The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HONORING MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE CONNIE BERNARDY” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the in the Extensions of Remarks section section on page E902 on Sept. 9.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE CONNIE BERNARDY
______
HON. ILHAN OMAR
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 9, 2022
Ms. OMAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Minnesota State Representative Connie Bernardy for her hard work, accomplishments, and service as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Within her eight terms at the legislature, Rep. Bernardy has been a champion for her constituents and especially on the issues of Higher Education and Transportation. I had the great pleasure in serving alongside Representative Bernardy in 2017 and 2018.
Rep. Bernardy was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2000. She served until 2006 when she decided to switch roles and work for Education Minnesota as a government-relations specialist. She later returned to the House when she was reelected in 2012. Within her District 41A, she currently represents neighborhoods in Fridley, New Brighton, and Spring Lake Park. Rep. Bernardy is the current Chair of the Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee, where she made significant progress on making higher education more affordable for students in Minnesota.
During her fight for students, she has been a strong advocate on hunger free campuses, improving access through tuition and textbook affordability, dedicated funding for higher ed students of color training to become teachers. As a transportation leader, Rep. Bernardy has pushed for long-term sustainable multi-modal transportation funding. Focused on ensuring safe access to active transportation for Minnesotans who walk, bike, or have a disability.
Having grown-up in the area, Rep. Bernardy truly knows her community and has fought for well-deserved changes. Key legislation that I want to recognize is her work on the Springbrook Wetland Restoration Project, the first urban wetland restoration of its kind in the nation; securing funding to establish the upcoming bus rapid transit F-Line; replacing the Railroad Bridge in New Brighton; enacting an Aquatic Invasive Species Emergency Response Plan for Long Lake; and spearheading the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Citizen Advisory Committee.
Although her time in the legislature is coming to an end, the work put towards her community and its legacy will never end. Representative Bernardy will truly be missed in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
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