By Ashley Hackett, MinnPost — Dec 17, 2021
Craig, McCollum fight for maternal health
Second Congressional District Rep. Angie Craig led several of her colleagues — including Fourth Congressional District Rep. Betty McCollum — in reintroducing the Native Women’s Maternal Health Resolution, which seeks to create and improve access for Indigenous women to comprehensive and culturally competent maternal health care and family planning services.
“In the United States, Native women face significantly higher rates of death or serious illness during childbirth, a heartbreaking statistic that the federal government must take urgent action to reverse,” Craig said. “It’s absolutely critical that we continue to shed light on this crisis and enact policy solutions that will ensure every woman in America has access to high-quality maternal health care and family planning services in their own communities.”
McCollum, who is the vice chair of the Native American Caucus, said that this issue deserves the attention and focus of Congress. “The federal government has unique trust and treaty responsibilities to provide high quality health care throughout Indian Country. For far too long, Native American women – especially those of child-bearing age – have been disproportionately impacted by the lack of these critical health care investments… I’m proud to join Rep. Craig in introducing the Native Women’s Maternal Health Resolution to draw attention to this crisis,” she said.
Strengthening the chains
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith and Rep. Angie Craig announced a new program that will release approximately $1 billion in funding to shore up food supply chains and support farmers. The funding, called the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loans, is available through the American Rescue Plan, which was passed earlier this year. The loans will back private investment in processing and food supply infrastructure. According to Klobuchar, Smith and Craig, the program will “help eliminate bottlenecks in the food supply chain in Minnesota and around the country.”
“Minnesota’s farmers play a key role in generating and protecting our nation’s food supply. The Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loans are a step forward as we continue working to support them and bolster our food supply chain,” Klobuchar said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in our supply chains – highlighting the need for action to shore up our food supply infrastructure. I’m pleased that USDA is directing funds from the American Rescue Plan to address these challenges, which will help to eliminate bottlenecks in the supply chain, deliver better prices for family farmers and create economic opportunity in rural America,” Craig said.
Consumer prices have increased by the fastest pace in about 39 years in November, meaning higher prices for everything from gasoline to food, while consumers are continuing to overwhelm a supply chain that has seen worker shortages.
The issue has become so apparent that some lawmakers have proposed a bipartisan committee on supply chain issues. In other words, if you haven’t stocked up on your holiday meal ingredients or bought your holiday gifts yet, you might want to get on that sooner rather than later to avoid ultra long shipping times or product shortages in stores.