Tammy Baldwin talks economy, health care in Milwaukee visit
Democratic Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is ready to take over when Sen. Herb Kohl finishes his final term in Washington. She is the Democrats’ choice to run for the vacant seat and right now she is watching some of the state’s top Republicans battle for their party’s nomination.
But Baldwin hasn’t been sitting idly by; she’s been stumping the state, introducing herself to residents who are not familiar with the seven-term congresswoman from Madison. Monday, she stopped at the Milwaukee Press Club to speak about her run for the U.S. Senate.
“Hard-working families are playing by the rules and are falling behind,” Baldwin said. “I am against unlevel playing fields. It is wrong to have one rule for the rich and high-powered and one rule for the rest of us. I will fight for the hard-working families of Wisconsin.”
Leveling the playing field
While Baldwin has been criticized by some for a national rating as “one of the most liberal legislators in Washington,” she argues that to get anything done, there has to be bipartisanship. She pointed to a bill she recently co-sponsored with Republican Congressman Reid Ribble (WI-8th) that would enact a duty on Chinese imports if they are manufactured by companies receiving subsidies from the Chinese government. She said this gives Chinese products an unfair advantage over American products and severely impacts Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin workers can out-compete any company in China if we have a level playing field,” she said. “That is why I am working with Rep. Ribble on this.”
She is also working to level the playing field by being a sponsor of “Buffett Rule” legislation, which would have millionaires pay a surtax to ensure they pay more in taxes than their employees. She was an early supporter of President Obama’s payroll tax cut and it’s renewal saying the savings workers realize from the action can total as much as $1,000 per Wisconsin family.
“That’s a mortgage payment right there,” she said.
“These funds are to make families whole, not fill Gov. Walker’s budget hole.”
Baldwin said Walker’s actions highlight the disconnect politicians in both Washington D.C. and Madison have with everyday people.
“Politicians don’t understand the loss and struggles of the people,” she said. “People are taking it on the chin out here and they want someone who will fight for them and that is why I am running.”
Health Care and Social Security
Rep. Baldwin introduced the Paying a Fair Share Act, also known as “the Buffett Rule,” to help level the playing field between middle class taxpayers and millionaires and billionaires.
Baldwin’s main passion is health care. At age 9, she was diagnosed with a bone infection, but her hospital and medical bills were not covered by her grandparents’ insurance. After her recovery, she was branded with a pre-existing condition, leaving her uninsurable.
She has been a ardent supporter of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and she said its emphasis on wellness and prevention is the most cost-effective way to solve the nation’s health care crisis. Providing insurance coverage for young adults through age 26 and for people with pre-existing conditions are important provisions Baldwin says she fought for and is proud to stand by.
Baldwin also supports the President’s solution that insurance companies, not religious affiliated employers, pay for contraception for employees.
“Birth control equals prevention,” Baldwin said. “We have to carefully find the appropriate balance between the freedom of religion and access to comprehensive care. In the end, what he came up with is very similar to what we already have here in Wisconsin.”
As for Social Security, Baldwin said she would welcome a bipartisan commission to work on a plan to extend the solvency of the program that would be voted on up or down by Congress — similar to what Ronald Reagan did in the early 80s.
“The real issue is that retirement used to be funded with a three-legged stool — Social Security, a pension and personal savings,” she said. “Now pensions are gone, personal savings have been wiped out or dipped into for everyday living expenses and that only leaves Social Security. Social Security is now a cane that we can’t do anything to that would jeopardize it.”
Budget Plans
One of Baldwin’s potential opponents, Mark Neumann, recently released a list of things he would cut from the federal budget. Baldwin has ideas of her own to tighten the fiscal belt. She would bring our troops home from Afghanistan, saying she believes the Afghan-led security is ready for our departure. She would look at the cost overruns and lax oversight of military contracts and how dialing back troop numbers can reduce contracts.
When asked about Oshkosh Corporation, which depends on military contracts and is building Medium Tactical Vehicles that can withstand IED-warfare, Baldwin supported spending for the home-based manufacturer.
“I believe that Wisconsin contractors will be needed, but the real battle is to buy American and not outsource our security,” she added.
Baldwin would also eliminate agriculture subsidies to corporate farms and millionaires with designated croplands as well as subsidies to big oil.
You can see video below of Tammy Baldwin introducing the “Paying your Fair Share Act” below, courtesy the congresswoman’s YouTube site:
