Our Representatives

Representative Joel Kitchens

In a bipartisan effort to fight against water pollution, Kitchens voted in favor of Assembly Bill 15, which he co-authored, banning the manufacturing and selling of consumer products containing microbeads. Microbeads are tiny, non-biodegradable plastic particles that are commonly found in personal care products such as body wash and toothpaste. The beads are intended to provide an exfoliating effect, but they are so small that they cannot be filtered out when they reach water treatment plants, so they end up being released into Lake Michigan and other local water systems. These microbeads are readily consumed by fish and are a threat to our sport and commercial fisheries. Many toxins attach to the microbeads, causing serious human health concerns.

“Microbeads have proven to be a serious problem as we have found large quantities of them accumulated in Wisconsin’s inland lakes and streams as well as the Great Lakes,” said Kitchens. “This is an issue that affects us all, so it is good to see legislators on both sides of the aisle coming together in support of this bill and keeping our water clean and protecting our fisheries for generations to come. I authored this bill because it is very important to me and the 1st Assembly District. No other district has as much shoreline or has an economy so dependent on clean water. I think this bill is a great step forward and it is encouraging that the Legislature can address this public health and environmental concern in a bipartisan fashion.” Having already passed through the Senate, AB15/SB15 now goes to the governor for his signature. The bill would make the first ban take effect in 2017 be ending the manufacturing of personal care products with microbeads. The prohibition of the sale of products with microbeads would occur in 2018.

Source:  Kitchens press release

Governor Scott Walker

Walker began a weeklong European trade mission in Germany to promote state exports and encourage foreign companies to consider establishing or expanding operations in Wisconsin. Walker led a 22-member delegation that includes Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary Reed Hall and other WEDC staff, as well as executives from seven Wisconsin companies. Jim Paetsch, vice president of Corporate Expansion and Attraction for the Milwaukee seven regional economic development organizations; and Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of The Water Council, are also on the trip, which runs through April 21.

Source:  Walker press release

Representative Reid Ribble

Ribble announced that after years of work and a successful legislative action in 2014, U.S. 41 in eastern Wisconsin has officially been added to our federal Interstate System as I-41. 

U.S. 41’s transition to I-41 will benefit Wisconsinites and the nation by bringing it up to the high interstate-standards of mobility and safety while encouraging growth in the region. It will bring this manufacturing-rich area a nationally known status as an interstate corridor, and allow more communities along this route to contribute to our nation’s agriculture and manufacturing industries as they become better-connected and more easily reached. “Today’s announcement is a win for Wisconsin’s infrastructure and its economy. I am proud to have worked with my Wisconsin colleagues in the House and Senate to pass needed legislation last year to ensure U.S. 41 continues to be a vital and well-used road for both passengers and freight now that it is I-41,” said Ribble.
 The change in designation will become more visible as signs are added along the length of the road to designate it as part of the Interstate System between now and November 2015.

Source:  Ribble press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin has joined a Senate effort to call for a significant increase in funds to support expanded access to meals, transportation, family caregiver support and other programs for seniors funded by the Older Americans Act. The group of 33 senators, led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), wants a 12 percent increase in support for senior programs and are advocating for the much-needed investment in next year’s budget. Baldwin and the senators ask for an increase of $225 million in additional spending for the senior programs and note in the letter that spending on these programs has not kept pace with inflation nor has funding kept pace with a rising number of seniors. One in five seniors live on an average of $7,600 a year.

Source:  Baldwin press release

President Barack Obama 

Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba met in Panama on April 11 in the first face-to-face discussion between the leaders of the two countries in a half-century. Seated beside Castro in a small room in the convention center downtown where the Summit of the Americas was being held, Obama called it a “historic meeting.” “Our governments will continue to have differences,” he said at a news conference wrapping up the summit meeting. “At the same time, we agreed that we can continue to take steps forward that advance our mutual interests.” He called his meeting with Castro was “candid and fruitful,” and said work would continue on the goal he announced in December of re-establishing diplomatic relations and reopening embassies in Havana and Washington. Obama stopped short of announcing a final decision, now widely expected, to remove Cuba from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying he wanted to study it further.

Source:  The New York Times