Paul has been a leader in working to improve America's public schools, including measures to increase investments while strengthening accountability and school standards. Wellstone has fought for new school construction, the hiring of new teachers, and the lowering of the student-teacher ratio in America's classrooms.

Paul has been one of the Senate's leading voices for America's veterans. As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Wellstone often helps Minnesota veterans cut through bureaucratic red tape in order to ensure that the government provides the benefits to veterans that they deserve. Wellstone introduced and successfully pushed into law the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act, helping thousands of veterans and their families receive U.S. citizenship. Wellstone has pushed time and again for additional funding for veterans' health care and has also introduced the Veterans' Bill of Rights, a major piece of legislation that would ensure that veterans receive the quality of health care that they deserve.




Paul has been a leader in the U.S. Senate on behalf of women across Minnesota and the rest of America. Wellstone co-authored the Violence Against Women's Act and pushed to expand and reauthorize that act. Wellstone cosponsored the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and has pushed for additional family and medical leave in the workplace. Wellstone has also been a leader when it comes to women's health care, pushing for assistance to women in the fight against breast and cervical cancer.




Paul has been a fighter for family farmers all of his life, and in the United States Senate he has taken a lead role in promoting the plight of family farmers. Wellstone has opposed the so-called 'Freedom to Farm Act,'pointing out its destructive effects on family farmers across Minnesota and the country. Wellstone has stood up to the corporate interests who have too much control over family farmers, calling for a moratorium on corporate agriculture mergers and introducing legislation promoting sweeping measures to combat anti-competitive practices by agribusiness that have proven harmful to family farmers and ranchers in Minnesota and across the nation. Paul Wellstone has also been a fighter for Minnesota's dairy farmers, opposing the Northeast Dairy Compact, which discriminates against dairy farmers in the Upper Midwest.

Paul Wellstone understands the importance of high quality, accessible and affordable health care. A longtime champion of the Family Medical Leave Act and Mental Health Parity legislation, Paul Wellstone continues to work on including a real prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

Paul Wellstone has been a leader in the U.S. Senate in fighting to expand opportunities for GLBT citizens across the United States. Wellstone recently received a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign, demonstrating his proven leadership on human rights. Wellstone introduced the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, cosponsored the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, cosponsored legislation that expanded the definition of a hate crime, to include sexual orientation, and passionately supported the nomination of Ambassador James Hormel.

Paul Wellstone has worked to help small businesses find access to capital, expand infrastructure so that businesses can have access to rural telecommuters, and has reformed governmental regulations on medical technology, a now-prospering portion of the Minnesota economy.

For years Paul Wellstone has worked to empower men and women with disabilities. He has fought to expand and improve access to critical support services. Paul has worked to make it easier for people with disabilities to find employment and ensure that their concerns are heard at the Federal level.

“I am committed to improving the social, educational and economic opportunities for American Indians, both on and off the reservation. It is essential that this country does its utmost to recognize the importance of fostering improved opportunities for all American Indians.”

Paul has been the leading fighter in the United States Senate on behalf of American workers and their families. A champion of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, he has fought to expand that act to provide more relief and protection for American workers. Wellstone has supported increasing the minimum wage above and beyond the raise he helped enact in 1996. He has made protecting worker's pensions a priority, and he has been steadfast in his opposition to unfair trade deals that harm American jobs.

Paul has fought to protect senior citizens and Minnesota's working families. He has opposed efforts to gut Social Security and Medicare. Wellstone has pushed for targeted tax relief, job training, and an extension of health care benefits to help stimulate the economy and provide jobs. Wellstone has stood up to the big drug companies and pushed for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. He has fought to raise the minimum wage and he has opposed efforts to raise the retirement age. Wellstone voted to repeal the earnings limit on Social Security, allowing many seniors to continue with their careers once they reach 65, and he has promoted legislation to protect worker's retirement pensions.




Paul has continually fought to protect the environment and provide real energy security for the American people for the 21st Century. Throughout his career in the United States Senate, Wellstone has taken on the big polluters on behalf of ordinary people. In the early 1980's Paul Wellstone co-wrote a book entitled 'Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War.' The book traced the frustrating, sometimes violent controversy that enveloped Minnesota's heartland over a seven-year period that pitted farmers against large corporate power companies and a government bureaucracy that tried to install a power line on the farmer's land. Since that time, Paul Wellstone has been there for ordinary citizens across Minnesota in the fight against the big energy interests who have been looking to make a profit at the expense of consumers and the environment. Wellstone has promoted clean air, clean water, and a sound energy policy that places people over the profits of big polluters.

Working in the best interest of Minnesotans sometimes means bringing change to Washington. As a U.S. Senator, Paul Wellstone has fought to bring reform to the very place where he works. An original sponsor of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, Wellstone successfully fought to strengthen and pass the bill. He was also instrumental in curbing the gift-giving by lobbyists to Senators.



In November of 2001, Paul Wellstone once again stopped U.S. Senator Trent Lott from trying to extend duck hunting season in Mississippi. The special favor for Mississippi duck hunters would have lowered bag limits and could have shortened the hunting season in Minnesota. Wellstone persuaded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to cave into pressure and extend duck hunting season in the South. He's been there on other sportsmen issues as well.

Paul Wellstone has been a fighter for transportation issues in the United States Senate and has taken a lead role in ensuring that Minnesota receives the federal dollars necessary to address our transportation needs.

Senator Wellstone has had a lifelong commitment to civil rights, racial and economic justice and equality for all people. As a college student, professor, community organizer and finally a U.S.Senator, Paul Wellstone has “walked his talk ” and put his beliefs into action. He stands with those who believe that investments in education, housing, health care and job creation provide the best guarantee of a future of dignity and hope for all people.

The son of Russian immigrants, Paul has a special appreciation for the role that immigrants have played in building the United States. He knows that immigrants, come to the U.S. to pursue economic opportunity, escape repression and corrupt political systems, and build a better life for their children. Senator Wellstone's office has worked on behalf of hundreds of people from dozens of nations, assisting with immigration concerns and family reunification, as well as helping individuals earn their United States citizenship

Paul Wellstone has been a leader in the Senate fighting for fair trade. He has consistently supported efforts to include protections for workers, the environment and our democratic process in international trade arrangements. Wellstone has steadfastly opposed unfair trade deals that are costing millions of American jobs, eroding our ability to protect our environment, and undermining our democratic process.