Baldwin Votes to Support Local Fire Departments, Keep Wisconsinites Safe
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined her Democratic and Republican colleagues in supporting the Fire Grants and Safety Act, which passed the Senate 95-2. The bipartisan legislation extends federal programs that provide resources to local fire departments across Wisconsin to support staffing, equipment, training and emergency services.
The Fire Grants and Safety Act reauthorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) until 2030. The programs are used by local fire departments to address staffing needs, purchase equipment, develop fire training and education programs, and improve emergency medical services. More than 75 fire departments in Wisconsin – often in small towns and rural areas – rely on these grants to keep the communities they serve safe.
Senator Baldwin visited the Wausau Fire Department last week to highlight her support for this legislation. The department was awarded over $3 million from a SAFER grant to fully fund nine new firefighter positions for three years, allowing them to better meet increasing call demand and responsibilities for emergency response.
An online version of this release is available here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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“I was proud to fight for and deliver the resources our fire departments and emergency medical workers rely on to do the hard and often dangerous work of keeping our communities and families safe.”
Everyone voted for the bill – including Senator Johnson.
I want a press release explaining why Senator Baldwin voted for Mr. Lowman’s appointment as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics. Mr. Lowman – the failure in Afghanistan, the failure privatized Army housing, the . . . . What was the cost of the loss in Afghanistan? Yet Senator Baldwin approves the appointment of one of a failure?
I would like to see a press release explaining why Senator Baldwin on the Arms Service Committee doesn’t care about the Fat Leonard failure.
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From: robertm60a3@gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 08:01 PM
To: ‘Christine_Rahlf@baldwin.senate.gov’
Cc: ‘Joni San Fillippo’ ; ‘Alisha_Guffey@baldwin.senate.gov’ ; ‘Jacqueline Schwartz’
Subject: RE: Senate Consideration Appointment Mr Christopher Lowman Assist Secretary of Defense For Sustainment //
Christine,
1. I haven’t received a response to the letters that I sent concerning:
-Appointment of Mr. Lowman as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment (3 Mar 2022)
-Military Judge Ignoring Congress – Law (22 Feb 2022)
2. I understand that Senator Baldwin’s term ends on 3 January 2025. So, she has time to act without an immediate concern about being reelected. However, Senator Johnson’s term ends on 3 January 2023.
-Believe that there are Wisconsin Citizens that would like to think that National Defense is one of the priorities of their Congressional Representatives. One of the arguments from the other side is that the Democratic Party doesn’t care about National Defense.
-Here we have Senator Baldwin, a Democrat, with credible information that Mr. Lowman’s performance in Afghanistan was less than stellar. If she does nothing, there is a reflection on the Democratic Party. It will appear that Senator Baldwin allowed Mr. Lowman to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Support. (If there is a need for documentation, please let me know.)
-Likewise, we have a U.S. Army Judge that has decided to ignore the law. I understand that a Senator shouldn’t get involved with the specifics of a court-martial. However, the issue is following the law that requires at least three-fourths of the members present to vote guilty for a guilty finding. The military judge has decided that all members must vote guilty. The case is sexual assault. Doing nothing would indicate that Senator Baldwin condones sexual assault in the military or isn’t personally interested in the issue, and, by extension, the Democratic Party isn’t interested.
3. Understand that you are a U.S. Navy Officer. I have attached an article that you may be interested in, “Silence is Not the Order of the Day.” I have been busy researching my book and some volunteer work. (I’m writing a book looking at U.S. efforts to train, equip, and sustain the Afghan National Army and Air Force.) But, I hope to start writing soon – perhaps serialized, explaining what I’m finding.
Thank you,
Robert L. Hill
LTC, U.S. Army (Retired)
414 534-0456
From: robertm60a3@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, March 3, 2022 05:20 PM
To: Christine_Rahlf@baldwin.senate.gov
Cc: ‘Joni San Fillippo’ ; Alisha_Guffey@baldwin.senate.gov; ‘Jacqueline Schwartz’
Subject: Senate Consideration Appointment Mr Christopher Lowman Assist Secretary of Defense For Sustainment
Christine,
I recently learned that Mr. Christopher Lowman was being considered for appointment as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment. Mr. Lowman was a FAILURE while working as the Director of Essential Function 5 (Sustainment) from Oct 2017 to Oct 2018. (I’m in the process of writing a book looking at the reasons for the Afghan failure.)
I hope that Senator Baldwin will look at the attached letter and withhold her support for – blocking the appointment of Mr. Lowman as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment.
I understand the limitation of time. I know that the Senator and her staff are busy. However, as I stated in the letter, what could be more important than the security of the United States and the leadership of the U.S. Military? Protecting the United States requires holding senior military leaders accountable for their failures. My understanding is that Senator Baldwin is a Senator that is willing to hold those that fail the military, the people, and the security of the United States accountable.
I will be happy to answer questions concerning Mr. Lowman’s failures in Afghanistan, where he served from Oct 2017 to October 2018 as the Director of Essential Function 5 (Sustainment). While Mr. Lowman’s failures are not the sole reason for the collapse of the Afghan National Army and Air Force, they certainly contributed!
Last year, 2021 to 2022 was my last year teaching. I decided to take time off and write a book explaining the Afghan failure. One of the issues is Congress. Is Congress providing oversight?
As a constitution, I believe my Senator will be interested in issues affecting the security of the United States and waste. Senators can make a difference. They can ask questions and dig into issues.
In 2018, I sent information to Senator Baldwin’s Office in Washington, DC, concerning the Afghan war (wasting billions of dollars, wrong equipment, and lack of accountability). A Commander Geoff Web seemed very interested. But I understand that he was an active U.S. Navy Officer on an internship with Congress. There was also Alisha Guffey, who was a U.S. Army Veteran. I believe that she was on the Senator’s staff. Her position seemed to be that I should write articles for various media outlets. I was hoping that my elected Senator would take an interest and demand real answers and accountability. The bottom line – nothing happened. There was a letter to SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction). (I don’t want to speak for Congress – but it appears outsourced oversight to SIGAR and at a cost of more than $500 million. A lot of money paying SIGAR employees and no real oversight.)
I wonder if the outcome in Afghanistan would have been different if Alisha or Senator Baldwin had taken an interest in the information presented.
I know that Senator Baldwin does care and is concerned about issues affecting the security of the United States. So, the problem must have been communication with her or problems relating to staff. I want to highlight in the chapter looking at Congressional oversight how a Senator can make a positive difference. But, unfortunately, I have only the current experiences.
-Justice Richard Neely of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals wrote in 1981, “The result of the [election] financing process is that a hierarchy of people whom any incumbent must satisfy naturally develops. At the top are the media. If they are unhappy, they can decimate a candidate’s image regardless of how much money he spends. Next are lobbyists, who can raise big cash. Finally, are the broad group of indifferent voters who do not want anything and can be satisfied by rhetoric, symbols, personal charm, trips for school children, or an occasional computer-programmed birthday card. Citizens who have definite, discrete grievances find it difficult to get themselves in the political agenda because of what could loosely be called the ‘Tydings Syndrome.’ Taking stands on controversial issues generates bad publicity, may antagonize the media and may deter large campaign contributions.”
-Ruggero J. Aldiser, a Senior United States Circuit Judge, wrote in 1990, “Elected legislators seem to be the last people in government willing to take a stand on issues that will arouse controversy back in the constituency. They know what happened to Senator Joseph Tydings of Maryland, who took a moral position on a rather innocuous gun-control issue – and paid for it with his political life when the National Rifle Association helped knock his bid for re-election out of the ballot box.”
I would appreciate a response – is holding senior leaders responsible for failure something that Senator Baldwin (and the Democratic Party) sees as important? Will the Senator take action concerning the attached letter?
Thank you,
Robert L. Hill
LTC, U.S. Army (Retired)
414 534-0456