Victories
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Listening Sessions Victories
Helping to
keep our skies safe
Beloit Fire Chief James Reseburg and Beloit Deputy Police
Chief Charles Tubbs came to my 2001 Rock County Listening
Session on September 20th - just a little more than a week
after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington - to
talk about ways law enforcement and medical personnel could
help improve airline safety. They proposed 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, I introduced the Volunteers
for Safe Skies Act in the Senate. In mid-November, the proposal
was added to a comprehensive package of air safety legislation
called the Aviation Security Act and has been signed into
law.
Honoring
veterans
One of the most heartwarming stories ever to come out of these
meetings took place at my 2001 Marquette County Listening
Session at the Oxford Village Hall on June 1st. WW II veteran
Walter Bubolz of Montello came to the session to tell me that
he earned two Purple Hearts while serving in the United States
Army - one when he sustained shrapnel wounds from a grenade
and the second when he was hit by heavy artillery. He also
received the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American
Defense Service Medal, and several others. Mr. Bubolz had
tears in his eyes when he explained that the military merely
handed him his medals in a plastic bag. He was so disappointed
the medals were not properly presented to him that he put
them in the back of his closet.
I asked Mr. Bubolz if he would allow me the honor of presenting
the medals to him properly. I presented the medals to Mr.
Bubolz at a ceremony at the VFW Hall in Adams on August 24,
2001, in the presence of his family, friends and fellow veterans.
Helping disabled
constituents receive federal benefits
When Kewaunee resident Dave Olson
came to my 2001 Kewaunee County Listening Session on October
7th , he was at the end of his rope. He had been diagnosed
with thyroid and lung cancer, and when the cancer prevented
him from continuing his job as a trucker, he could no longer
pay for his medical care, housing, or food. He had applied
for Social Security disability benefits, but his claim was
languishing at the Social Security Administration because
examiners were waiting for information from his doctors.
After a call from my office, the examiner approved a finding
of "presumptive disability" so that he could start
receiving benefits right away. He received his first disability
check within three weeks of the listening session. As a result
of his ensuing eligibility for Medicaid, Mr. Olson paid a
$1 copayment for medication that previously cost him $70.
Helping business
cut through red tape
John Piotrowski of the Packaging Corporation of America in
Tomahawk came to my 2000 Lincoln County Listening Session
on February 15th in Merrill to ask for help in getting the
Environmental Protection Agency to approve an alternative
pollution prevention technique that would allow the company
to meet federal emissions regulations. I and my staff worked
with the EPA and were successful in obtaining approval for
the company in time for company officials to retool their
plant to take optimum advantage of the alternative method.
Advocating for federal support
of local projects
I first heard about Iron County officials'
plan to expand and improve Saxon Harbor on Lake Superior at
my 1999 Iron County Listening Session. These officials again
came to my Listening Session in 2000 to request federal financial
help. As a result of these discussions, I requested a $50,000
appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers to fund an initial
study of the expansion that is a prerequisite to further federal
funding. The appropriation was included in the 2001 federal
budget.
Preserving
Wisconsin's wilderness
I first heard about the need to conduct a wilderness study
at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from Richard Spotts
at my 1997 Ashland County Listening Session. Mr. Spotts' concerns
convinced me to add the study to a bill I introduced shortly
after Earth Day 1998 to preserve several lighthouses on the
Islands. I believe the Apostle Islands are among the most
beautiful places on earth. I visit the Islands regularly with
my family and we have even named our family dog after the
largest island - Madeline.
As a result of Mr. Spotts' bringing
this to my attention, I made sure that the 2001 federal budget
contained $200,000 to conduct the wilderness study and $2
million to repair erosion at the Raspberry Island and Outer
Island lighthouses. Thanks to this study, the Bush administration
announced in September 2004 that it was recommending that
the Apostle Islands receive a wilderness designation.
Keeping cable
rates reasonable
At my 1998 Portage County Listening Session, nine of the 30
people who spoke, including then- Stevens Point Mayor Gary
Westcott, asked me to intervene to stop a cable rate increase.
The local cable company had planned to raise rates from $3.52
a month to $26.75 a month -- an increase of more than 600%
-- for the residents of two elderly apartment complexes in
Stevens Point.
That means the residents who were paying $42 a year for cable
would have seen their bills jump to $318 a year - a significant
increase for people on fixed incomes.As a direct result of
the comments I heard at my Listening Session, I sent a letter
to the cable company officials along with Congressman Dave
Obey urging them to revisit their decision to so drastically
raise rates for these residents. As a result, company officials
agreed to a much more modest increase of $14 phased in over
five years.
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