Reps in the News: Kitchens Proud of School Safety Legislation

Representative Joel Kitchens

Rep. Kitchens released the following statement regarding the Assembly passage of the School Safety legislative package:  “I couldn’t be more proud of the way my colleagues and I in the Assembly have come together today to pass this incredibly important legislation. The School Safety package invests 100 million dollars toward ensuring that school districts throughout Wisconsin have the resources they need in order to ensure the protection of Wisconsin’s youth. Among the many benefits this package will provide is the creation of the Office of School Safety, under the DOJ, which will work in conjunction with DPI and local schools to develop model school safety plans and provide resources to help implement them. In addition to this, our School Safety Package will require purchasers of rifles and shotguns to go through the same stringent background checks through the state as those who purchase handguns. It is vital that we keep all guns out of the hands of dangerous people, regardless of what category the gun falls into. The issue of safety in our schools is a complex problem which demands an equally complex approach. These bills are not the end of our discussions on school safety but the beginning. We need to focus both on protecting our children today and working towards preventing school shootings in the future. After many discussions with the superintendents of the 1st Assembly District, I feel confident that this package of bills is necessary for the security of Wisconsin’s students. I believe these bills will save lives.”

Source:  Kitchens press release

Governor Scott Walker

Gov. Walker signed bills Wednesday to crack down on the straw purchasing of guns, give terminally ill patients the ability to try experimental medication and eliminate an air-quality monitoring station. One measure, Senate Bill 408, will make it a felony to buy a gun with the intention of passing it on to someone who is barred from possessing a firearm. In all, Walker signed 41 bills Wednesday in private ceremonies. Walker approved Senate Bill 466, which will stop the state from using an air quality monitor in Sheboygan County that reports some of the state’s highest emissions for ground-level ozone pollution. Instead, the state will rely on a second monitor that consistently reports lower air pollution levels. The change could help the county meet federal requirements for ozone pollution.

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Congressman Mike Gallagher

Rep. Gallagher led a group of his colleagues in a letter to the newly formed Joint Select Committee on Multiemployer Pension Solvency, urging the committee to find a fiscally responsible solution to the impending multiemployer pension crisis. According to the most recent report, the multiemployer pension program is expected to be insolvent by 2025. As a result, over 10 million Americans and thousands of Wisconsinites will receive benefits significantly lower than their promised amounts. “I am deeply concerned with how this insolvency crisis will impact the thousands of Wisconsinites who are depending on their pensions for retirement. This is why I’m urging the committee to take swift action and find a fiscally responsible solution that does right our seniors and keeps the promises made to them.”

Source:  Gallagher press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Baldwin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force, helped to secure full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill.

In spite of President Trump’s 2018 budget request that zeroed out funding for the Great Lakes, this year’s budget bill provides $300 million in federal funds for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. “Investments in the Great Lakes are an investment in the future of Wisconsin’s economy,” Baldwin said. “I am proud to have worked in a bipartisan way to restore much-needed funding for the region in this omnibus spending bill. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a critical program for our state, the health of our communities and the protection and restoration of our valuable water resources.” Baldwin also fought to include new requirements for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take near- and long-term actions to combat the spread of invasive Asian carp. In 2017, Baldwin joined a bipartisan task force calling for the finalization of the Brandon Road Study, a critical action plan for keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The 2018 budget bill will require the Army Corps to finalize the study by February 2019. This budget bill will also require the Army Corps to take immediate steps that would reduce the chances of vessels inadvertently transporting invasive species like Asian carp. Restoring funding to the Great Lakes will also provide local communities tools to clean up polluted sites and restore water quality in Wisconsin. These investments in the Great Lakes are crucial to protecting drinking water for millions of Americans and to supporting tourism and recreational boating, which contribute more than $12 billion to the economy.

Source:  Baldwin press release

President Donald Trump

The attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels suggested that President Trump hasn’t tweeted about Daniels because, despite denials made on his behalf, the president knows her allegations of an affair are true. “Isn’t it interesting, Gayle, that we have a president that will tweet about the most mundane matters, but he won’t tweet about my client, the affair, the agreement or the $130,000 payment,” Michael Avenatti told CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King on Monday. “You know why he won’t tweet about it? Because it’s true. It’s 100 percent true.”

In a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday night, Daniels rehashed the details of her relationship with Trump, which began in Reno, Nevada, in 2006 with one sexual encounter. The two continued to speak and meet, Daniels said, with the president promising but ultimately failing to secure a spot for the adult film actress on his NBC reality TV show, The Apprentice.

Though Trump has not personally addressed the allegations, the White House has denied that he had an affair with Daniels.

Source:  politico.com