Community Corner

Paulsen Post: 'Suffocating' Regulations, Medical Device Tax and Classroom Visits

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by U.S. Congressman Erik Paulsen

Before we break out the candy and costumes for Halloween next week, I would like to give you a quick update on my recent activities. As always, please let me know whenever I can be of assistance and keep in touch.

Focusing on Education

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Students are back in school and over the past few weeks I've visited many classrooms around the district. I've had the chance to:

  • Talk with 4th graders about how a bill becomes a law at Edina's Creek Valley Elementary.
  • Read to 1st and 2nd graders at Ridgeview Elementary in Bloomington.
  • Talk with 5th graders at Highlands Elementary in Edina.
  • Read to 2nd graders at HeritageChristian Academy in Maple Grove.
  • And finally, visit with 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th graders at Washburn Elementary in Bloomington.

All these bright students came ready with insightful and interesting questions!

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Recently, I also had the chance to speak about the importance of education at an event hosted by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. It’s encouraging to see our state’s job creators partnering with their communities and organizations on innovative education programs to prepare our students for jobs that require advanced knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

These partnerships are a great tool to help our students explore the skills needed for our future workforce.  

The Star Tribune recently published an editorial emphasizing cooperation between educators and employers in education. Read the Op-Ed here.

Regulations Hit Our Community Banks Hard

Regulations emanating from Washington have hit small businesses hard, making it difficult for them to invest in their employees and create new jobs. Some of those important small business job creators are our community banks.

I met with a small community banking group recently that explained just how damaging new regulations are for them and their customers. And, based on our discussion, it's no wonder that small businesses are having difficulty getting access to credit. Many of the regulations intended for large financial institutions are now suffocating our small community banks. These regulations involve very complex algorithms and mathematical calculations mandated by the federal government.

Check out just one of the many new regulations and formulas they will be expected to comply with (at right).

You can see it takes a lot more than a degree in mathematics to figure this out!

Building Awareness Around the Medical Device Tax

The looming medical device tax will hit Minnesota hard. An important way to ensure Washington listens and acts to thwart this dangerous tax is to spread awareness around the country. Last month, I joined my colleague Pat Tiberi from Ohio in penning a column on how the device tax will hurt innovation across the nation. Read the column here

Erik's Correspondence Corner Turns 1

Last week marked a year since I started my weekly video conversations with you, "Erik's Correspondence Corner." It's been great hearing from each of you and I hope you've enjoyed watching each week. I continue to receive thousands of emails, tweets, Facebook posts, and calls from around the district and I look forward to answering more of your questions soon. Check out past installments here.


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