Dear John,

Today is September 29th. Tomorrow night at midnight, the government will shut down if Speaker McCarthy refuses to put a bipartisan bill on the Floor to fund the government.

Like many of you, I am frustrated with the behavior of the House Republican Freedom Caucus and the fact that the Speaker will not stand up to them.

There are several bills in the House and the Senate that would garner wide, bipartisan support and could have avoided a government shutdown. This would allow us to keep our military paid, fund border patrol and prevent travel delays.

But Speaker McCarthy fears that the minute he reaches across the aisle to pass a bipartisan proposal the most extreme members of his caucus will start proceedings to remove him as Speaker. He has consistently prioritized his leadership job over the wellbeing of millions of Americans.

We will know more about what is going to happen in the coming days.

In the case of a government shutdown, my office will put out additional resources about what you should expect, what support is available and more. If you have any questions or concerns about what is happening and what that means for you and your family, you can call my DC office at (202) 225-2271 or my Burnsville office at (651) 846-2120. You can also visit https://craig.house.gov/shutdown for more information.

I share your frustrations about this federal government shutdown. Please feel free to reach out to me and my team. We want to help wherever we can. 

Here's what else I was up to this week:

Welcoming Minnesotans to DC
A bright spot amidst a crazy week: I got to welcome Jim and Tracy to my office in DC. Jim owns TR’s Barbershop in Lakeville. Thank you for stopping by! 

Returning $4 million to Minnesotans
My team and I just reached an exciting milestone – over $4 million returned to MN-02 taxpayers through our constituent services program! I’ll keep working to cut through bureaucratic red tape, make federal agencies easier to navigate and put more money back into your pocket.

Reaching out to Minnesota’s seniors
Every senior should be able to access the Medicare benefits and affordable health care they’ve earned, but outreach programs for low-income seniors expire on Oct. 1 – right before open enrollment starts.

This week, I introduced a bill to permanently extend those programs.

Receiving the Trucking Cares Foundation Award
It was an honor to receive the 2023 Congressional Hero Award from the Trucking Cares Foundation for my work to combat the fentanyl crisis.

I’ll continue to do everything I can to get addiction and overdose prevention tools to the communities that need them.

Behind the scenes with Rep. Craig:

It’s times like these that call for the freezer Thin Mints! I always keep a few boxes in my DC freezer for when things get crazy over here.

Might need a restock soon…

Until next time,
 

Angie Craig

Member of Congress