Residents sound off to Rep. Tom Tiffany

By: Maria Lockwood

SUPERIOR — Roughly 45 people braved inclement weather Friday, March 31, to share questions and concerns with U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior.

“Even though the winds are 40 mph off the lake, it’s a great day to be here,” Tiffany said.

Evan Tegart, 17, and his father, John, drove three and a half hours from Marathon County to be at the session.

“He felt strongly he needed to come,” John Tegart said. “My wife was concerned about the weather so we drove together and you’ve got to be involved, right?”

The teen asked Tiffany about his stand on the RESTRICT Act, which could be used to ban TikTok, and another bill that the 17-year-old said would suppress freedom of speech, the DATA Act.

Tiffany said that even if the RESTRICT Act were to pass in the Senate, it would most likely die in the House, but he stands behind efforts to restrict TikTok.

“I do agree with the bans on TikTok. It has been proven, I believe, implicitly that TikTok has financial ties with the Communist Party of China,” Tiffany said. “And the Communist party in China requires any company that is in that position to share their information with them. And they keep databases on people.”

It’s the same argument the congressman had with his own daughter a few years ago.

Evan Tegart said he appreciated the answer, even if it wasn’t the one he was hoping for.

“It was a clear cut answer that now I can bring back to my friends because they couldn’t make the journey out here,” Evan Tegart said. “Our age group wants to get politically involved. We want to get involved in what’s happening around us. It’s our world that we’re going to inherit and we want to shape how that world looks. And I feel like I was kind of the spokesperson to come out here for our group.”

Tiffany also fielded questions about:

• Digital currencies — the congressman is opposed to a cashless society.
• The Rail Safety Act of 2023, which would mandate a two-man crew on trains — Tiffany promised to take a good look at the bill and expressed support for improving safety standards for railroads.
• A bill that places limits on the environmental review of federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act — Tiffany supported the bill, saying the permitting process has become so burdensome that infrastructure projects aren’t getting done in a timely fashion.
• The fact that the debt ceiling is about to be reached and that the budget needs to be passed by September — “To get my vote to raise the debt ceiling, there’s going to have to be some trade offs where we start to reduce government spending,” Tiffany said. “If you’d just flatline discretionary spending that would be a good step in the right direction.”
• Delisting wolves — Tiffany has introduced a Trust the Science Act to remove the gray wolf from the list of federal endangered species and give the authority to control the population to state lawmakers and wildlife officials.
• Sending additional aid to Ukraine — Tiffany said he was one of 10 congressmen to vote against sending further aid to Ukraine.

The congressman said he holds up to five listening sessions each quarter, and he’s covered all corners of the 7th Congressional District in the first three months of the session.

“It’s just really important to go out and let people … for us to hear from people,” Tiffany said.

He was joined by state Rep. Angie Sapik, R-Lake Nebagamon. Sapik was able to field a question about school finances brought by representatives from the Superior School District. Sapik said that she expects the state Assembly to request a “historic” raise in the per pupil revenue limit in the coming budget.

“I can tell you that we’re fighting for an enormous raise for students and for everything that we can do to help you guys to be successful,” Sapik said.

She said it was her third listening session since taking office, including one in Burnett County.

“There’s a lot of similarities, but a lot of differences as well, so it’s important as representatives that you’re not just prioritizing one area,” Sapik said.

Douglas County, which brings together four Class I railroads, the interstate highway, Great Lakes ports, an airport, pipelines and a refinery, is “like no other place,” Tiffany said.

“This is absolutely a critical hub for the prosperity of this county and for North America,” he said. 

He encouraged people to visit his website, or call 715-298-9344 with questions or concerns. To contact Sapik, visit her website , call 608-237-9173 or email Rep.Sapik@legis.wisconsin.gov with questions or concerns.

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