Government Affairs Committee

Nick Willke--Co-Chair

Ross Keveles--Co-Chair

MRA-GA Committee Update
 

Greetings MRA Members

To jazz things up a notch, your GA Co-Chairs, Ross and myself have decided to change our typical format for the spring update! We have two items to discuss with you and have divided the issues so you will hear two narratives! Hopefully this will be as cool for you as it is for us. Ross will be presenting news and notes from his first venture to the nation’s capital, while I will update you on this year’s Day on the Hill. Please note, if you have read this far already, you might as well finish; it just gets more entertaining from now on!

To open, I extend heartfelt thanks to all membership that made this year’s Day on the Hill an outstanding success! It all took place on April 19^th at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul. Thanks to a positive showing of presenters and members the morning program proved to be entertaining and very educational. John Sherman of DEED (Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) provided background on state issues and happenings on the hill while tips for visiting representatives were presented by David Hancox, who serves as the Executive Director at MCIL (Metropolitan Center for Independent Living). Both of these individuals were inspiring and they really put things together in a way that members could understand! We had set aside time for representatives to come and meet our membership, but due to committee meetings and late night sessions they were not able to attend. It is the work that they do for us that requires their time; we thank them for their efforts and hope that we can collaborate further in the coming year. Upon conclusion of the morning, some of us headed over to grab some lunch and prep for afternoon meetings with local officials while others had to make it back to the office. Which ever was the case, I was assured by multiple people that the day’s events met their expectations, and in some cases it even exceeded them. Again, thanks to all who made the trip and we look forward to another year of making events like this possible!

Now Ross Says:

We as your representatives of MRA went out to Washington DC in mid-March of this year. The group met with 8 of the 10 representatives from the great state of Minnesota. In hose meetings we discussed some of the issues in the field of Rehabilitation. These issues include but are not limited to maintaining funding for the Title one of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Funding for the one stop centers and maintaining qualified rehabilitation professionals.  Thanks to all of you who sent out letters for us to bring to your legislators. It is though your efforts that we are able to make change happen. This conference was a great opportunity for us to learn about the national issues in the field of rehabilitation; to be able to see what other states are doing in the field of Rehabilitation as well as network to make our voices be heard. Thanks for allowing us to represent you at the GA NRA conference this year.

As always should you have any concerns, questions or scathing rebuttal please feel free to give us a call! We are always at your disposal! Wishing you all the best spring barbecues have to offer!

Sincerely,

GA Co-Chair,
Nicholas C. Wilkie
Transition Specialist
MCIL
651-603-2018 or
nickw@mcil-mn.org

CONTACTING THE US CONGRESS

Minnesota in the 110th Congress (1st Session) To retrieve much more detailed biographical and contact information about a given Congress Member, click on the member's name.

State Representatives Listed by District

State Senators Listed by District