Russ Feingold: Press Release

FEINGOLD HOLDS 1000th LISTENING SESSION
Racine County Listening Session is Feingold’s 1000th Open Town Hall Meeting Since Taking Office in 1993

Racine, WI – Today, in Racine County, Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold will hold his 1000th listening session today since taking office in 1993. Feingold’s milestone listening session will take place today in the Racine City Hall, the same location as Feingold’s first ever listening session in 1993. In his 14 years of holding listening sessions, more than 48,000 people have come to tell Feingold what is on their minds. By traveling from county to county, Feingold has logged over 140,000 miles in Wisconsin, or the equivalent of five times around the world. Feingold has also traveled to virtually every corner of the state, holding listening sessions in over 400 different municipalities.

“I don’t know how I would be able to do my job as a U.S. Senator if it were not for these listening sessions,” Feingold said. “For the past thirteen years, hearing directly from people all over Wisconsin has helped me stay on top of the issues that matter most to them like lowering health care costs, protecting American jobs, and strengthening our economy. Not only have these listening sessions helped me do my job, they’ve also been my favorite part of the job. From rural towns to the bigger cities, in senior centers, high schools, and VFW posts, visiting Wisconsin’s 72 counties brings me face to face with the unique diversity that makes Wisconsin such an incredible place.”

When first elected in 1992, Feingold promised to visit every Wisconsin county every year and hold an open town hall meeting. Feingold has kept that promise and held a meeting in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties every year since 1993. Below are just a few of the examples of how listening sessions have helped Feingold serve Wisconsin:

Moving towards guaranteed universal health care coverage
In all but two of the past thirteen years, health care was the topic raised most by constituents at Feingold’s listening sessions. That is why over the years, Feingold has made several efforts to make lowering health care costs a priority. Because of the consistent attention to the issue of health care, Feingold has worked to make prescription drugs affordable, improve health care for underserved areas, and he has even introduced legislation to force Congress to take the issue up. Now because of the issue’s prominence at Wisconsin listening sessions, Feingold has introduced legislation to help states move towards universal health care coverage.

Helping to keep our skies safe
In September 2001, just nine days after the September 11th terrorist attacks, Beloit Fire Chief James Reseburg and Beloit Deputy Police Chief Charles Tubbs attended the Rock County Listening Session to propose allowing firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians to register voluntarily and confidentially with airlines whenever they travel by air, to provide added security and medical aid in the event of an emergency. Just four days later on September 24th, Feingold introduced the Volunteers for Safe Skies Act in the Senate. Later that year, the proposal was signed into law as part of the Aviation Security Act and today, it is fully funded.

Preserving Wisconsin’s wilderness
Senator Feingold first heard about the need to conduct a Wilderness Study at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from a constituent at his 1997 Ashland County listening session. Feingold worked successfully to get funding for the study.

Helping charitable groups retain volunteers
Senator Feingold introduced the Volunteer Mileage Reimbursement Act after hearing at his 2002 Portage County listening session that organizations were losing volunteers because of the low mileage reimbursement rate.

Protecting Wisconsin Agriculture
After hearing stories at his 2004 Marathon County that counterfeit ginseng was entering the country from overseas, Senator Feingold introduced the Gingeng Harvest Labeling Act. Feingold has also requested additional funds for FDA inspection and enforcement of ginseng entering the U.S.

Working to establish a veterans’ clinic in northwestern Wisconsin
During his 2005 Sawyer County listening session, Senator Feingold heard from a number of people about the continuing need for a new community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) in the area. Hayward (Sawyer County) and Rice Lake (Barron County) had both been discussed as possible locations for the new CBOC. Feingold began to immediately lead a delegation effort to bring a CBOC to the area. Feingold wrote numerous letters on the issue, and after the listening session last year, he personally called Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson to reiterate the need for a clinic in both Hayward and Rice Lake. In June, the VA announced that the area would get at least one clinic.

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U.S. SENATOR RUSS FEINGOLD: 14
YEARS, 1000 LISTENING SESSIONS

When Senator Feingold first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, he made a promise to hold open meetings in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties every year to listen to people's concerns and answer their questions. Fourteen years later, he has kept that promise. Senator Feingold’s listening sessions are designed to allow people to discuss concerns, and listen to friends and neighbors do the same, in an open environment without an appointment. Except for his brief introductory remarks, Feingold spends the entire time listening, taking notes and responding to questions. Wisconsinites have given Feingold some great ideas for new legislation at these meetings, and when they tell him that they are having a problem with a federal agency, he can try to help.

What has Russ been hearing?

Throughout his 1000 listening sessions, Wisconsinites have raised a wide range of issues. But a handful of topics are consistently at or near the top of the list. ‘Foreign affairs,’ which includes Iraq, was the most talked about issue both in 2006 and 2005. But health care issues have dominated over the years, being the most talked about issue each year between 1993 and 2004 with the one exception of 1997 when campaign finance reform took the top spot. Other issues that have been widely discussed throughout the 1000 listening sessions include education, energy issues, the loss of American jobs, and the budget deficit and national debt.

Who has Russ heard from?

Senator Feingold’s listening sessions are open forums designed to allow anyone to bring up any issue they wish in their own communities. Senator Feingold’s 1000 listening sessions have brought him face to face with over 48,000 Wisconsinites. Listening session attendance can widely vary. The largest attendance ever for a listening session was 430 people while the smallest attendance was three people. Coincidentally, both record attendances happened in Juneau County. This year, 2006, could break the yearly attendance record for listening sessions. The largest year for attendance to date is 1997 when 4,618 people attended the town meetings. So far in 2006, through 63 listening sessions, 4,162 people have attended.

Where has Russ heard them?

Senator Feingold has held his listening sessions in over 400 different Wisconsin communities over the past fourteen years. By holding them in such a wide array of places, Senator Feingold has been able to visit virtually every corner of the state. During the past fourteen years of traveling from county to county, Senator Feingold has logged approximately 140,000 miles all within Wisconsin. That’s equal to about five and a half times around the world. Here are some fun facts on the places Senator Feingold has held listening sessions:

  • It can be confusing, but Senator Feingold has held listening sessions in Tomah in Monroe County and Monroe in Green County; Keshena in Menominee County and Menomonie in Dunn County; Spooner in Washburn County and Washburn in Bayfield County; Stevens Point in Portage County and Portage in Columbia County.

  • People who don’t know Wisconsin might think that Senator Feingold has been traveling the country and the world. Senator Feingold has held listening sessions in Rome, Berlin, Oxford, Luxemburg, Plymouth, and Brussels.

  • Senator Feingold has held listening sessions in some pretty positive sounding places around Wisconsin like Friendship, Freedom, Independence, Loyal, Unity, and Luck.


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