Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for September 11, 2019 | | Posted at 6:25 a.m. by Bill Wareham |
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Good morning. It's the 18th anniversary of the attacks on New York and Pennsylvania. Here's the Digest. 1. House committee to consider medically assisted suicide bill. Four years ago, Marianne Turnbull of St. Paul was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. She wants state lawmakers to make it legal for her doctor to prescribe a fatal dose of medicine so she, not her illness, has the ability to determine the end of her life if she wants to. "I'm a social worker so I've been trained to follow certain social work principles and one of them in self determination,” she said. “And this to me is the ultimate act of self determination." Turnbull said she was surprised to learn how politically controversial her desires are. She said this should be a decision made only within the confines of the doctor-patient relationship. Turnbull is among a handful of people expected to testify Wednesday afternoon in front of the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Policy Committee. The panel is hearing legislation entitled the “End of Life Options Act.” The bill lays out who may seek life-ending medication, providers’ responsibilities and allows immunity for physicians who follow the rules. Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized medically assisted suicide. (MPR News) 2. Stauber backs Trump on using military money for wall. Congressman Pete Stauber might have appeared caught in the middle of national reporting last week that the White House was canceling $3.6 billion in military projects in favor of spending on the border wall with Mexico.Married to a former command chief of the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Stauber has been an avowed supporter of the military. But he was unequivocal in his approval of the diversion of military funds for the border wall in a conversation Sunday with the News Tribune. "At West Point in New York there's $65 million intended for a new parking lot — it's now being prioritized to secure the southern border," Stauber, R-Hermantown, said. "I think that parking lot can wait. We have a crisis on our southern border." (Duluth News Tribune) 3. House committee holds hearings on 'forever chemicals.' A former Minnesota attorney general and an executive from 3M Co. faced off Tuesday before a congressional panel examining a product at the center of a national pollution scandal. For more than half a century, 3M and other chemical companies used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, to waterproof clothes and shoes, make cookware that doesn’t stick and produce firefighting foam that resists high heat. The House of Representatives is considering dozens of bills meant to limit the use of PFAS, including legislation that would declare all PFAS hazardous and place it in superfund status. Lori Swanson, a Democrat who as state attorney general won an $890 million settlement from 3M in a PFAS pollution lawsuit, wants the designation. She told a House subcommittee that Minnesota was “ground zero for the PFAS problem that now confronts the entire country.” Swanson said PFAS, “forever chemicals” that don’t break down in nature, are spreading in humans and animals, as well as water, soil and food. To illustrate the public health risk, Swanson provided the hearing with a long list of 3M documents that she said showed a pattern of company coverups of PFAS toxicity. “3M knew but concealed information about the dangers of these chemicals for decades,” Swanson testified under oath. She cited one instance where 3M removed a cancer warning from the label of a PFAS product. In her testimony, Denise Rutherford, a senior vice president at 3M, described an ongoing company commitment to clean up sites where 3M produced PFAS. Rutherford said 3M would properly dispose of firefighting foams containing PFAS. She promised to make 3M a “clearinghouse” of the best research and best practices for cleaning up PFAS and pledged transparency and responsible science. (Star Tribune)
4. Murphy forms health care nonprofit. Former DFL candidate for governor Erin Murphy said Tuesday that she would launch a nonprofit aimed at sharing stories of Minnesotans' problems accessing health care. Murphy launched the website and nonprofit to crowdsource Minnesotans' health care stories. On the website, called Our Stories. Our Health., she said through "house parties, roundtable discussions, and conversations" the group will "organize and mobilize our voices and our votes to fulfill the promise of health and healthcare for all of us." And from there, the group will push for progressive solutions. The move comes just over a year after Murphy lost the 2018 DFL gubernatorial primary contest to Tim Walz. Murphy was endorsed by the party for the position and had previously served as a state lawmaker and majority leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives. (Rochester Post Bulletin)
5. Wisconsin senator wants to guarantee fans can see Packers games. It’s a nightmare that happens a few Sundays each year: Packers fans living on the edge of Vikings territory can’t watch their beloved team on cable or satellite if Green Bay is playing at the same time as Minnesota. That could change, if U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin gets her way. The Wisconsin Democrat on Tuesday reintroduced her Go Pack Go Act, a measure that would require cable and satellite companies to give Wisconsin subscribers access to networks in one of the state’s media markets. ( Star Tribune) | |
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