Erik Paulsen

On May 30, 2018, Paulsen held three in-person town hall meetings in the 3rd district. During the events he distanced himself from Trump and congressional leaders.

In February 2018 Paulsen sponsored legislation to repeal caps on Medicare outpatient services such as physical therapy.

In May 2018 Paulsen joined House Democrats in signing a "discharge petition" to force the House to vote on a series of immigration bills, including one that would provide permanent legal status to those who came to the country illegally as children.

In February 2018 Paulsen said he would support a ban on bump stocks, strengthened background checks, a lifting of the ban on federal research for gun violence, and gun violence restraining orders.

In May 2018 Paulsen co-sponsored the Jake Laird Act, which provides grants to encourage states to adopt gun violence restraining order laws. Gun violence restraining orders enable local law enforcement to seize and retain firearms from people who are determined to be an imminent danger to themselves or others.

In 2017 a group of constituents sought signatures on a petition asking Paulsen to hold public town hall meetings. His campaign made only unannounced robo-calls with campaign aides screening questions, business tours, and private meetings. Paulsen was invited to attend a "With or Without Him" town hall meeting but declined.

Paulsen helped to author the Republican tax reform of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Paulsen voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In January 2017 he voted for the budget reconciliation provision to begin the process of ACA repeal.

On May 4, 2017, Paulsen voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and for the American Health Care Act.

In December 2017 Paulsen voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which allows people with a concealed carry permit in one state to legally travel with hidden guns to any other state.

Paulsen supported the special investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump's dismissal of James Comey. In February 2017 Paulsen voted against requesting Trump's tax returns from the Treasury Department.

With Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Paulsen led an effort to repeal an excise tax on medical devices imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill passed the House one vote shy of a veto-proof majority. A two-year suspension of the tax was included in a 2015 year-end funding bill.

Also in 2015 Paulsen authored a bill to provide tax incentives to encourage food donations and wrote a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act that requires the Department of Defense to return all military working dogs to the United States after completing their service. The American Humane Association strongly advocated passage of this provision.

During college at St. Olaf, Paulsen met his wife, Kelly. As of 2014 the Paulsens had four daughters and lived in Eden Prairie. Paulsen serves as a board member of the Eden Prairie A Brighter Day Foundation, Habitat for Global Learning, Habitat for Technology and the Southdale YMCA. He is a member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders and the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, and volunteers for Learning Exchange.

On February 13, 2013, Paulsen introduced the National Park Service 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 627; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue gold, silver, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the National Park Service (NPS). The coins would all have a surcharge attached, the money from which would be given to the National Park Foundation.

On November 21, 2013, Paulsen introduced the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2013 (H.R. 3610; 113th Congress), a bill that would require each state, within three years, to have in effect legislation that: (1) treats a minor who has engaged or attempted to engage in a commercial sex act as a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, (2) discourages the charging or prosecution of such an individual for a prostitution or sex trafficking offense, and (3) encourages the diversion of such individual to child protection services. The bill was scheduled to be voted on in the House on May 20, 2014 under a suspension of the rules.

Paulsen supported continuing the Bush-era tax cuts and global free trade agreements. He voted for the fiscal 2012 federal budget plan that provided for substantial overhaul of Medicare, including replacement of the traditional program with a premium support payment for private health insurance coverage for Americans under age 55.

In 2010 Paulsen cosponsored a draft of the Small Business Assistance and Relief Act intended to provide increased lending and aid for small businesses and ease their financial burden.

In 2009 Paulsen expressed opposition to a public health insurance option and instead supported a Republican alternative plan. At an April 7, 2010, Republican rally in Minneapolis, Paulsen described the Affordable Care Act as a "government takeover of health care," a claim that Minnesota Public Radio said "isn't correct."

In 2010 Paulsen voted against a bill repealing the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In 2017 he voted for an amendment that would have defunded transition-related healthcare for transgender soldiers in the military.

Paulsen opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. He voted against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Paulsen introduced the Text a Tip Act to the House in 2010. The bill would have allowed users to send tips about crimes to a third party, removing all identifying information about the source before the police received the message. The bill died in committee and was not adopted.

Paulsen won a three-way race for Minnesota's Third Congressional District in November 2008. His U.S. House candidacy was announced after the incumbent, Jim Ramstad (a Republican), announced his retirement in 2007, which gave an opportunity for both major parties to field candidates. Shortly after he announced his retirement, Ramstad endorsed Paulsen and served as the chairman of Paulsen's Steering Committee. Paulsen was a speaker at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

From 2007 to 2009 Paulsen worked as a part-time business analyst for Target Corporation while a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

From 2007 through 2018 Paulsen received $21,150 in campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association (NRA), which gave him an "A" rating. As of June 2016 he had voted 13 times against bringing gun safety bills to the House floor.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Paulsen graduated from Chaska High School in Minnesota in 1983. He attended St. Olaf College, and received a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics in 1987. After college, Paulsen worked as an intern for Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1989 until Boschwitz was defeated by Democratic challenger Paul Wellstone in 1990. Paulsen then took a staff position with Republican Representative Jim Ramstad in Washington, D.C. He worked on Ramstad's local congressional campaign in 1992 before seeking election to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1994. He succeeded Sidney Pauly.

Erik Philip Paulsen (born May 14, 1965) is an American politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009 and as majority leader from 2003 to 2007. In his 2018 reelection bid he was defeated by the Democratic nominee, businessman Dean Phillips.