. By making it difficult to obtain H-1B (or high-skill) visas, we are forcing innovative foreign-born graduates back to the countries we are competing against.

We need to fix this because studies show that, on average, filling these highly technical jobs creates three more jobs in the process. I've introduced bipartisan legislation, the Stopping Trained in America Ph.D.s from Leaving the Economy Act (STAPLE Act) to address this issue, by exempting foreign-born graduates with a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics Ph.D. from an American university -- and a pending job offer -- from the limits on H-1B visas. This commonsense legislation will keep innovation alive in America to grow and build a healthier economy. I spoke on the House floor about the STAPLE Act.

Creating Jobs Through Trade

With 95% of consumers living outside the United States, trade is critical to making sure our workers and small businesses can sell their products and services overseas and create jobs here at home. Studies show that one in five jobs in the United States are tied to trade and these jobs pay 18% more on average. With opportunities to lower regulatory barriers with Europe and access emerging markets in Asia, Congress needs to empower our negotiators to get the best trade deals for American businesses and workers. That means passing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). By passing TPA, Congress would set nearly 150 priorities for our negotiators when discussing potential trade deals. These objectives deal with issues like IP protections, labor standards, and digital trade. TPA passed the Ways and Means committee last week and is expected to come to the full House for a vote soon. I authored a column this week outlining how TPA ensures everyone plays by the rules and everybody wins.

Source