Tammy sent a letter to President Obama prior to his trip to China this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. She advocated for Wisconsin manufacturing and promoted a level playing field for American businesses and workers, highlighting four policy priorities: addressing currency manipulation, protecting intellectual property, preserving ‘Buy American’ requirements in trade agreements and supporting enforcement on unfair trade practices.
Tammy delivered testimony this morning at a hearing of the International Trade Commission (ITC) on behalf of a Wisconsin paper company, Appvion of Appleton. The purpose of her attendance at the hearing was to highlight the importance of the paper industry in Wisconsin and to address an important trade matter that impacts Appvion, a pulp and paper mill that manufactures and sells coated paper products world-wide and employs 1,644 employees in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"Senator Baldwin was among the first to support our fight for a level playing field on which to compete when we began the process in 2007. We appreciate the Senator's strong and ongoing efforts to protect Wisconsin manufacturing jobs by ensuring a fair and competitive marketplace," said Mark Richards, CEO Appvion.
The Appleton-based paper company was a petitioner in a 2008 antidumping investigation on imports of lightweight thermal paper from China and Germany. As a result of the investigation, antidumping duties were imposed on imports from Germany and China and countervailing duties were imposed on imports from China. Antidumping duties are put in place for five years. After the initial five-year period, the Department of Commerce and the ITC review the duties and determine if revoking them would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, and to what extent the domestic marketplace would be harmed. In February, the U.S. Department of Commerce found that dumping by German and Chinese thermal paper producers would likely continue if the duties were revoked. Today, the ITC heard testimony about how the domestic marketplace is impacted by dumped imports.
“In Wisconsin, we have one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the nation, supporting a large share of our workforce and exporting goods all over America and the world. Wisconsinites work hard and play by the rules. Whether it’s making paper products, diesel engines or navy ships, when Wisconsin manufacturers compete on a level playing field, more often than not, they win,” Tammy said, “Appvion and their employees have played by the rules of international trade and have done quite well. However, they are under constant threat from foreign companies that play by a different set of rules and quite frankly, companies that cheat”
Tammy’s testimony from this morning’s hearing can be found here.
To raise awareness for breast cancer, Tammy is encouraging women to empower themselves with the knowledge to make health care decisions that work for them and their families - and take advantage of the free preventive health care and cancer screenings available to them. To see the blog she wrote for Women’s Health, click here.
This October, as we join together to raise awareness for breast cancer, it’s important that we take the time to celebrate the progress we have made on women’s health.
Because of the Affordable Care Act, American women are now empowered with more choices and stronger health coverage. And thanks to the health law’s new protections, women are realizing the benefits of health security for the first time, and they are no longer discriminated against by insurance companies simply because they are a woman.
Today, someone’s mother can get a lifesaving mammogram without the fear of high medical bills. And, someone’s sister can take advantage of a cervical cancer screening without worrying how to pay for it. This is important because we know early detection and prompt treatment of cancer is vital to saving lives and increasing survivorship rates.
Women who couldn’t afford to buy birth control now have a guaranteed benefit available with no out-of-pocket cost. This part of the law has already saved women an estimated $483.3 million in out-of-pocket costs in 2013 alone. Also, women now have guaranteed maternity coverage, a benefit that many individual health plans did not include before this historic law was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.
While some politicians continue their calls for repeal of these critical reforms, it is important that we work together to protect these gains for women and their families. We also need to do more to strengthen the health security of women.
That is why I am working to reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This bipartisan program provides cancer screenings to low-income, uninsured, and under-insured women across America by making investments in states to partner with non-profit groups and local health clinics that coordinate and deliver life-saving screenings to women in need. These screenings include clinical breast exams, mammograms, pap tests, HPV tests, pelvic exams, and referrals for treatment. Since its inception in 1991, this program has provided nearly 11 million screening exams for breast and cervical cancer—including five million mammograms—to underserved women.
All women should have access to the most current breast and cervical cancer detection services. That’s why I’ll continue my work in the U.S. Senate to make sure women have access to the critical care they need to maintain their health.
But we all have a role to play to engage, educate, and empower our friends, family, and neighbors. We can all do or part to raise awareness about breast cancer and advance women’s health.
Not just this month, but every day.
Know the facts, and empower yourself with the knowledge to make the health-care decisions that work for you and your family. Early detection tests for breast and cervical cancer save thousands of lives each year—but many more lives could be saved if more women took full advantage of these tests. Share this information with your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, and the other women in your life. And take advantage of the free preventive cancer screenings that are so essential to your health.
Let us join together as one community and renew our commitment to healthy women—because healthy women lead to healthy families, and healthy families lead to healthy communities.
Did you or did someone you know lose BadgerCare Plus coverage? If so, you could be eligible to enroll in the federal Health Insurance Marketplace and receive the coverage you need.
If you were kicked out of the BadgerCare program by Governor Walker and don’t have health care coverage, you still have time to enroll in the federal Health Insurance Marketplace for coverage this year. The last day for special enrollment is November 2nd.
Call the federal Health Insurance Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596 or TTY 1-855-889-4325 to enroll before November 2nd.
Governor Walker’s decision to kick approximately 63,000 Wisconsinites out of BadgerCare has resulted in a gap in coverage for many our friends and neighbors. But this special enrollment period will provide Wisconsinites the health insurance they need and deserve.
Help get the word out. Call the federal Health Insurance Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596 or TTY 1-855-889-4325 to enroll for health insurance before the November 2nd deadline.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Tammy joined Senators Robert Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Christopher Murphy (D-CT) in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to track all federal aid and equipment provided to state and local public safety organizations to better understand how the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security can best assist local law enforcement. Tammy passionately believes in the importance of effective policing and has noted how recent events have highlighted a growing trend of American local law enforcement using military equipment.
The Senators write, “Following meetings we have held in our respective states, we believe that there is a clear need for a more robust federal role in tracking and evaluating public safety equipment transfers nationwide… When Congress, the President, or the American people ask whether military aid to law enforcement is serving its stated purpose, DOJ should have what it needs to offer an informed response.”
Prior to the letter to Attorney General Holder, Tammy participated in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Oversight of Federal Programs for Equipping State and Local Law Enforcement. Tammy questioned the panelists about the process of equipping police officers with military equipment and discussed the best practices for supporting our state and local police departments. You can watch Tammy’s portion of the hearing here:
An online copy of the letter to Attorney General Holder is available here.
