The Tiffany Telegram: July 17, 2020
Dear Friend,
Congress is slated to reconvene next week, with lawmakers returning to the Capitol on Monday to begin consideration of the annual Defense Authorization bill. We will also consider a controversial bill that would hinder the President's ability to restrict foreign travel to the US from Communist China and elsewhere in his efforts to respond to public health and security threats. More on that in next week's Telegram.
A lot has happened during the district work period, and I've got plenty of news to share with you on:
- Local and national efforts to combat and contain the coronavirus
- The growing scientific consensus on the need to reopen our schools this fall
- White House efforts to streamline and modernize costly and time-consuming permitting mandates
- Dangerous threats to religious and press freedom
Meeting with Marshfield Medical Experts
As you may remember we visited Marshfield for an update and briefing on their efforts and the critically important work they will be carrying out with a recently announced $22.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Integrated Research and Development Laboratory at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute will be serving as America's center for testing as part of the ongoing CDC efforts to better understand the coronavirus and how to treat it. You can read about the grant here.
This work was described as "the largest-scale project the lab has taken on, as well as the one with the highest stakes." It is so exciting to spend time with these hard-working professionals, and we can all be thankful that folks in our own community are playing such a key role in this national endeavor.
These key local efforts will dovetail with the unprecedented steps the White House has initiated to remove regulatory barriers that stand in the way of speedy government approval of a coronavirus vaccine. As you probably heard, this week two experimental vaccines were given a "fast track" designation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Results of trials are expected as early as this month, and developers say that they could potentially produce up to 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year. The administration has also secured a large supply of the drug Remdesivir, which has shown promise in helping sick patients recover.
Rep. Tiffany is briefed on current research efforts at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute.
Good Economic News
We saw more encouraging economic news as retail sales jumped by 7.5 percent in June as businesses continued to reopen their doors, once again defying gloomy predictions. This good news comes on the heels of other positive economic indicators including a record jump in retail sales and a historic gain of 2.5 million jobs in May and 4.8 million added in June.
In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent – well below the national average – as we saw the addition of 104,600 total non-farm and 99,300 private-sector jobs.
It's great to see the efforts of hardworking Americans fueling this unprecedented comeback, but we still have a lot more work to do and I am committed to supporting employers and workers as we reopen for business.
Growing Scientific Consensus on School Reopening
Like you, I've been following this debate closely, and I'm pleased to announce that there is an emerging consensus that blanket school closures make little sense, and that we can reopen our schools safely in a way that protects our kids, our teachers and our most vulnerable neighbors.
A recent study conducted by the University of Dresden in Germany released this month revealed that out of more than 2,000 blood samples collected from students and teachers in more than a dozen secondary schools, a mere 12 were found to contain coronavirus antibodies. Researchers concluded that "the dynamics of virus spreading have been overestimated."
Assessments in Finland and Denmark reached similar conclusions. Denmark's decision to reopen schools was described as "prudent" and researchers found that in-classroom instruction did not have "a negative effect on the spread among school children or in the society in general."
Here at home, a recent analysis of more than 900 child care centers serving 20,000 children found that confirmed infections of staff and children were just 1 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively. Moreover, 30 children under age 15 have died from coronavirus nationwide – far fewer than the number that die each year from the flu, suicide, homicide or accidental deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Wisconsin, as this newsletter is being written, not a single person under 19 years of age has died as a result of COVID-19.
School closures have set our students back, made it harder for our teachers to teach and pushed many parents to the breaking point. Recent research indicates that mandatory distance learning, often plagued by unreliable internet connections and a lack of access to the latest computer technology, is causing students across the country to lose ground in areas like reading and math, often harming low-income kids the most. One recent survey of several school districts conducted by Reuters found that fewer than half are even taking attendance during online courses.
All of this may explain why the American Academy of Pediatrics noted last month that "there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020."
There are steps Congress can take to help with a speedy and safe reopening, and I am committed to doing my part. I joined my colleague Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana in proposing legislation to ensure that additional federal funds are conditioned on a return to in-person learning, and I have thrown my support behind common-sense liability protections that would prevent trial lawyers from targeting our community schools with junk lawsuits during the pandemic.
Cutting Red Tape
We've talked before about how government permitting requirements can stifle everything from building roads to basic forest management. Some of these activities now require up to 200 separate steps of federally mandated planning and regulatory compliance – which is simply mind boggling.
A lot of this is due to a little-known, 50-year-old law called the National Environmental Policy Act or "NEPA." Over the years, bureaucratic requirements have transformed this law into a strait-jacket tying up construction projects and economic development, with some studies taking more than a decade to complete and resulting in thousands of pages of mind-numbing findings that few people even bother to read (see graphs below). This makes no sense. It shouldn't take longer for our government to approve a highway project than it took America to defeat Germany and Japan in World War II.
This week, the White House announced some badly-needed reforms to this antiquated process, setting firm limits on project study times and eliminating duplicative reviews that do nothing to protect the environment, while delaying the completion of critical projects. These changes are long overdue and will help speed up our economic recovery.
First Amendment Under Threat
You may have seen some of the troubling news reports about fresh attacks on free expression and religious liberty this week.
It was shocking and disappointing to learn of more mob attacks on some of our institutions last week, as multiple religious buildings and statues were attacked and vandalized by provocateurs over a 48-hour period.
In other news, an influential and respected writer at The New York Times, Bari Weiss, resigned her position this week after facing "constant bullying by colleagues" who disagreed with her views. Ms. Weiss described a hostile and abusive culture at the paper in which "doxxing of teenagers in the name of justice is condoned" and where the United States was lumped in with Nazi Germany as being among "[the] worst caste systems in human history."
Ms. Weiss added that "[s]tories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions."
You can read her powerful resignation letter here.
In leaving her job, Ms. Weiss noted that "[a]n independent press is not a liberal ideal or a progressive ideal or a democratic ideal. It's an American ideal." She's right.
The open exchange of ideas and the commitment to an open and robust discourse is fundamental to the American Experiment. It is vital that we uphold the First Amendment, and respect the rights of one another, even if we may not always agree. Freedom of expression is a vital building block of our great nation, and we must protect it.
I am an optimist who believes that Americans of goodwill will always stand shoulder to shoulder with one another – regardless of our race, religion or creed – in support of the fundamental right to speak freely and worship as we choose without fear of retribution or violence. And I am committed to defending these cornerstone human rights both here, abroad and online in the face of these troubling assaults on our foundational liberties.
Rep. Tiffany meets with Burns Insurance Agency in Marshfield, WI.
In case you missed it….
There was a positive story this week out of Wausau about Officer Shawn Pierschalla, who went above and beyond the call of duty, as so many of our great police officers do. You can read about Mr. Pierschalla's efforts to help an at-risk member of the community here.
Law enforcement officers work hard every day to protect our neighborhoods, uphold our laws and assist the most vulnerable members of our communities. They deserve our support and recognition now more than ever during these sometimes challenging times, and we should all remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have them protecting our families.
Regional Assistance
In addition to my Wausau and Washington, DC offices, you can reach my staff located in various parts of the district by phone in the location most convenient to you (Note: These lines have 202 area codes as they are connected directly through the US House of Representatives system in Washington, DC):
Hayward: (202) 510-2790
P.O. Box 586
Hayward, WI 54843
Hudson: (202) 510-8993
Tomahawk: (202) 738-6508
Coronavirus Response Resources
The USDA continues to make resources and assistance available to agricultural producers and working families to ensure access, safety and stability for food markets and supplies.
The USDA also continues to accept applications for assistance under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) through August 28, 2020 to assist farmers and ranchers who have been adversely affected by price instability, supply-chain problems and cost spikes. You can learn more about how this program applies to soybeans, dairy, corn, livestock and a variety of other agricultural products here, and a useful fact sheet on the program can be viewed here.
As you might recall, the Paycheck Protection Program briefly lapsed, but President Trump signed bipartisan legislation extending the deadline to apply for assistance under the program. The PPP program provides assistance to employers negatively affected by the public health emergency.
Small businesses can also apply for assistance through the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan program. This program provides economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic.
And once again, remember to make sure that you and your family are counted in the census. Please be sure to visit 2020census.gov to learn more.
If a friend forwarded you this newsletter, and you would like to receive it in the future, you can sign up here, and don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance.
Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress