U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)
Congress is back in Washington, and one member of Wisconsin’s delegation hopes federal lawmakers can wrap up a lot of unfinished business in a short period of time.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind says there’s plenty of work to do in the few weeks that lawmakers will be back in the nation’s capital, and he hopes partisan politics don’t get in the way of some key items on the agenda. He says Congress needs to focus on passing a continuing resolution on the budget so the government doesn’t shut down at the end of the month, and reauthorize the US Export-Import Bank so companies can continue to export products and grow. Also, the Wisconsin Democrat says renewing the federal terrorism risk insurance program and extending a moratorium on taxing public access to the internet should be key priorities.
However, Majority Republicans in the U.S. House have indicated their agenda is largely focused on issues Senate Democrats have blocked, with votes on resolutions planned that are meant to highlight obstructions.
Kind acknowledges that it is an election year, so there is going to be some political posturing as members work to stay in office. However, he says the people back home still “expect them to act like grown-ups” and find common ground to resolve the issues that are key to the nation’s continued economic recovery. He says action is needed during the short period lawmakers are back in Washington because “people’s jobs are gonna be on the line if Congress doesn’t get its act together, figure out a way to disarm momentarily, and move some things in a bipartisan fashion.”