Reps in the News: Frostman Announces Listening Sessions

Senator Caleb Frostman

Sen. Frostman announced the newest three events as part of his continuing Legislative Lunchtime Library Listening Session series. These listening sessions, which have been held weekly in communities across the 1st Senate District, provide constituents with an opportunity to meet with Frostman and share their thoughts and concerns about state government.The next sessions are:  Brillion Public Library, 326 N. Main St., Sept. 19, noon to 1 pm; Brown County Library – Wrightstown Branch, 615 Main St., Sept. 25, noon to 1 pm; Kewaunee Public Library, 822 Juneau St., Oct. 3, noon to 1pm. Listening sessions will continue to be scheduled throughout the 1st Senate District in the coming weeks and months.

Source:  Frostman press release

Congressman Mike Gallagher

The House unanimously passed the bipartisan, bicameral America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018. The piece of legislation authorizes locally driven infrastructure improvements to be carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on our harbors, ports, locks, dams, inland waterways, flood protection and other water infrastructure. The bill also addresses storm water and wastewater infrastructure improvements, reauthorizes and strengthens the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, and incorporates substantial portions of the Drinking Water System Improvement Act to help modernize the country’s aging drinking water infrastructure.

“Today we took an important step in modernizing our nation’s water transportation network, including our ports, dams, and inland waterways in Northeast Wisconsin,” Rep. Gallagher said. “This bipartisan bill authorizes key water infrastructure projects along the Great Lakes, which will help 8th District manufacturers and agricultural producers stay competitive in the global economy. It also supports local ecosystem restoration projects aimed at protecting Green Bay and Lake Michigan from the threat of invasive species.”

Source:  Gallagher press release

Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson introduced legislation to designate the facility of the U.S. Post Office located at 2650 Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Drive in Milwaukee as the “Vel R. Phillips Post Office Building” in honor of Milwaukee’s pioneering civil rights activist who passed away earlier this year. A companion bill, led by Congresswoman Gwen Moore, passed in the House of Representatives last week.

“Vel contributed so much at every level and paved the way for other Wisconsinites to help make a difference in people’s lives,” Baldwin said. “She was a leader in engaging the Milwaukee grassroots in dialogue with the Community Brainstorming conference and she encouraged everyone to join her on the march for social justice. Vel had a lifelong passion of doing right by others, and I’m proud to honor her memory and do right by her and her family by designating this Milwaukee building in her name.”

Velvalea “Vel” Phillips was the first woman judge in Milwaukee County and the first African American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council and to statewide office in Wisconsin. Following Vel’s passing, Senator Baldwin authored a resolution in the Congressional Record to honor her life of public service and her many contributions to the state of Wisconsin and as a civil rights leader.

Source:  Baldwin and Johnson press release

President Donald Trump

The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized its plans to weaken regulations on methane gas releases from drilling on public land.

The action from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rolls back key provisions of an Obama-era rule that limited releases of the greenhouse gas during oil and gas production on publicly owned lands leased to fossil fuel companies. The new rule is expected to allow for more leaks of the gas through a practice known as venting or flaring, adding to air pollution. The Obama administration estimated that the practice cost taxpayers more than $330 million annually in lost revenue.

The announcement from the Trump administration comes a week after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to roll back a separate methane regulation that sought to limit release of the gas from drilling nationwide.

“The Trump Administration is committed to innovative regulatory improvement and environmental stewardship, while appropriately respecting the clear and distinct authorities of the States, Tribes, as well as the direction we receive from Congress,” said David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, in a statement Tuesday.

Methane is about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its effect on global warming. While methane makes up only about 10 percent of greenhouse gases, according to the EPA, both methane rules were key to the Obama administration’s push to lessen the impacts of climate change

Source:  thehill.com