Hi folks! Welcome back to Tammy Tuesdays, our weekly update email on Tammy’s work and the big fights she’s taking on for Wisconsin families.
Before we jump in, we want to highlight Tammy’s state-spanning, win-highlighting, jam-packed month of August where she showed up in community after community across Wisconsin. This month alone, Tammy has highlighted Made in Wisconsin manufacturing and small businesses in Green Bay, Milwaukee, Pleasant Prairie, Port Washington, Wisconsin Rapids, and Oconto; held events on addressing the opioid and fentanyl epidemic in Appleton and Ladysmith; sat down with law enforcement in Marquette County; met with veterans in Waukesha and active duty armed forces at Volk Field; celebrated broadband expansion in Chippewa Valley and Casco; pushed for lower prescription drug costs in Onalaska; and of course joined Wisconsinites from across the state at the State Fair.
Read below for highlights of what Tammy worked on this week:
Bolstering Child Care
Tammy knows how critical affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care is for Wisconsin’s working families. Child care gives families peace of mind that their children are in safe environments and it also ensures our children are developing social, communication, and educational skills that can be crucial determinants of their future success. However, child care is out of reach for many families whether it’s because of lack of affordability, options near home, or because of the child care workforce shortage.
That’s why Tammy is working hard to make sure that child care remains a priority in Washington. Tammy is at the forefront of the fight to ensure Wisconsin families have access to the child care they deserve, calling on the federal government to strengthen the child care sector and workforce and recently introducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, which seeks to address the child care crisis,
Creating Made in Wisconsin Jobs
Since she first took office, Tammy has been working hard to protect American jobs and keep our factories open here in Wisconsin. From including her Buy America provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to currently working across the aisle to pass legislation that cracks down on outsourcing and lowballing from overseas countries like China, Tammy is always going to put Wisconsin workers first.
That’s why last year, Tammy was proud to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) alongside Wisconsin Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration. And Wisconsin is already seeing the positive impacts of this landmark legislation, which invested over $3 billion in our state’s private clean energy investments and is expected to create over 500 good-paying Made in Wisconsin jobs. Tammy knows that working Wisconsinites are the backbone of our state, and is going to keep working hard to create jobs and support our workers here at home.
Connecting Our Rural Communities
Every Wisconsinite deserves to have access to reliable high-speed internet. Access to high-speed internet strengthens our economy, opens the door to more educational opportunities for our children, and keeps us connected to our loved ones. But still, sometimes our rural communities don’t have the cell towers or cables needed to access the internet.
Tammy knows that where you live shouldn’t determine whether or not you can get internet access. That’s why she was proud to support the USDA’s ReConnect program, which is providing $667 million for broadband expansion specifically in our rural communities. This first round of investments is going to connect nearly 10,000 people, over 300 businesses, and just under 700 farms in Richland, Dane, Iowa, Juneau and Sauk counties to high-speed internet. And Tammy is going to keep working hard until every single Wisconsinite across the state has access to high-speed internet.
Winning Big for Wisconsin’s Agricultural Industries
Everyone knows that Wisconsin’s agricultural industries lead the rest of the world with our diverse and quality products. No matter what our farmers grow or produce, consumers can count on their Wisconsin made products to meet the highest standards. Tammy is proud of this fact and is always going to work hard to make sure that Wisconsin’s agricultural industries have all the tools and resources they need to keep going strong.
This week, Tammy secured over $1 million for Wisconsin’s specialty crops, which will be used to generate more market opportunities for Wisconsin’s specialty crop producers and bolster our specialty crops competitiveness. Whether it’s our world-class dairy industry or our more niche, but just as quality fruit industries, Tammy is going to keep working hard to ensure that Wisconsin maintains its reputation as a global leader in agriculture.
Rebuilding Our Bridges & Roads
Tammy knows that strong bridges and safe roads aren’t red or blue issues. Wisconsinites use bridges and roads everyday to go to work, school, or to run errands. Our bridges and roads keep our communities connected and our economy going strong.
Right now, Tammy is working hard alongside Governor Tony Evers and Minnesota lawmakers to replace the Blatnik Bridge, the bridge that has connected Superior, WI and Duluth, MN since 1961 and is traveled by more than 33,000 vehicles on a daily basis. From securing over $7 million toward the Blatnik Bridge replacement project to calling on the Biden administration to further support the project, Tammy is going to keep working to get this bridge replaced.
