In-person listening sessions held across the 7th District with Tom Tiffany

By: Sarah Radomsky

WEBSTER- On Tuesday, Jan. 17, Rep. Tom Tiffany joined citizens in Webster during a tour of four counties in Rusk, Polk, Burnett and Bayfield after having visited Vilas, Florence and Forest counties in the 7th District the day before. The in-person listening sessions were open to all constituents in Wisconsin’s 7th District with the purpose of answering questions and discussing priorities for the 118th Congress.

Many main concerns shared by attendees focused on health care. Issues included shortages of health care personnel, a lack of access to specialists and an increasing trend of rural hospitals being at risk of closing. Tiffany responded that there would likely be further problems as there are moves toward federally funded care, and that he believed in most cases the open market provides the best opportunity for quality of care. He also said that rules and requirements tied to COVID protocols also seem to have contributed to a loss in providers, as this was also tied to the ability to receive federal funding. Another community member mentioned she was concerned about the abolition of Roe v. Wade. Tiffany replied that he felt it was better for the issue to be put back into the hands of the state Legislature for elected officials to decide as a better representation of the people, since he believes Roe v. Wade was initially put in place without Congress enacting it. Another constituent mentioned issues with veterans benefits and prescription policy changes limiting access to non-mail-order medicines. Tiffany requested a copy of a letter received and stated he would personally look into the matter.

Immigration was another main topic. Tiffany stated that he sits on the Judiciary Committee and hopes to go to the southern border to hold hearings. He said that currently, cartels are gaining $3,000-$10,000 per person crossing the border, and that no one is getting in unless they pay the cartels. For a Chinese person, the fee could be as high as $20,000. Another concern is that a United Nations outfit called International Organization Migration at the border is coaching migrants on how to work the immigration system upon arrival. Besides a flood of the deadly drug fentanyl that is also coming in with the breach of the border, Tiffany also shared that many crossings were meeting horrible deaths, drowning at the bottom of the Rio Grande, and shared about an abandoned truck that was found packed with migrants who had died in the desert heat. Tiffany stated that the catch-and-release policy introduced by the Biden administration resulted in the greatest number of terrorists let into the border in years, a rise in fentanyl deaths to where it is now the No. 1 killer of those 18-45 years old, and that those crossing the border who present themselves to the agents are assigned an asylum hearing that could be up to two years later, and most don’t show up. For solutions, he proposed that top priorities needed to be the securing of the border and then dealing with immigration.

Another area of concern was the war in Ukraine, and one attendee mentioned that they felt the country needed help to win the war and regain territory. Tiffany responded by questioning how involved the U.S. should be, saying there has been $100 billion given to the effort so far, and that he believes NATO countries who are closer in proximity to the war need to invest more into the effort. In general, Tiffany felt that the U.S. has shown weakness on the international front during the Biden administration. With the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline and decreasing ability to produce energy in the U.S., then followed by the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021 leaving behind $85 billion worth of armaments, that this sent a signal to Putin that America was weak and Ukraine was open for attack.
Regarding what he thought about the recent multiple rounds it took to elect the current speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California for the 118th Congress, Tiffany replied that just before Thanksgiving during the first vote, he voted for Andy Biggs initially, hoping to see a negotiation for better rules for the House. Once he felt that would happen, he told McCarthy he would be voting for him, which he did for each round of voting thereafter. Tiffany stated, “I thought it was a terrific process. And I think it was really eye opening for the American people for something that is oftentimes a very arcane process, naming the speaker you know, it’s oftentimes pro forma, you know, it’s decided ahead of time. And for the American people to see this happen in real time, I think was just a great civics lesson. But more importantly, even than that, is what came out of it because it was a negotiation that was going on, and it had been going on for a month and a half, and it came to a head at that point. And it was all in an effort to make it more open, transparent and accountable to the American people. And we were able to accomplish that.” Big wins that were focused on were having 72 hours to review a bill, an open amendment process, single-line bills and a restoration of the ability to make a motion to vacate for the House speaker. When asked specifically about the benefit of single-line bills, Tiffany said it would eliminate the unnecessary inclusion of items that have nothing to do with the initial bill and success would come down to how well it is enforced. When asked about the concerns some have been saying that the motion to vacate makes it easy to remove a speaker, Tiffany responded that “the motion to vacate had been in the rules until 2018. Nancy Pelosi had it removed for her to turn. Now why would she do that? And we’re like, hold it. This has been in place for two centuries. Why can’t we have it in there? And we were given various reasons and right at the end of the day, McCarthy said OK, OK, I’ll give you the motion to vacate. And I actually think it, I think it actually strengthens his hand. Because, I mean, it’s something you would be as a member. I would be including a member in the majority. I would be very cautious about using the motion to vacate because you’re saying we’re going to kick our leader off. And you’re only going to do that in extreme circumstances. But I think it’s important to be there as a backstop so that the speaker is listening to the House.”

Other focuses that were highlighted by materials from Tiffany included the repealing of funding for 87,000 additional IRS agents, a vote to stop the Biden administration from sending the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China, condemnation of violence, property damage, threats, trespassing and intimidation against pro-life organizations and to protect infants born alive after failed abortion attempts, and the creation of committees to investigate relations between the U.S. and China in relation to trade and human rights abuses, unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and espionage, as well as another committee focused on the weaponization of the federal government investigating the use of federal bureaucrat’s potential abuses of power in regard to collusion with intelligence agencies like the FBI, DOJ and DHS.

Read the article here.