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(608)266-5780 | State Capitol, Room 307 West, P.O. Box 8953, Madison, WI 53708 | rep.billings@legis.wi.gov
COMMUNITY EVENTS:
Cameron Park Farmer's
Market
Saturday, August 15 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Cameron Park
(MAP)
Pla-Mor Lanes 16th
Anniversary Cornhole Tournament
Sunday, August 16 at 11:30 a.m.
Pla-Mor Lanes
(MAP)
Moon Tunes at Riverside
Park
Thursday, August 20 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Featuring The Executives & Classic Car Show
Riverside Park (MAP)
A Taste of the Garden:
(Fundraiser for LAX Hunger Task Force)
Thursday, August 20 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Kane Street Community Garden (MAP)
CONTACT ME:
State Capitol
Room 307 West
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
Phone:
(608) 266-5780
Toll Free:
(888) 534-0095
rep.billings@legis.wi.gov
Friends and Neighbors,
Summer is slowly winding down. In these last couple weeks of August, I
encourage you all to get out into the community and enjoy one of the
many exciting events our city and state have to offer!
I’ve spent my summer so far enjoying community events like IrishFest,
the County Fair, and concerts in the park, national events like the
National Conference of State Legislatures, and of course, working hard
for La Crosse residents down in Madison.
What will you do to make this summer memorable?
Best Wishes,
Jill Billings
State Representative
95th Assembly District
REP. BILLINGS APPOINTED TO URBAN EDUCATION TASK FORCE
This week, Assembly Speaker Rep. Robin Vos announced the creation of
three legislative task forces that will study state issues and present
suggestions to legislative committees. Rep. Jill Billings (D – La
Crosse) was appointed to the Urban Education Task Force. Rep. Billings
released the following statement regarding the appointment:
"Special challenges face urban schools in Wisconsin including
insufficient funding, a lack of access to important resources, and high
levels of poverty that affect students' home and school life. As a
member of this task force, I am committed to evaluating sustainable
solutions for our urban schools, so that all students in Wisconsin have
the opportunity to succeed."
The bipartisan Urban Education Task Force is comprised of 13 Assembly
members from across the state, 5 Democrats and 8 Republicans.
Speaker Vos has outlined preliminary areas of study for the task force
including issues surrounding teacher recruitment and retention, truancy,
below-average academic performance, increased technology access, and
several other issues facing our schools today.
"Assembly Democrats have always been dedicated to providing the
necessary resources, instruction, and educational standards for our
students to succeed, especially throughout this session's budget
process. I am pleased to see that the Republican Speaker is recognizing
the importance of urban education, and am optimistic that we can
collaborate and move towards creating effective solutions for our kids."
"DE-FUNDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD" BILLS EXPLAINED
As you may know, in the last few weeks online videos alleging the activities of Planned Parenthood -- a national women's health nonprofit -- were circulated by anti-choice groups across the country. The group that filmed the video, The Center for Medical Progress, falsely posed as medical researchers to gain access to conferences and privileged conversations with medical professionals.
AB 305, introduced in previous sessions by Rep. Andre Jacque (R- De Pere),
was reintroduced this session, likely in response to these videos. The
bill would ban the sale or donation of fetal tissue from an aborted
fetus. A few facts have come to my attention after these videos were
released that cause significant concern as to the validity of the bills.
First, the sale of fetal tissue is already expressly prohibited under
federal law. Second, though Planned Parenthood was mentioned many times
during the bill's debate, Planned Parenthood Wisconsin does not engage
in any fetal tissue sale or donation.
A public hearing on AB 305 was held this Tuesday, with a number of
registrations speaking on their opposition to abortion. From the
hearing, it became clear that this legislation would have no effect on
abortions in the state, but would rather impede medical research
initiatives.
According to the UW School of Medicine and Public Heath Dean Robert N.
Golden, fetal tissue is used for life-saving medical research in
Wisconsin, including research on Alzheimer's, certain cancers, and
vaccines. If this bill passed, Dr. Golden testified that it would
immediately halt state medical research progress, and force researchers
to leave Wisconsin for less restrictive states.
Additionally, the committee heard from researchers in Wisconsin's
bioscience industry, who testified that the industry -- which produces
$27 billion annually and is responsible for the creation of 105,000 jobs
-- would be in jeopardy if it were not able to continue testing on fetal
tissue.
Both LRB-2645 and LRB-2675 seek to de-fund Planned Parenthood of
Wisconsin entirely. These bills will likely go before the Assembly
Committee on Health in the next few weeks. It is extremely important to
note that Planned Parenthood is not simply an abortion clinic. In fact
97 percent of Planned Parenthood's activities do not include abortion
services. Contrary to what some believe, Planned Parenthood is the
primary health care provider for thousands of women and men throughout
Wisconsin. Approximately 50,000 women and men are provided with safe,
preventative-based care under the Title X grant in Wisconsin. De-funding
Planned Parenthood would only disenfranchise a large population of
Wisconsinites seeking affordable medical care.
FEATURED IN "COULEE REGION WOMEN" MAGAZINE
Rep. Billings, along with other women leaders in our area, was featured in this month's issue of "Coulee Region Women," which highlighted "Women Making a Difference."
"Working in a Wisconsin Assembly, where harmony is not always the norm between the political parties, State Representative Jill Billings is known to reach across the aisle. Having served on the La Crosse County Board helps, as does 'having grown up in a family with seven kids. It's important to learn to work well with others, that great kindergarten lesson.'"
Pick up a copy around town, or view the online version by clicking here.
EXPLORE LA CROSSE RECEIVES JEM GRANT
Congratulations to Explore La Crosse's "La Crosse Area Weekend Bicycle Festival" for receiving an $11,250 Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism!
The 4-day biking event will celebrate its fifth year this September, and
will generate an estimated $189,100 in economic impact for the La Crosse
area.
According to Dave Clements, Executive Director of Explore La Crosse, "La
Crosse is the perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts of all
interests and this grant provides the La Crosse Area Bicycle Festival
with expanded resources to communicate this message to thousands who
seek a destination to enjoy outdoor recreational activities during Labor
Day weekend."
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