The Daily Digest
Welcome to the Daily Digest, where the Healthy Minnesota Contribution Program is off to a rocky start, state officials talk about the coming legislative session, and Franken and Klobuchar are among Senators asking for a medical device tax delay.
Around Minnesota
The Healthy Minnesota Contribution Program was supposed to shift 4,200 people from the MinnesotaCare program to a voucher system, writes MPR's Tom Scheck. Sen. David Hann of Eden Prairie was chief author of the Senate bill that created the new program, but the program is having a hard time getting off the ground.
Hann is among lawmakers with ties to the insurers that pushed for the program change.
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The state has about $9.9 million more than expected in revenue this month, according to a Minnesota Management and Budget memo.
At a round table featuring the new legislative leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton, Dayton said campaign contribution limits should go up.
Dayton also said that he would include money for several civic centers throughout the state in a new bonding bill.
Dayton has published a list of ways that his administration has helped the state's economy.
Incoming DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen and Minority Leader Kurt Daudt were on the Daily Circuit talking about the coming legislative session.
A voting booth from the Bush v. Gore serves as a reminder for Rep. Steve Simon, the incoming elections committee chair.
A former Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis employee has been charged with tax crimes.
In Washington
Dow Jones reports that a group of 17 Senators wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid requesting a new medical device tax be delayed. Both Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar signed on.
Klobuchar is circulating a petition to end the Defense of Marriage Act, the focus of one of two same-sex cases the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear.
As the Supreme Court readies to hear cases about same-sex marriage, the Associated Press looks at a gay Minnesota couple who were at the center of a Supreme Court case in 1971.
President Barack Obama was in Michigan, where he criticized a local right-to-work effort and talked about the fiscal cliff negotiations, the LA Times reports.
Fiscal cliff talks appeared to be at a standstill on Monday, the Associated Press reports.
Investors are are shifting assets to avoid higher taxes should Congress fail to come to a deal on the debt ceiling, the Washington Post reports.
The Hill reports that a congressional panel will investigate child deaths. Rep. Erik Paulsen is quoted.
The New York Times writes about lawmakers who were elected despite their previous experience in government. Rick Nolan is featured.
Most Americans want a compromise on the fiscal cliff, a Gallup poll shows.
The Republican National Committee has started a review of the 2012 election, Politico reports.
Politico also reports that there are fewer and fewer options to avert a fiscal cliff.
Franken is organizing a bipartisan Secret Santa gift exchange.