Meet the national security veteran who represents MSU in the US House

<p>The major cities include (most of) Lansing, East Lansing, Brighton, Howell, Clarkston, Lake Orion, Rochester, and Rochester Hills. That would include then, of course, Michigan State University. </p><p> </p><p>Representative Slotkin describes how September 11 led to her “unusual” and apolitical path to Congress as part of our country’s national security team. She quips that she met her husband in Iraq “where every good girl meets her husband – in Saddam Hussein’s palace.” </p><p> </p><p>She explains how ultimately she was motivated to run for Congress in May of 2017, “the first time the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. What I really care about is protections for people with preexisting conditions.”</p><p> </p><p>She talks about what has surprised her about being in Congress and how there are really only 50 or 60 truly independent swing districts in the entire country and how that reduces interest in bipartisan cooperation.</p><p> </p><p>Slotkin says her priorities “are the things I get pulled over in the grocery store about: the price of healthcare, the price of prescription drugs, clean water, and then bringing some sense of civility and decency back to government.” And she describes how Covid-19 has impacted these priorities. She says her “new obsession” has her focused on America’s supply chain and bringing some of our manufacturing base back to the United States, especially on medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.</p><p> </p><p>On the challenges facing Michigan State University and all of higher education, Rep. Slotkin says colleges and universities are struggling with the drop in revenue brought on by Covid-19. And she expresses her concern about the “massive” problem of student debt.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a big believer that getting a student loan is not like getting a loan to build a new deck on your house. It’s an investment in your future. All loans should be capped at 2.5 percent.”</p><p> </p><p>Slotkin says she wants to continue to work to bring down the cost of