Reps in the News: Walker Declares State of Emergency for Washington Island

Governor Scott Walker

Gov. Walker declared a State of Emergency in response to a power loss in June for Washington Island, with concerns of future power losses to the entire island due to a severely ice damaged underwater electric cable. The cable failed June 15, causing a 20-minute power outage before backup generators kicked in. Washington Island Electric Cooperative repaired the compromised section by June 27 but officials fear the entire cable is damaged. The cooperative wants to replace the cable by the end of the year at an estimated cost of at least $2.5 million. By declaring this State of Emergency, the Island may qualify for additional resources.

Source:  Walker press release

Congressman Mike Gallagher

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 994, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Gallagher in support of rebuilding and modernizing the U.S. Marine Corps. The resolution highlights the critical need for Congress to fix the budgetary uncertainty that currently impedes the Marine Corps’ ability to meet ongoing and unexpected threats to U.S. national security. Since taking office in 2017, Rep. Gallagher has consistently called on Congress to reach a long-term budget agreement to address the military’s readiness crisis. After passage of the resolution, Rep. Gallagher released the following statement: “Our Marines put their lives on the line to defend this country, and the very least we can do is give them the equipment, training and resources they need to do their jobs and return home safely. But national security and economic security go hand-in-hand, which is why Congress must get out from the budgetary dysfunction that is taking a serious toll on our military’s readiness. My hope is that this resolution will strengthen my colleagues’ commitment to passing a budget and providing the Marine Corps with the stable, robust, and on-time funding it critically needs.”

Source:  Gallagher press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Senator Baldwin introduced the Go Pack Go Act to make sure all Wisconsinites, no matter where they live across the state, can watch Green Bay Packers game broadcasts. Currently, Green Bay Packers fans in 13 Wisconsin counties are assigned to an out-of-state local TV market, in either Minnesota or Michigan, which means these Wisconsin households get Minnesota Vikings or Detroit Lions games, not Packers games, when those teams are playing at the same time. “Every Packers fan across our state should be able to watch Packers games,” Baldwin said. “My Go Pack Go Act would give Packers fans in every Wisconsin county the opportunity to watch Packers games and cheer on our beloved green and gold.” In Wisconsin, nearly 400,000 people live in 13 counties that have been assigned to an out-of-state market, in either Minnesota or Michigan. Baldwin’s Go Pack Go Act would require cable, satellite and other video providers to provide their Wisconsin subscribers with access to programming from the broadcast television stations in a Wisconsin media market. Packers fans in the following Wisconsin counties would benefit from Senator Baldwin’s Go Pack Go Act:  Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron and Sawyer Counties in the Duluth-Superior media market; Burnett, Washburn, Polk, Barron, St. Croix, Dunn and Pierce Counties in the Twin Cities media market; and Florence County in the Marquette, Mich., media market.

Source:  Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Sen. Johnson issued the following statement on July 16, after President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Putin:  “Our deteriorating relationship with Russia has but one cause: Russia’s bad behavior. The list is long: the invasion of Georgia and eastern Ukraine, the illegal ‘annexation’ of Crimea, political assassinations, the downing of MH17, Russia’s complicity in the slaughter in Syria, and Russian meddling in our elections and the politics of other nations, to name just a few. As much as I would prefer a better relationship with Russia, it can only happen as the result of improved Russian behavior. U.S. foreign policy should be uniformly directed to achieve that objective. I urge President Trump to forcefully and repeatedly demand that the Putin regime dramatically improve its behavior.”  

Source:  fox6now.com

President Donald Trump

President Trump was upbeat immediately after his news conference with Vladimir Putin in Finland on July 16, but by the time he returned stateside on Monday evening, his mood had soured considerably amid sustained fury at his extraordinary embrace of the Russian leader. Now, his aides are wondering how he’ll respond to anger from even his staunchest supporters after he sided with Putin regarding U.S. intelligence agencies investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. He offered a defiant rebuke of his critics, writing on Twitter: “While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way – the Fake News is going Crazy!” he proclaimed. The conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal declared the news conference “a personal and national embarrassment” for the President, asserting he’d “projected weakness.” Newt Gingrich, ordinarily a reliable voice of support, wrote on Twitter the remarks were “the most serious mistake of his presidency.”

Source:  cnn.com