WASHINGTON, D.C. — An amendment offered by Sen. Al Franken that would withhold defense contracts from contractors if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court has been included in the final Defense Department appropriations bill, which is scheduled for a floor vote in the House today.

The measure was prompted by the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, a former Halliburton/KBR employee who has alleged that she was raped by several co-workers while working in Iraq in 2005. Jones told reporters in October, after the amendment passed in the Senate, that its adoption “means that every tear shed to go public and repeat my story over and over again to make a difference for other women was worth it.”

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I want to begin by wishing all the people in Minnesota’s Hmong Community a very happy new year (Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab 2010).

Since being sworn in as Minnesota’s U.S. Senator in July, it has been an honor to work on behalf of all Minnesota families, businesses and communities. As we move into the new year, I want people in the Hmong community and across Minnesota to know that my offices in Washington, D.C. and in Minnesota can serve them in a variety of ways.

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There was some concern a few weeks back that an amendment by Sen. Al Franken to the defense appropriations bill, which would prevent the government from working with defense contractors who deny court hearings to their employees over issues like discrimination, harrassment or assault because of binding arbitration process, would be gutted during the conference committee process. Thankfully, that does not appear to be the case.

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An amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill introduced by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), which would allow rape victims employed by defense contractors to have their day in court, has made it through conference committee and into the final version of the bill.

The bill was approved today by the House in a vote of 395 to 34. It faces approval next by the Senate.

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Several projects in southeastern Minnesota are scheduled to get funding as part of a bill headed to President Obama’s desk.

The U.S. Senate approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill during the weekend. The measure also has been approved by the U.S. House.

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WASHINGTON – More than a week after President Obama said he would expand the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, Minnesota Democrats have largely tiptoed around offering firm support. That lack is a testament to the uphill battle Obama faces in rallying his own party behind the biggest foreign policy decision of his young presidency.

Most of Minnesota’s Democrats on Capitol Hill are still hedging their bets, seeking more details and assurances before committing to a concrete opinion. Republicans in the delegation have been generally more supportive of the surge, though some harbor major reservations about Obama’s targeted 2011 withdrawal date.

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St. Paul, Minn. — DFL U.S. Senator Al Franken says he “feels very good” about the progress of health care reform in the Senate.

Franken said he still favors a government-run health insurance plan known as a “public option” as part of a health care overhaul, but he says a compromise being discussed in the Senate sets up government-negotiated non-profit health plans that would compete with plans from insurance companies.

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On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Senate voted 54 to 45 against the Nelson-Hatch amendment, the Senate companion to the U.S. House’s Stupak amendment, which would eliminated abortion services in the health insurance exchange included in the heath reform bill being debated on Capitol Hill. Minnesota Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar voted against the measure, a vote that generated praise from reproductive health groups and church-state watchdog organizations.

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The Fond du Lac Reservation is receiving a $429,900 federal grant to help prevent and treat diabetes.

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Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning why it is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is imprisoning people coming to the United States seeking asylum from persecution abroad.

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