Respecting Our Seniors

In May, we celebrate Older Americans Month. This is a time to recognize the many contributions and achievements of older Americans in our communities. It is also a time to reflect on how we honor and care for our seniors, and rededicate ourselves to ensuring the health and well-being of aging Americans.

I was raised by my maternal grandparents in Wisconsin. I was lucky they were there for me when I needed them. At that time in their lives, still working at demanding jobs, my grandparents should have been enjoying their well-deserved leisure time. Instead, they made many sacrifices on my behalf.

As my grandmother grew older, our roles reversed. Helping my grandmother in her later years opened my eyes to the many challenges facing older Americans across our nation.

I was struck by the sheer volume of solicitations my grandmother was receiving. I was also shocked by how many fly-by-night and “look alike” charities wrote her monthly. I learned from that experience about the very real exploitation of seniors through mail, telephone, and Internet fraud.

The Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups (CWAG) estimates that more than 38,000 seniors in Wisconsin were victims of financial exploitation in 2011. Fraud can have severe financial and emotional consequences for older Americans and their families.

I believe we should be doing more to combat these crimes and am proud to champion legislation in Congress to help protect seniors from financial scams. My legislation would help centralize consumer education and assist locally-focused mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention and education programs for seniors.

Caring for my grandmother also let me see first-hand the importance of Medicare in her life. Because of Medicare, my Nana benefited from affordable, quality health care and wasn’t bankrupted by high medical costs.

There are millions of families saved from physical or financial ruin because of Medicare. Wherever I go in Wisconsin, I meet folks who passionately want to preserve Medicare as we know it, not just for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren.

I believe Medicare is a contract we make with our seniors that if you work hard, play by the rules, and contribute a fair share in your earning years, you will have medical care in your senior years. As a Member of Congress, I have strongly opposed any effort to break this contract and will not support measures like the Ryan Budget that would end Medicare as we know it for future generations of retirees.

There is much more we can and must do to protect vulnerable seniors from fraudsters, abusers, and those who would neglect them. Seniors who have contributed much and sacrificed much for their families, their communities, and our nation throughout their lives, deserve to feel safe, secure, and respected not just during Older Americans Month, but every day of the year.

Report to Veterans 2012

I recently issued a report to Wisconsin veterans on my efforts to improve veterans’ health benefits, fully fund the VA, help Wisconsin veterans navigate the VA and other federal agencies, and receive the service medals they are due. The report also includes information on recent veterans' legislation I have introduced in the House.

A copy of the report is published here.

My Vote on the Coal Ash Bill (H.R. 2273)

Today, the House passed, and I voted in favor of the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2273). When coal is used to make electricity in power plants, the residue left over is known as coal ash. It has never been regulated at the federal level. For the first time, this bipartisan legislation will set out federal standards, enforceable at the state level, for the safe disposal of coal ash.

I am proud of my strong record protecting public health and the environment. In fact, through my work on the Energy and Commerce Committee, I was able to strengthen this legislation in several significant ways. I fought for and won additional protections for groundwater monitoring for elements such as boron, molybdenum, mercury and sulfates. Monitoring will ensure groundwater in areas surrounding coal ash disposal sites remains safe. I won additional requirements for corrective actions, record keeping, and run-on and run-off control systems. Lastly, I worked to ensure that states are allowed to go above and beyond this federal standard.

Existing Wisconsin state regulations for coal ash are viewed as the gold standard for handling coal combustion waste and there is a strong beneficial reuse program in our state. In fact, We Energies has an average recycling rate of 96 percent and actually achieved a recycling rate close to 110 percent in 2010. The company is the only utility in the country currently digging up coal ash from existing landfills and reusing it. This process results in high quality ash used in road construction, concrete, cement, bricks and additional byproducts.

The success of this process is bringing jobs here to Wisconsin. The availability of this high quality ash attracted CalStar Products to open a new manufacturing plant in Racine County early last year, bringing 20 new jobs to southeastern Wisconsin. CalStar uses coal ash from We Energies’ Oak Creek Power Station to make sustainable building products like bricks and pavers. According to CalStar, for every ton of cement replaced by fly ash, we eliminate about a ton of carbon dioxide. Additionally, this practice has reduced U.S. carbon emissions by more than 200 million tons since 1990.

While Wisconsin continues to expand the use of renewable energy sources, coal will continue to be part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future. Instead of landfilling these materials, we should encourage their safe use in construction and building projects. When used correctly, recycled coal ash reduces greenhouse gas emissions, conserves resources and leads to positive economic benefits. When coal combustion residuals cannot be recycled into useful products, they must be disposed of properly and this legislation ensures that.

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