Reps in the News: Nov. 13 – 19

Governor Scott Walker

Walker announced this year’s Christmas tree for the State Capitol rotunda was donated by Brad and Elizabeth Kowieski of Rhinelander, Wis. Brad, Elizabeth, their sons, Brody and Hank, and Brad’s parents, Bill and Jane Kowieski, donated a 40-foot tall Balsam fir. Brad planted the tree on Arbor Day in 1985 at his parents’ house when he was in fourth grade at Nativity Our Lord Catholic School in Rhinelander. “The 2015 Capitol Christmas tree will be decorated with ornaments that highlight Wisconsin sports,” Walker said. “The Capitol Christmas Tree and its decorations provide a great opportunity for Wisconsinites to come down and visit our beautiful State Capitol. Thank you to the Kowieski family for donating this year’s tree.”

Source: Walker press release 

Representative Reid Ribble

“This past Friday (Nov. 6), I convened a Save the Bay working group for the first time. Comprised of farmers, local officials, and other experts, their goal is to compile farming best practices that can help reduce nutrient runoff from the land in each of our watersheds, ultimately reducing the dangerous algae blooms we see most summers in the waters of Green Bay. I appreciate everyone who took the time to come out and lend his or her expertise on Friday and will keep you posted as things progress!”

Source: Ribble press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin released the following statement after the Senate passed the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 91-3: “I am pleased that this defense bill has been improved by removing one-year budget gimmicks that could have led to cuts to investments in cybersecurity and counterterrorism that are critical to our national security. I also support this legislation because there are measures in this bill that I have fought to include, like provisions from my Military Facilities Force Protection Act and investment in military vehicles manufactured in Oshkosh. In addition, unnecessary restrictions on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program have been reduced. I am proud to have worked to provide full funding for three LCS ships so that production of these ships made at Marinette Marine can continue.”

Source: Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Johnson issued the following statement on President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline project: “Americans are finally starting to see improvement in the economy, largely because of lower energy prices. The Keystone XL Pipeline is part of ensuring that the private sector’s success in finding new sources of energy in North America will continue. Multiple studies, including review by the Obama administration’s State Department, have shown that building the pipeline is the most environmentally friendly method of transporting oil from Canada. There is no good reason for the administration to block this project. I am disappointed that President Obama refused to drop his irrational, politically motivated opposition rather than listen to the American people.”

Source: Johnson press release

President Barack Obama

Obama’s stance on LGBT issues has landed him on the cover of OUT magazine’s OUT100 issue as “Ally of the Year.” Obama is the first sitting president to be photographed for the cover of an LGBT publication. The President sat down for an interview with the magazine, in which he touched on various influences on his relationship with the LGBT community, both before and after taking office, as well as his administration’s accomplishments on LGBT rights and how watching his children, Sasha and Malia, has shown him how attitudes have changed toward homosexuality across generations. Obama said his mother’s teachings that “every person was of equal worth” inspired his interest in focusing on LGBT rights during his administration, and thanked his openly gay Occidental professor and eventual friend, Dr. Lawrence Goldyn, for directly influencing the way he continues to think about all of these issues.

Source: CNN