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Catch up (or refresh your memory) by listening to Governor Scott Walker’s State of the State,  as well as his budget address (2/8/17 at 4 pm).

You can also see what Robin Vos, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, included in the Assembly Republicans' Forward Agenda.

2017 - July Update

Highlights: 
  • ​WI has a fully-funded pension system.
  • WI's ranks 14th in nation in manufacturing growth rate
  • Medium-sized firms grew 90% over past five years
economy_talking_points_july_2017_format_2__002_.pdf
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2017 - May Update

Highlights:
  • Wisconsin is a top ten state for business now (by contrast, we were 41st in 2010 )
  • Wisconsin has led the Chicago Fed region for 3 straight months in economic growth
  • Plus see the new employment numbers
economy_talking_points_may_2017_format.docx
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2017 WFRW Legislative Day - Great Turnout! Great Time!


economy_talking_points_may_2017_format.pdf
File Size: 160 kb
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economy_talking_points_march_2017_format.pdf
File Size: 102 kb
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​2015 Fall Legislative Update

economy_talking_points_march_2017_format.pdf
File Size: 102 kb
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2015 Fall Legislative Update

legslative_report_october_2015.docx
File Size: 101 kb
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2015 Summer Legislative Update

pain_capable_bill_summary.docx
File Size: 29 kb
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2015_q3_wfrw_legilative_report.docx
File Size: 23 kb
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Recent Postings:
2017 Spring Legislative Update
2017 WFRW Legislative Day Slideshow

Planned Parenthood Sells Fetal Body Parts for Profit

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce (which Congressman Sensenbrenner is not a part of) and the House Judiciary Committee (which he is a part of) have both announced that they will be investigating Planned Parenthood as a result of the recent videos concerning fetal tissue sales.

In addition, Congressman Sensenbrenner has introduced legislation that would ban the sale by Planned Parenthood and other organizations of fetal tissue acquired by performing an abortion in the form of bill H.R. 3171, with Congressman Sean Duffy (WI-07, covering the northern half of Wisconsin) as the other original cosponsor. While the Congressman supports efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, he also believes that his bill will help prevent abortion clinics from profiting from the sale(s) of fetal tissue(s). I’ve attached a link to the bill’s information, and bill text should be available shortly.

Here’s the link: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3171


In addition, here’s the statement the Congressman put out yesterday if you’d like to read it.
 
Today, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner introduced legislation to prohibit the sale of fetal tissue acquired by performing an abortion in response to the shocking revelation that abortion clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, are profiting from harvesting the unborn and selling them to the highest bidder. 

Congressman Sensenbrenner: “Due to a poorly drafted section of federal law, Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics throughout the country are legally able to sell fetal tissue to research institutions. This despicable practice is morally bankrupt, victimizes the defenseless, and increases profits for reprehensible organizations that have no regard for human life. This legislation is an important step forward in the ongoing efforts to protect innocent lives and fight on behalf of the unborn.


!!!!!!!!!!! If you are incensed about the diabolical practices of Planned Parenthood, call your legislators and make your opinions known. Emails can get lost, but phone logs make note of callers and their causes. Be brief (see comments under each segment of the list), courteous, and be sure to ask to leave your name, city and state to become part of the caller record.
Picture

Things We're Learning about the Iran Deal

The U.S. is not permitted to participate in inspections of Iranian sites:
Under the [tenets] of the final nuclear deal reached this week in Vienna, only countries with normal diplomatic relations with Iran will be permitted to participate in inspections teams organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Signatories to the deal will help teach Iran how to detect and prevent threats to its nuclear program:
The language was viewed as disturbing by analysts and experts who said such cooperation could help protect Iran against efforts by the Israelis or other countries to sabotage the Islamic Republic's nuclear program in the future.

The deal makes Iranian funding of terrorism easier:

And though the windfall of cash will certainly strengthen its position, the real prize for Iran was regaining access to a little-known, but ubiquitous banking system that has been off-limits to the country since March 2012.

Cheating by Iran is built into the agreement:
The trouble is that the West, in its focus on creating a mechanism for the snap-back of sanctions, has left itself without any other, lesser weapons. As several analysts have pointed out, there is the option to reimpose full UN sanctions ... and nothing else. Remember that the parties, including the U.S., have undertaken not to enact any additional nuclear sanctions except through the process set forth in the agreement -- that is, going through the Joint Commission and the Security Council. There is no way to impose small, measured sanctions for small, measured violations. This is what I mean when I say that room for cheating is built into the structure of the agreement.

Those 24 days are more like several months:
The Obama administration assures Americans that the Iran deal grants access within 24 days to undeclared but suspected Iranian nuclear sites. But that's hardly how a recalcitrant Iran is likely to interpret the deal. A close examination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action released by the Obama administration reveals that its terms permit Iran to hold inspectors at bay for months, likely three or more.
 

Secret side deals with Iran on key contentious issues remain classified:
One of these side deals concerns inspection of the Parchin military base, where Iran reportedly has conducted explosive testing related to nuclear-warhead development. The Iranian government has refused to allow the IAEA to visit this site. Over the last several years, Iran has taken steps to clean up evidence of weapons-related activity at Parchin. 

The other secret side deal concerns how the IAEA and Iran will resolve outstanding issues on possible military dimensions (PMDs) of Iran's nuclear program. In late 2013, Iran agreed to resolve IAEA questions about nuclear weapons-related work in twelve areas. Iran only answered questions in one of these areas and rejected the rest as based on forgeries and fabrications.


The deal includes lifting sanctions on central players in Iran's covert nuclear arms program:

The Obama administration and European Union agreed as part of the accord last week to lift sanctions over eight years on a network of Iranian scientists, military officers and companies long suspected by the U.S. and United Nations as central players in a covert nuclear weapons program.

...Republicans said in recent days they were stunned the White House and European allies agreed to lift sanctions on such individuals and expressed concerns about the long-term impact on U.S. and global security.





!!!!!!!!!Here is a list of 16 undecided Democrat Senators about the Iran deal. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is key.*
Bennet, Michael  – (D – CO)
bennet.senate.gov
(202) 224-5852


*Blumenthal, Richard  – (D – CT)
blumenthal.senate.gov
(202) 224-2823


*Booker, Cory  – (D – NJ)
booker.senate.gov
(202) 224-3224


* Cardin, Ben  – (D – MD)
cardin.senate.gov
(202) 224-4524


* Casey, Robert P., Jr.  – (D – PA)
casey.senate.gov
(202) 224-6324


* Donnelly, Joe – (D – IN)
donnelly.senate.gov

Phone: (202) 224-4814


Gillibrand, Kirsten  – (D – NY)
gillibrand.senate.gov
(202) 224-4451


* Heitkamp, Heidi – (D – ND)
heitkamp.senate.gov

(202) 224-2043


Manchin III, Joe  – (D – WV)
manchin.senate.gov
(202) 224-3954

Menendez, Robert  – (D – NJ)
menendez.senate.gov 
(202) 224-4744 
(He has come out against the deal. Just call to thank him.)
 

* Mikulski, Barbara  – (D – MD)
mikulski.senate.gov 
(202) 224-4654
 



* Nelson, Bill  – (D – FL)
billnelson.senate.gov 
(202) 224-5274
 

* Peters, Gary  – (D – MI)
peters.senate.gov 
(202) 224-6221
 

* Schumer, Charles  – (D – NY)
schumer.senate.gov 
(202) 224-6542
 

Stabenow, Debbie  – (D – MI)
stabenow.senate.gov 
(202) 224-4822
 

* Warner, Mark  – (D – VA)
warner.senate.gov 
(202) 224-2023
 

* Wyden, Ron  – (D – OR)
wyden.senate.gov 
(202) 224-5244
 

At the Federal Level

Active Legislation: Click here to see the bills and joint/concurrent resolutions that had a significant vote in one chamber and are likely to get a vote in the other chamber.

Inactive Legislation:  Click here to see the thousands of bills and resolutions that have been introduced, referred to committee, or reported by committee and await further action.

Failed Legislation: Click here to see bills and resolutions that failed a vote on passage and are now dead or failed a significant vote such as cloture, passage under suspension, or resolving differences.

Common Core

Some Common Core-related news pertinent to language in the 2015-2017 biennial budget was ostensibly supposed to undermine Common Core in the state of Wisconsin. The following news has been verified carefully.

In a nutshell, while the budget language would defund Smarter Balanced assessments and remove Wisconsin from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), the new Badger Exams, for which a request for bids (RFB) was issued in late April, WILL BE ALIGNED TO THE COMMON CORE.  Hard evidence exists in the form of responses to questions submitted by bidders and others during the RFB process.  Hard video evidence also exists that Scott Walker fully understands that Common Core-aligned assessments remove any real ability for school districts to choose alternative standards in our age of accountability. 

For more details and links to the evidence, please see the following article:

Scott Walker's Smarter Balanced Deception

The article is lengthy, but please read it so you can fully appreciate what is being said, done, and not done on Common Core in Wisconsin.

Please consider how you might help in the following ways:
  1. Share the article above on social media and forward it to your groups and email lists.
  2. Encourage your membership to call the governor and key legislators about this issue. Let's try to undo this damage before JFC is done with the budget in the immediate future.
What is happening on Common Core at the Capitol is unprincipled and manipulative.  Based on discussions people have had, many highly placed legislators who have been operating in good faith - believing that the language in the budget had a substantive effect in undermining or essentially repealing Common Core - have been deceived about the language and resulting consequences.

College Debt

Senator Ron Johnson is going to be in a heated race as we know. The democrats will use the college debt issue as one of their major issues. We can already see it happening with discussion of two years of free college by the President. In fact, Governor Christy mentioned it on Sunday morning "Meet the Press," and we will have additional articles coming out in the media regarding the negative impact on families and the economy because college debit is growing each day. 

The democrats caused this mess in the first place in 2010 when they overhauled financial aid and tied it to the health care bill.  A WFRW member is working with Sean at Senator Ron Johnson's office and has had conversations with Rep. Reid Ribble -  one of our best legislators.  Senator Johnson needs to help lead legislation to address the interest rates and allow people to refinance and the government out of this business.  College loans are subprime loans and we have the data to prove this.  Senator Johnson has to lead this issue in order to separate himself from Feingold.

Omnibus Tax Reform Proposal

Representative Nygren and Senator Darling provide information about the budget and motions made to modify state and local taxes, fees, and programs, such as:
  1. Angel Investment Credit (Paper #281)
  2. Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit (Paper #282)
  3. Earned Income Tax Credit (Paper #283)
  4. Illinois Income Tax Reciprocity (Paper #284)
  5. Internal Revenue Code Update (Paper #285)
  6. Economic Development Credit (Paper #286)
  7. Jobs Tax Credit (Paper #287)
  8. Enterprise Zones Tax Credits (Paper #288)
  9. Dairy Manufacturing Facility Tax Credit
[as well as proposed Tax Rates (Paper #280). Beginning in tax year 2013, reduce the income tax rates from 4.60%/6.15%/6.5%/6.75%/7.75% under current law to 4.40%/5.84%/6.27%/6.27%/7.65%.]

You can read summaries of the list above in the PDF below.
omnibus_tax_reform_proposal.pdf
File Size: 4166 kb
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Budget

Over the next few months, the Legislature has the unique opportunity to shape the state budget in a way that will prove the decisions of last session were not only the right thing to do, but the fiscally prudent. As we move forward with the budgeting process, it is my intent to provide my constituents with progress on the budget and to keep you up to date. My approach towards the budget process will continue to be to use the 3 R’s: Restraint when it comes to government spending, Reform the way government works, and Reinvestment in education and workforce training.

On Thursday, the Joint Finance Committee held its first public hearing at the high school in Greendale. 262 people testified throughout the day, with 118 in speaking in favor of the Governor's budget, 62 speaking against and 82 speaking for information only.

Much of the passionate testimony involved the Governor's proposal to increase funding for school choice. Nearly 250 current students in the choice program stood before the Joint Committee on Finance while supporters testified in favor of the increased funding and expansion of the successful program to other municipalities in Wisconsin. On the other hand, public school officials spoke out against the plan saying it was unfair to public schools. They advocated taking the choice plan out of the budget and to increase funding for public schools by $150 per student. Parents of children with special needs also spoke in favor of a budget item to allow their children to enter the school choice program.

On Friday, the co-chairs of the state's budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance, State Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and State Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette), issued the following statement regarding the first public hearing on the state budget held in Greendale. "We were overwhelmed by the amount of public input the committee received. At the hearing yesterday, 118 spoke in favor of the Governor's budget, nearly double the amount who opposed the proposal. The positive feedback we received reassures our committee that we are heading down the right path with this budget. We will continue to emphasize the "3 R" theme: Restraint in spending, Reinvestment in Education and Reform in Government.

We are looking forward to the hearings in Green Bay, Lake Delton, and Baldwin as we continue to listen and learn from the citizens of Wisconsin how the state budget affects

Addressing the Unemployment Insurance Trust
Fund Debt

Over the last 3 years, Wisconsin has been in the unfortunate position of having to borrow money from the federal government to pay our Unemployment Insurance (UI) debt. At one point, the state’s obligation to Washington DC was $1.6 billion, and today we have the 7th highest outstanding debt for UI in the nation. This deficit has real world consequences for Wisconsin employers, as interest payments are being billed to businesses in addition to the already increasing taxes as the result of this borrowing.

If Wisconsin is to be truly “open for business”, we must tackle Unemployment Insurance reform. At the end of 2012, the state was paying $60,000 per day in interest just to cover our debt to the federal government for a loan to keep our UI system solvent. That meant a bill of $36 million was delivered to state businesses in the form of a special assessment, and will continue through 2014. This is a punitive tax that is going to Washington instead of toward hiring new workers or infrastructure investments here in Wisconsin.

The Legislator’s priorities are to address this issue, as it consistently comes up when they talk to small businesses. By addressing the solvency of the UI fund they can lower taxes on businesses, while ensuring that this safety net will continue to exist for future recipients. They will do this by rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within the system. That’s the goal of the common sense reforms package they proposed earlier this month with Senator Frank Lasee. The package includes such basic ideas like making sure people who are receiving UI benefits deserve to be in the system, not like the 460 inmates discovered in 2011 who were getting a check every month.

Another problem that they want to correct is when people, who are fired for breaking the law, are still eligible for UI. When they were visiting with small businesses, owners would tell them stories about employees who were sleeping on the job and even stealing from the company, were able to collect UI benefits. A Tax Foundation study showed that Wisconsin is one of just 5 states in the country that allow that to happen. They need to return UI back to who it was originally setup to help: those who lost their job through no fault of their own.

The Legislature wants to make sure that the UI system is there when people need it. Unlike our neighboring states who just cut weeks of eligibility, this proposal ties length of benefits to the unemployment rate of the state. Legislators are proud to also announce this package includes the first increase in weekly benefits in four years. By rebuilding and strengthening our UI fund they can ensure future solvency. This reform package will make sure that the safety net is there for those who need it, ensure an efficient transition back to employment, and to provide greater certainty and clarity for businesses and workers alike. UI was intended to help those who lose their job, not those who are fired from their job. They need to make sure this important program is clear of waste, fraud, and abuse so it can fulfill its promise to Wisconsin’s workforce They are encouraging constituents to communicate this session through a number of different avenues. To further that line of communication, we are seeking input on the state budget through local listening sessions and public hearings.

At the State Level

The legislature is in session.

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