District Work Period Recap | Jan 24–28, 2022
Co-governance is one of the core values of our office and shapes the work we do every day. Last week, we had a district work period, and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you.
Monday:
I attended the Fridley City Council Meeting to discuss Fridley’s priorities and ways we can support the city on a federal level. Every term, I visit every city council in our district to discuss updates and ways our office can be helpful in making sure our communities’ needs are met.
Tuesday:
Our office hosted our first town hall of 2022. We discussed the status of the Build Back Better Act, voting rights, and what our office is currently working on for the 5th District. If you missed it, you can watch our town hall here.
Wednesday:
Roundtable: Our office hosted a roundtable with LGBTQ leaders in our community to hear about their work and discuss ways we can better support the trans and queer community in our district. We discussed ways we’re fighting for LGBTQ justice through our legislative work by fundamentally changing policing, reforming our immigration system, fighting for fair wages and labor protections.
Cancel Student Debt Letter: Last week, I partnered with a few of my colleagues to call on President Biden to not just extend the pause on student loan payments, but use his authority to cancel at least $50,000 of debt per borrower. You can read more here.
Meeting with Dr. Rahel Nardos: I met with Dr. Rahel Nardos, University of Minnesota Professor and Director of Global Women’s Health to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, refugee resettlement and ways to support hospital staff.
Thursday:
Meeting with Hamse Warfa: I had the chance to meet with Hamse Warfa, the first Somali American presidential appointee who will serve as senior adviser to the State Department on civilian security, democracy and human rights. He previously served as Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). We discussed the role he will play in promoting democracy abroad and ways he will address refugee resettlement at home.
CD 5 Legislators Meeting: Ahead of the start of the Minnesota legislative session, I met with all of the state legislators in our district to hear about their plans for the upcoming session. We discussed their agenda and I provided an update on my work in Congress.
In solidarity,
Ilhan Omar
