Our Representatives in the News

Representative-Elect Joel Kitchens

Asked how he’ll transition into his new role after winning the 1st District Assembly race on Nov. 4, Kitchens said his first meeting with the Republican Caucus was held on Nov. 10, at which members elect the Republican leadership, “which is a little weird because us new people hardly know anyone,” he said. On top of that, he’ll have orientation sessions with the Republican Party and with the full Legislature in January.

“As a new person, you get one staff person, so I’ll be looking at hiring. I have to start taking resumes and looking at that because it’s going to be real important that I have a good person.”

Asked what he learned on the campaign trail, Kitchens said he got to know the district he will be serving. “I thought I knew the district before, but I learned I didn’t know it that well. I feel like I really, really know it now. You meet so many new people. That was a really great experience, but it was incredibly time consuming, much more than I ever imagined.

“I’ve learned some of the problems our different communities face. There are definitely some things I want to pursue when I get down there. Part of the job is overall legislation, but part of it is being an advocate for your constituents. I’ve seen a lot of things I can hopefully help with. Kewaunee has a seawall that is crumbling. All of our towns have things like that. Hopefully I can fight for some of those things.

“One of the first things I have to do, I really want to work on relationships with community leaders so we can have a team approach. I want them to feel free to call me and give me their ideas. I can’t look at a town and say this is what they need. That needs to come from the people in that town. So I hope we can have those relationships where I’ve got them on my speed dial and we can talk about those things.”

Source:  Telephone call

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin delivered testimony at a hearing of the International Trade Commission (ITC) on behalf of a Wisconsin paper company, Appvion of Appleton. The purpose of Baldwin’s attendance at the hearing was to highlight the importance of the paper industry in Wisconsin and to address an important trade matter that impacts Appvion, a pulp and paper mill that manufactures and sells coated paper products worldwide and employs 1,644 employees in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. “Senator Baldwin was among the first to support our fight for a level playing field on which to compete when we began the process in 2007. We appreciate the Senator’s strong and ongoing efforts to protect Wisconsin manufacturing jobs by ensuring a fair and competitive marketplace,” said Mark Richards, CEO Appvion.

The Appleton-based paper company was a petitioner in a 2008 antidumping investigation on imports of lightweight thermal paper from China and Germany. As a result of the investigation, antidumping duties were imposed on imports from Germany and China and countervailing duties were imposed on imports from China. Antidumping duties are put in place for five years. After the initial five-year period, the Department of Commerce and the ITC review the duties and determine if revoking them would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and to what extent the domestic marketplace would be harmed. In February, the U.S. Department of Commerce found that dumping by German and Chinese thermal paper producers would likely continue if the duties were revoked. At the hearing, ITC heard testimony about how the domestic marketplace is impacted by dumped imports.

“Appvion and their employees have played by the rules of international trade and have done quite well. However, they are under constant threat from foreign companies that play by a different set of rules and quite frankly, companies that cheat,” Baldwin testified.

Source:  Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Johnson said his party’s big win on Nov. 4 shows that Americans were fed up with the current Congress and that it is a “serious responsibility.” The message of the election, Johnson said, is that the federal government needs to do less and do it better, and he is “glad that the American public decided to give Republicans the chance to govern.”

Source:  National Public Radio

President Barack Obama

The President isn’t ceding ground on his most controversial policies despite an election that delivered a stinging rebuke to him and his party on Capitol Hill. During a roughly 90-minute press conference the day after the Nov. 4 election, Obama gave no sign that he’d accept major revisions to his signature health care law, change his mind on bypassing Congress on immigration or consent to Republican demands on energy and the environment. Indeed, the President didn’t do much to suggest that his White House would work differently after Republicans won at least 52 seats in the Senate and their biggest majority in the House since World War II. While Obama made clear he had no desire to reshape his agenda, he did acknowledge that voters dealt his party a dramatic defeat. “To those of you who voted, I hear you,” Obama said in his first public remarks since the election. The closest he got to accepting blame for the campaign came when he said every election result offers a “moment for reflection.”

Source:  CNN