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Walker Creates Position to Aid in Student Debt Education

Representative Joel Kitchens

Kitchens announced that the Wisconsin Farm Bureau endorsed him for the 1st District Assembly against challenger Lynn Utesch. “The Farm Bureau is a very reasonable group that understands that our agricultural community must be good stewards of the land in order to be sustainable in the future. They support the rule-making process by which the DNR is writing new rules for manure management specific to the karst region,” said Kitchens. The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization representing farms of all sizes, commodities and management styles.

Source: Kitchens Facebook page

Governor Scott Walker

Walker and Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Secretary Lon Roberts visited Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton and Northcentral Technical College in Wausau to highlight the state’s efforts to increase education on student debt. Earlier this year, Governor Walker joined DFI in announcing the creation of a Student Loan Debt Specialist position within DFI’s Office of Financial Literacy. The position will serve as an outreach coordinator to inform current and future student loan borrowers about potential debt management, investment, and educational options. “DFI’s Student Debt Specialist, Cheryl Weiss, has been working to forge relationships with numerous stakeholder groups that have an interest in preparing students for their college careers,” DFI Secretary Lon Roberts said. “She is developing an outreach program to schools that will inform students, parents, and educators about appropriate debt management, investment, and educational options to help college students maximize their human capital and minimize the student debt they incur in pursuit of their degree.”

Source: Walker press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin announced that she has cosponsored legislation introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), directing presidential nominees to release recent tax returns in order to give the public honest insights into the candidate’s actions and values. The Presidential Tax Transparency Act requires that, within 15 days of becoming the nominee at the party convention, the candidate must release their most recent three years of tax returns to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Should the candidate refuse to comply, the Treasury Secretary will provide the tax returns directly to the FEC for public release. “Wisconsin has a strong tradition of supporting open government, transparency and accountability. For nearly 40 years presidential candidates from major political parties have respected this tradition and voluntarily released tax returns during the campaign,” Baldwin said. “I believe this legislation will strengthen the public’s right to know and prevent candidates for Commander in Chief from keeping their finances and personal tax returns in the dark.”

Source: Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Johnson said this in response to proposed Obamacare premium increases for Wisconsin posted by federal officials: “This week we learned that carriers in Wisconsin’s individual market are requesting a 15 percent average premium increase for Obamacare-compliant plans for next year. Looking at the filings, we find that some could face premium increases as high as 59.96 percent. This isn’t what the people of Wisconsin were promised. We already know from the Manhattan Institute that premiums have increased dramatically. In Wisconsin, the pre-Obamacare cost of the five most affordable health plans available in each county for a 64-year-old woman averaged $354 a month in 2013. That average has since increased 85 percent, to $655. Young people have fared worse. The pre-Obamacare average for 27-year-old man was $92 a month for the lowest cost plans. That has since increased 148 percent, to $228 this year. We’ll hear from Obamacare’s supporters that broken promises are somehow OK because taxpayer-funded subsidies are available to help cover these rising costs. But the reality is premiums aren’t going down as promised – they’re going up, increasing government dependence, and leaving consumers and taxpayers stuck with the tab.”

Source: Johnson press release

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama toured the flood-ravaged Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tuesday, Aug. 23, surveying wreckage that has also become a political football. “We are heartbroken by the loss of life,” Obama said after seeing firsthand the damage in the state’s capital that has caused more than 106,000 residents and households to register for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 60,000 homes were damaged, officials said, and 13 people were killed. “I think anybody who can see just the streets, much less the inside of the homes here, people’s lives have been upended by this flood,” he added. The flooding has created a political headache for the White House as critics blasted Obama for being too slow to visit the state. He spent the previous week vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, while Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate visited the state and handed out supplies.

Source: CNN Politics

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