Chip Cravaack: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and the underlying bill, H.R.…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule and the underlying bill, H.R. 5544, the Minnesota Education Investment and Employment Act. This bill will support the teachers and schoolchildren in the State of Minnesota, create well-paying jobs in northern Minnesota, and make the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, for the first time in its existence, whole. We have to have a bit of context here. When Minnesota became a State in 1858, sections 16 and 36 of every township in Minnesota were set aside in trust for the benefit of schools. The State could use, lease, or sell the land to raise money for education. In the beginning, the State leaders decided to sell the more valuable parcels of the school trust lands, but around the turn of the century they realized they needed a more sustainable plan and began putting the school trust lands to productive use for timber and mining. This has been the goal of the State for over 100 years, and it has produced dividends for generations for our school kids. As DFL State Representative Denise Dittrich has so ably educated me on, these lands are not so much owned by the State as held in trust by the State and owned by the schoolchildren of Minnesota. It is the responsibility of the school trust fund trustees to maximize the return on these lands for the benefit of this fund. This is a critical point. This is part of the Minnesota Constitution.…”