Our Representatives in the News

Representative Joel Kitchens

Kitchens applauded the Joint Finance Committee for its decision to remove all non-fiscal policy items from the biennial state budget, including proposed changes to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board. “They did not belong in there in the first place, and I have heard from many of my constituents who are very opposed to them, especially the proposed changes to the DNR Board,” Kitchens said. The now-removed proposed change would have turned the DNR Board into an advisory council, effectively eliminating the policymaking powers of the Board. “The DNR is an incredibly important agency in Wisconsin and even more so in my district.” Kitchens said, “To see them lose their policymaking ability and only serve in an advisory capacity would have been detrimental to our rural populations.” Other non-fiscal items that have been stricken from the budget include proposed changes to the DATCP Board as well as a switch to county assessments for property taxation. “My constituents have made their priorities clear,” Kitchens said. “Thanks to them contacting my office, I was able to help influence the Finance Committee and get these items out of the budget.”

Source:  Kitchens press release

Governor Scott Walker

A new Marquette Law School Poll finds Gov. Scott Walker’s job approval rating has fallen to 41 percent, with 56 percent of registered voters in Wisconsin saying they disapprove of how he is handling his job as governor. In the previous poll, in October 2014, Walker’s approval among registered voters was 49 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. Voters’ views of the direction of the state have taken a downturn since October. Fifty-three percent say the state is now on the wrong track while 43 percent say the state is headed in the right direction. In October, 51 percent of registered voters said the state was headed in the right direction while 44 percent said it was on the wrong track. Voters also see the state’s employment situation as turning down compared to other states, with 52 percent saying that Wisconsin is lagging behind other states in job creation, 34 percent saying the state is doing about the same as other states and 8 percent saying the state is creating jobs faster than other states. Opinion about the state’s budget situation has also turned more negative, with 38 percent saying the budget picture is worse than several years ago, 25 percent saying it is about the same and 33 percent saying it is better now.

Source:  Marquette University press release

Representative Reid Ribble

Ribble, with Reps. Jim Renacci (R-OH), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), led a group of 14 of their colleagues in introducing H.R. 1846, the Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act. The legislation forces Congress to finally find a long-term solution to secure funding for our roads and bridges.
 “Our roads and bridges are vitally important, but they aren’t free, and for the past seven years, the bill has gone unpaid,” Ribble said. “We have exactly one year to consider all the solutions, and find a way to make the Highway Trust Fund solvent.”
 The Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act, H.R. 1846, would require Congress to make the Highway Trust Fund, the funding mechanism for all federal transportation infrastructures, financially sound for at least 10 years. Currently, we are spending $16 billion more per year than is being paid in through the gas tax, so a combination of spending cuts and new revenue streams will be required to balance the books. The Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act encourages Congress to consider a wide range of potential solutions for cost-cutting and revenue, including corporate tax repatriation and ending the gas tax in favor of a fee based on vehicle miles traveled.

Source:  Ribble press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin joined Ed Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to introduce legislation to level the playing field for visual artists in the United States by establishing copyright protections for their intellectual property. “Our quality of life is improved when artists and arts organizations can make valuable contributions to our communities in Wisconsin and across the country,” said Baldwin, who serves on the National Council on the Arts. Under current copyright law, visual artists are denied the ability to fully benefit from the success of their work over time. The benefits derived from the appreciation in the price of a visual artists’ work typically accrues to collectors, auction houses, and galleries, not to the artist. In addition, United States artists are at a disadvantage in the global art market where more than 70 other countries have provided resale royalty rights for visual artists. The American Royalties, Too (ART) Act of 2015 remedies this inequity by providing a modest resale royalty right for visual artists.

Source:  Baldwin press release

 President Barack Obama

Obama offered qualified support for efforts made in the U.S. Senate to decriminalize medical marijuana during an interview for CNN’s documentary Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution, which aired April 19. Hosting the program is Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s chief medical correspondent, who asked the president his opinion of the proposed Senate bill that would change federal law regarding state-legal, medical-marijuana programs. The bill would allow states to legalize marijuana for medical use without federal interference, increase research into marijuana’s medical benefits, and reclassify its status as a dangerous drug. “You know, I think I’d have to take a look at the details, but I’m on record as saying that not only do I think carefully prescribed medical use of marijuana may in fact be appropriate and we should follow the science as opposed to ideology on this issue,” Obama said. Introduced in March, the Senate bill seeks to classify marijuana not as a Schedule I substance but as a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which has five different categories of drugs and drug ingredients. The reclassification would give scientists more freedom to experiment with marijuana as a medical treatment.

Source:  International Business Times