Your Representatives in the News

Governor Scott Walker
The Marquette University Law School poll, which surveys statewide public opinion, found that Walker’s approval rating was relatively steady in 2013, and hasn’t dropped below 46 percent or risen above 51 percent in two years. The differences in his approval rating in 2013 were small enough to be within the poll’s margin of error.
While Walker’s approval rating remained steady, the poll found changes in how Wisconsinites view the economy. In 2012, 53 percent of respondents said they believed the economy would improve in the next year. In 2013, only 32 percent said it would improve.
Source: The Cap Times

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
Baldwin joined the Congressional Cranberry Caucus as a co-chair (joining co-chairs Reid Ribble and Rep. William Keating of Massachusetts). The caucus was created in 2012 to help teach Congress about cranberry production, their nutritional benefits and the cranberry trade, and address conservation and the industry’s environmental concerns.
The caucus is focusing on getting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase cranberry products to offset an oversupply, and get more cranberries in school lunches.
Senator Ron Johnson also is a member of the caucus.
Source: Agri-view

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson
Johnson is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the Obama administration, accusing the administration of giving Congress and their staff special treatment that places a harmful burden on them under the Affordable Care Act.
Congressional members and their employees have been forced to purchase insurance through the Affordable Health Care Act exchange, and will receive subsidies to pay for coverage regardless of their income. Other Americans only receive subsidies if they make less than $45,000 annually.
“The American people have an expectation – Wisconsinites have an expectation – that members of Congress should be subjected to the letter of the law just like they’re held to the letter of the law,” Johnson said. “In this case, members of Congress now are not being held to the letter of the law, and that creates an alienation; it creates a wedge between a member of Congress and their constituents.”
The federal Office of Personnel Management issued a rule saying the federal government would continue to pay employer contribution for congressional health benefits at the same rate as if members and their staff were still on the federal employee health plan. Johnson believes this violates the law.
Source: Gannett Washington Bureau

President Barack Obama
On Friday, Jan. 3, the Obama administration announced two efforts to strengthen federal background checks for gun purchasers.
The Department of Justice proposed a rule that would prohibit people from purchasing a firearm for mental health reasons. The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a regulation that would make it easier for hospitals and other entities to submit additional information to the background check system.
“The administration’s two new executive actions will help ensure that better and more reliable information makes its way into the background check system,” the White House said in a statement. “While the vast majority of Americans who experience a mental illness are not violent, in some cases when people with a mental illness do not receive the treatment they need, the result can be tragedies such as homicide or suicide.”
Source: the Associated Press, The Washington Post