Kitchens Announces Door and Kewaunee Listening Sessions

Representative Joel Kitchens

Kitchens announced a series of in-district listening sessions. The mission of these sessions is to connect with constituents to discuss issues and concerns that directly impact the 1st Assembly District. “With elections over, the Assembly is beginning to prepare for the 2017-18 legislative session,” said Rep. Kitchens. “I would like to take this opportunity to connect with my constituents before the budget process begins and discuss the future of our district.” Kitchens will be available to meet with constituents at the locations and times listed below:

Door County Listening Session: Sturgeon Bay Library; Jane Green Room, Monday, Dec. 5, 2-3 pm; 

Kewaunee County Listening Session: Algoma City Hall; Council Chambers, Monday, Dec. 5, from 4-5 pm.

Source: Kitchens press release

Governor Scott Walker

Gov. Walker requested a Secretarial Disaster Designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for producers in 10 Wisconsin counties who suffered crop losses following freezing temperatures last May. The counties included in this request are Chippewa, Columbia, Eau Claire, Jackson, Jefferson, Pierce, Polk, Sauk, St. Croix, and Trempealeau. The 10 counties included in the designation request experienced frost and freezing temperatures recorded on the nights of May 13 and 14, 2016, with temperatures reaching as low as 25 degrees. Due to the low temperatures, certain crops were affected, such as apples and other perennial crops that had begun to blossom or bud. All counties impacted experienced harvest losses of 30 percent or greater for apples, asparagus, blueberries, hops and strawberries.

Source: Walker press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Sen. Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said this regarding a Texas Federal District Judge granting a preliminary injunction against the Labor Department’s overtime rule: “I applaud the decision by a U.S. District Court to issue a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of the Department of Labor’s ‘overtime rule.’ The court took a sensible approach and acknowledged the need for additional time to consider the pending case. I recently wrote to Labor Secretary Perez as well as heads of other agencies, asking them to cease implementation of costly rules such as this in order to avoid piling compliance costs on consumers and businesses. In light of the fact that the incoming administration and Congress are likely to re-examine and unwind many of these regulations – such as the Department of Labor’s ‘fiduciary’ rule, the EPA’s ‘Clean Power Plan’ and redefinition of the waters of the United States, and the FDA’s e-cigs rule – I urged these agencies to recognize they can and should avoid placing additional regulatory burdens on the American people.”

Source: Johnson press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Baldwin has joined the Senate Democratic leadership team under the chamber’s new minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. Baldwin, D-Madison, will be secretary of the Senate Democratic conference, Senate Democrats announced. In a statement, Baldwin said she’s proud to join the leadership team. “Too many Americans feel like they are being left behind,” Baldwin said. “We need to change that and I am focused on making a difference in people’s everyday lives.” Schumer, long expected to succeed outgoing Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, as Senate Democratic Leader, was formally elected to the post on Nov. 23. Another prominent addition to the leadership ranks was former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who will be outreach chairman.

Source: Baldwin press release 

President Barack Obama

As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration nears, President Obama continues to net high marks on his two-term record in the White House, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows. In fact, Obama will turn over the keys to the Oval Office with his highest approval rating since he won his reelection four years ago. Obama is just three percentage points shy of his high mark (53 percent) from 2012, according to the poll released Nov. 28. But in a sign of the polarized nature of politics, Americans are roughly split on how to rate Obama’s performance. Respondents are near even on whether Obama has done a great job (22 percent) or a bad job, the least favorable option, also at 22 percent. “President Barack Obama’s final score card is a passing grade overall, but barely,” Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a news release.

Source: politico.com