The Sargent Voice
Friends and Neighbors,Each week as I knock on doors throughout the 48th Assembly District, I hear new and unique perspectives about our state government. I have heard about a range of topics from Medical Assistance, to voucher schools, to Wisconsin's lagging economy. I value each and every comment I receive as I cannot do my job without the input from citizens like you.
This e-update is intended to inform people about the happenings in our district, as well as to bring light to subjects that I hear when talking to our neighbors.
As always, please feel free to contact my office if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or if you have input for future issues of the Sargent Voice.
Forward,
Gov. Walker should let counties accept new Medicaid funds
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Last week, county leaders from across the state, who know firsthand the impacts of Walker’s decisions, decided to get creative and find a way to work around Governor Walker's ill-advised, costly mistake of not accepting federal Medicaid expansion money. Locally elected officials from 20 counties across Wisconsin wrote to the Department of Health Services proposing an alternative local means for accepting our federal Medicaid funds. |
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The letter called on DHS Secretary Kitty Rhodes to request a demonstration pilot project in Wisconsin that would allow interested counties the opportunity to access these federal enhanced Medicaid funds in order to fully benefit from our federal tax dollars and directly help our citizens.
This proposal was modeled after Cuyahoga County in Ohio, which received a federal waiver to receive funds through the federal Medicaid expansion. Like Wisconsin, Ohio has not currently taken advantage of the enhanced Medicaid funding at a state level; this was a purely local effort in partnership with a Cleveland hospital.
One would think that Republicans would jump at this opportunity to honor local control, which is a key component of the GOP platform. It would also save billions in taxpayer dollars. Finally, it would allow people to be covered under our state-run, wildly successful BadgerCare program rather than being transferred to the federal exchanges. Tax cuts, local control, and sticking it to ObamaCare? This should be right up Walker’s alley, but instead, on Thursday he was quoted as saying, “It’s a nice measure to get attention, but it really doesn’t have a practical impact.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. The practical impact of implementing a county-run program would be preserving the health of Wisconsin citizens. This is not an attention-grabbing measure, but rather, a solution to the looming problem of people losing coverage by the tens of thousands starting in January 2014. While Walker has indicated that he believes a pilot program is an attempt by the counties to circumvent the state, he is once again wrong on all accounts. The reality is, under this plan, the counties would partner with DHS, as they do with other human services already, to access our federal funds and provide quality care at the local level.
In light of the existing county waiver precedent from Ohio, it is my hope that Secretary Rhodes and Governor Walker will do the right thing, and allow counties to opt in to access these federal Medicaid funds through a demonstration pilot program.
DAIS breaks ground for new shelter
Recycles cell phones for fund-raising
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I was pleased to help break ground for the new Domestic
Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS) violence shelter on
Madison’s East Side. The new facility will be at 2102
Fordem Avenue and will more than double the capacity of
the current 25-bed shelter. DAIS still must raise over $2 million to help fund the construction. As part of the fundraising effort, DAIS is asking the public to donate used cell phones for recycling. |
I have a collection box in my office, 8 West
State Capitol. You can drop by with your phone to donate
or mail it to my official address, P.O. Box 8953,
Madison, WI 53708.
The DAIS current shelter is the smallest per capita in
the state and has been unable to provide enough space
for all the women and children with high safety needs.
Since 2008, the number of requests has been growing
exponentially. DAIS is Dane County’s primary domestic
violence program and offers a 24-hour help line, legal
advocacy, crisis response, support groups, children’s
programming, prevention programming, and the county’s
only emergency shelter.
Japanese Labor Group
Visits Rep. Sargent at the Capitol
| It was an honor to speak with representatives from the Osaka - Madison Exchange and Solidarity Tour. These Japanese citizens are all involved in different ways within the labor community. They came to my office to discuss the struggle over workers rights' here in Wisconsin over the past three years, and to compare ours with their own experience back in Japan. I was thrilled to participate with this group and look forward to keeping in touch with them in the future. |
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Online enrollment for the 2013-14 school year begins this week
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As 2013-14 school year
quickly approaches, it's time to begin school
enrollment. Madison Metropolitan School District's
online enrollment process begins on August 6th. Families
can save time when it comes to in-person enrollment in
late August by completing much of the work |
ahead of time online. Families who enroll online should
print and bring their verification form and receipt of
online payment on enrollment day. Crackdown at the Sing-a-Long Continues
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Over the past week, dozens
of arrests and citations have been given to those in the
Solidarity Sing-a-Long who gather Monday through
Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda. As many of these
singers are constituents, I have been there each day to
monitor the situation. The Department of
Administration's order have forced the Capitol Police to
arrest Vietnam Veterans advocating for peace, 85
year-old men and women, along with countless other
citizens.
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August 5, 2013
Issue 14
Contact Me
State Capitol
P.O. Box 8953
Madison, WI 53708
Office: (608) 266-0960
Email:
Rep.Sargent@legis.wi.gov
On the Web: sargent.assembly.wi.gov
Freshman Caucus Highlight
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Stephen Smith represents the 75th Assembly District in north-western Wisconsin. He was raised in Rice Lake, and his mother previously served as a Representative from the 75th district from 1978 - 1984. |
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After graduating from UW Superior with an
accounting degree, Representative Smith has contributed greatly to his
community; he been a coach, a mentor, and a member of the St Joseph’s
School Board.
Representative Smith, together with his wife of 40 years, has been a
small business owner and employer. He has dedicated his entire adult
life serving his community. He currently serves on the
Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs, and Committee on Small
Business Development in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Rep. Smith serves the citizens of Northern Wisconsin admirably, and it is
an honor to be in the Assembly with him.
In the Capitol
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Judge stops enforcement
of Anti-Abortion Law
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, pending final resolution of the case, to stop the enforcement of Wisconsin Act 37 which significantly reduces a woman’s ability to access safe and legal abortion services in Wisconsin. U.S. District. This is a big step towards ensuring this misguided, ideologically extreme legislation never takes effect. In his decision, Judge William M. Conley concluded, “On this record, the admitting privileges requirement is a solution in search of a problem. Devoid of any documentation of a medical need or purpose in Wisconsin, the Governor nevertheless signed the Act on July 5, 2013.” |
In the District
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Sherman Avenue Update |
