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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:
La Crosse River Fest
Wednesday, July 1 through Saturday, July 4
E. Veterans Memorial Dr, La Crosse, WI 54601
UW-La Crosse's production
of "Chicago"
Sunday, July 5, 2:00 p.m.
UW-L Toland Theater
Historical Society Brown
Bag Lunch Series - "History in the Bag"
Tuesday, July 7, 12:15 p.m.
Riverside Museum
La Crosse Loggers v. Kalamazoo Growlers
Wednesday, July 8, 7:05 p.m.
Copeland Park
Freedom Fest
Saturday, July 18
UW-La Crosse Veterans'
Memorial Field Sports Complex
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,
This Saturday, we celebrate Independence Day, marking the passage of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Independence Day symbolizes
a number of essential components of American history, but most
importantly its tradition of unmatched rights and freedoms.
As you know, the Supreme Court made a number of historic rulings last
week, siding with the rights and changing perspectives of United States'
citizens. This year's Independence Day comes at the perfect time, as
many U.S. citizens now have even more reason to celebrate equal
protections under the law.
I wish you all a happy 4th of July, and hope to see you at Riverfest!
Best Wishes,
Jill Billings
State Representative
95th Assembly District
GOP LEADERSHIP REACHES BUDGET DEAL
Today, Republican legislative leaders announced that they have reached a deal on the state budget. This deal comes after a 5-week pause in Joint Finance Committee meetings over contentious issues such as transportation and Milwaukee Bucks arena funding.
The announced transportation package includes $500 million in bonding as
well as $350 million to be issued by the committee as needed by the
Department of Transportation. Surprisingly, the budget agreement will
not include provisions for the prevailing wage or public funding for the
Bucks arena. According to the announcement, Republican leadership is
still attempting to pass those issues as separate legislation.
According to estimates, the $500 million reduction in funding for
transportation projects would eliminate approximately 5,000 private
sector jobs across the state. I am disappointed that these so-called
leaders' discussions only did more to harm our economic prospects by
eliminating jobs and ignoring needed funding restorations to areas like
K-12 and university education.
WISCONSIN REACTS TO SUPREME COURT RULINGS
Supreme Court rulings were the highlight of last week's news cycle, and continue to show positive impacts on Wisconsinites' lives.
In the highly-anticipated marriage equality ruling, Supreme Court
justices decided 5-4 to allow marriage equality in all 50 states.
Writing for the majority Justice Kennedy made an impactful statement on
marriage, stating, "No union is more profound than marriage, for it
embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and
family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater
than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases
demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death.
It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the
idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so
deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope
is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of
civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the
eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
With this ruling, the U.S. is now the 20th country to allow marriage
equality nationwide.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
court struck down Wisconsin's eight-year constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage in July, allowing for a limited number of same-sex couples to
marry before a stay was issued on the decision pending review by the 7th
circuit appellate court.
I'm glad all states in our country will now afford all the equal right
to marry who they love.
State Representatives JoCasta Zamarripa and Mark Spreitzer have called
for Wisconsin to take additional steps to adhere to the Supreme Court's
ruling by clarifying constitutional language. Before this ruling,
Wisconsin's constitutional language expressly banned same-sex marriage
by defining marriage as between a man and woman. The Representatives
called for a constitutional amendment to remove this discriminatory
definition and reflect the Supreme Court decision.
I am hopeful that Wisconsin legislators of both parties will act in
accordance with the Supreme Court's decision by taking proactive steps
to clear up language regarding marriage equality in our state.
Another important ruling issued by the Supreme Court last week involved
subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The language of the Affordable
Care Act indicated that subsidies were to be determined by a state
exchange. However, a number of state's leadership -- including
Wisconsin's governor -- refused to expand Affordable Care subsidies.
Thankfully, the court ruled 6-3 on the side of the everyday American,
allowing states to keep their affordable care programs intact, and allow
low-income residents the access to quality care. In Wisconsin, a loss of
subsidies would have affected approximately 166,000 Wisconsinites. In La
Crosse alone, thousands would have lost affordable care for themselves
and their families, putting them at greater risk of health consequences.
While I am pleased with the court's ruling on this issue, I believe
Wisconsin should follow the example of most of our Midwestern states in
ensuring affordable care for all. Now, our governor and Republican
legislators need to step up and make the commonsense decisions to accept
the $350 million in federal funding for BadgerCare and establish a state
exchange in order to protect the health of our citizens.
PRESIDENT OBAMA TO VISIT LA CROSSE
This Thursday, President Obama is slated to speak in La Crosse! The President will be speaking about new initiatives to bolster economic growth in western Wisconsin, and across the nation.
It is expected that the President will unveil his administration's plan
to expand overtime pay, allowing approximately 5 million more people to
be eligible for overtime benefits. With increased allowances, workers
who make less than $50,000 per year would be eligible to earn overtime
pay of 1.5 times their regular pay for any hours worked beyond 40 hours
a week.
Wisconsin's limits for overtime pay have not been updated since 1977,
and outline that anyone making more than $9,000 per year would not be
eligible for overtime benefits. President Obama's proposal simply
adjusts an out-of-date provision to keep up with inflation. By adjusting
Wisconsin's overtime pay threshold for inflation, about 80,000 more
Wisconsin workers would be eligible for overtime. The Obama
administration has noted that this proposal will reward hard work with
the fair pay our workers deserve.
I am excited that the La Crosse community will be able to be a part of
this helpful move to foster economic growth.
