The Milwaukee Post

6 • Milwaukee Post • June 28, 2013 Baldwin: Discusses key issues At a glance Tammy Baldwin Age: 51 Family: Single Residence: Madison Occupation: U.S. senator Political career: Wisconsin Assembly 78th District representative, 1993-99; U.S. Rep. for Wisconsin's 2nd District, 1999-2013; elected to U.S. Senate, 2012, assumed office there in January 2013 Political affiliation: Democrat Education: Madison West High School (class of 1980); Smith College (A.B. in mathematics and government 1984); University of Wisconsin Law School (juris doctorate, 1989) continued from Page 1 rates and student debt have been big topics lately in Wisconsin. What legislation are you working on right now and how will it benefit Wisconsin students? TAMMY BALDWIN: There is an everincreasing number of Wisconsin students in technical colleges and universities that are incurring debt in order to pay for their higher education, and the Stafford Loans are income-based loans, and so it is very important that we not see the interest rates double when July 1 comes around. Right now those rates are at 3.4 percent, and if they double to 6.8 percent, students who have sizable debt and are just starting off in their careers are going to have quite a burden. A burden they may carry around with them for years and years to come. Obviously, doubling interests rates would make that even bigger, and as somebody who has focused on strategies to grow our middle class and keep it from shrinking, this is just a key strategy in that effort. Because this is a subsidized student loan, in order to keep those interest rates at 3.4 percent for two years, we're closing two loopholes that I really think don't need to be there and am really just asking big oil companies and certain folks who have big taxdeferred accounts to put a little bit more in order to help lift the middle class in Wisconsin and across the country. POST: You're co-sponsoring the media shield bill. What is the importance of protecting journalists and the media? BALDWIN: We need a free media in order to have a strong democracy. It's important that reporters shine the light on what is happening in our government system so citizens can be fully informed. Sometimes that requires reporters to have confidential sources; people who would not necessarily speak out on the record if their name were used and in this case we're talking about people sharing legitimate stories but wanting to do so in a trusted relationship between the reporter and the source. So what this puts in place is a procedure whereby they are protected from revealing their sources, unless a court orders them to reveal their source based on an important national security interest. I think it really balances the public's right to know important information about its government and national security. POST: What are your thoughts on the most recent IRS scandal, with it targeting certain groups for investigation? BALDWIN: I believe that that was wrong and that it erodes the confidence of the American people in the agency and it is very important for the American Photo by Charles Auer/Conley News Service public to have confidence in the IRS and other agencies. So I think the Senate should use our investigative powers and oversight authorities to rein in and correct these activities. I would say also that the report that revealed all of this was from the inspector general, who monitors agents for this activity and they have given us a menu of suggestions on how we could clamp down on this, which is good. POST: What did you think about the NSA-Verizon data collection methods? BALDWIN: That set of issues really goes back to the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence amendment. Back when I served in the House of Representatives, I voted against the Patriot Act because I feared that important constitutional lines were being blurred through that legislation. As important as it is for the government to have all the tools it needs to keep us safe, our U.S. Constitution guarantees U.S. citizens to be free from surveillance without a cause. So when I hear these stories ... we certainly do not know the full account, but it gives me great pause and it says to me we need to revisit these issues. POST: You've been working on the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act. How will that help local farmers within southeastern Wisconsin? BALDWIN: First of all, we have a responsibility to review and re-authorize farm policy. Typically we do it every five years but unfortunately the previous farm bill lapsed, so farmers in Wisconsin look for certainty in policy, and when the other one lapses, provisions expire and they wonder "what can we rely on moving forward?" Why is certainty important to farmers? Well, farming and agriculture actually is a fairly risky enterprise, because you're dependent upon the weather, dependent upon the price of your input, like if you grow things the price of seeds, and you don't get much of a say in what people pay for your product. All of those uncertainties are very difficult, and so the farm bill tends to really focus on helping farmers manage their risks. This bill, I think, has done a good job of revising some outdated policies and bringing forward new risk-management tools. There are some new provisions that affect dairy farmers, and we know Wisconsin is a big dairy state. Also, the average age of a farmer in Wisconsin is 60. What does that say about the future of Wisconsin farming? It seems that we need some new farmers, well frankly, it is very hard to get into farming unless you inherit a farm from your family or buy into a family farming enterprise. So there are some provisions that make it easier for someone just starting to get into it to begin as a young person, and I think getting new people interested and involved in agriculture, farming and ranching is great. POST: Do you expect any additional future gun control legislation for the Senate and what would be your stance on it? BALDWIN: The Senate started a big debate on the gun control bill, and when we were voting on what was an amendment relating to universal background checks per gun ownership, the measure failed to muster the 60 votes needed to pass. Now, remember often in the Senate we require a super majority for something to move forward, and that was really disappointing because I think at the time 90 percent of the American public wanted us to do this, wanted us to keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous felons and protect our communities that way, but it fell short. That measure is actually still pending in the Senate. We set it aside to work on other pieces of legislation but it is available for us to take up again. Sadly, when these tragedies continue ... I hope it doesn't take another massive tragedy to get us to act, but there is still going to be opportunity to act. When we did take that vote I supported expanding to universal background checks and clamping down on weapons trafficking, which is often how weapons get into the wrong hands. ... If we could pass those common-sense reforms, I think we will get a long way in the right direction. I know Waukesha County is no stranger to experiencing those tragedies, so I think people get it. POST: Being the first openly gay member of the Senate, have you experienced any issues or treatment you could consider irregular with your colleagues? BALDWIN: I have felt very much welcomed to the U.S. Senate. There are only 100 of us, and so it is a small group, and I am getting to know each of my colleagues better as the weeks go by. But I would tell you that I feel warmly welcomed. There are times when issues of civil rights and equality come before the Senate and I guess I would say I believe my colleagues look to me in terms of leadership on those issues, and that's an exciting opportunity. POST: What is the importance of manufacturing in southeastern Wisconsin and what are you doing legislatively for manufacturing? BALDWIN: As I said earlier, I think one of the biggest challenges and crises facing America and Wisconsin is our shrinking middle class, and part of how our country and in particular the state of Wisconsin has kept a strong and vibrant middle class over the years is based on our strong manufacturing sector, which has taken its fair share of hits over the last several years. I would like to see Wisconsin position itself to be in the lead in 21st-century advanced manufacturing and in terms of my activities ... I sit on the Senate Budget Committee and we were working on our budget ... I was able to advance on a bipartisan basis an amendment that allows regional manufacturing hubs to get engaged in research and development, to try to then attract more manufacturing in a certain sector. An element to southeastern Wisconsin is that because we are a state on two of the Great Lakes, we have a number of industries and educational institutions that are focused on the study of freshwater and products related to water. So the Wisconsin Water Council is looking into one of these regional manufacturing hubs itself, and I'm hopeful that if ultimately this effort that I am working on becomes the law of the land, we could have southeast Wisconsin become a regional hub relating to water industries. Contact Amber Gramza agramza@conleynet.com

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