Working together to get things done

Since first coming to Congress, I’ve been working to get things done and change the “confrontation over compromise” attitude in Washington. In the last two years alone I’ve reached across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation to hold Washington accountable, take care of our veterans, and move our country forward.

My bipartisan STOCK Act is now law of the land. No longer are Members of Congress able to use insider information gleaned from their official position to profit on Wall Street. The STOCK Act makes it explicitly clear that Members of Congress must play by the same rules as everyone else.

I’ve worked with both parties to author and pass meaningful legislation aimed at supporting our brave veterans. My Veteran Skills to Jobs Act was signed into law in July. This bipartisan law cuts through the bureaucratic red tape and streamlines the federal certification process to make it easier for veterans to use skills acquired in the military for jobs at home.

Furthermore, due to advances in medicine, more of our brave warriors are returning home with unprecedented severe and complex injuries. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has become a signature wound of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the U.S. Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, between 2000 and 2012, more than 253,000 service members have been diagnosed with TBI.

After the sacrifice these brave veterans have made, the least we can do is ensure they have the comprehensive care and support they need to live full, independent lives. Earlier this year, legislation I authored to improve care for veterans with TBI passed the House as part of the Honoring America’s Veterans Act and was signed into law by the President.

As a grateful nation, we must continue to do all we can to ensure our brave veterans get what they’ve earned and deserve.
The passage of these bipartisan bills instills faith in the system. It proves that we can still work together to get things done and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to promote commonsense southern Minnesota values in Congress.

These same southern Minnesota values of hard work and compromise should be used to solve the most pressing problems facing our country. No one party has a monopoly on good ideas and we must work together to tackle the debt, end our dependence on foreign oil, and give certainty to southern Minnesota farmers and small businesses.

Tim Walz