U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
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Victories | Frequent Issues | Interesting Places | Miles Traveled

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.