E-Newsletter: October 5, 2005

Rep. Petri's E-Mail Newsletter

October 5, 2005

What People Tell Me

I recently completed a series of citizen hours in 12 cities and towns around the 6th Congressional District. I want to thank everyone who stopped by. Democracy can work only if people take the time to meet with their representatives to share their views.

Usually I do two series of town meetings and two series of citizen hours each year. During town meetings I discuss issues with people in groups while during citizen hours the meetings are one-on-one. The focus of citizen hours is problem solving - helping to replace lost Social Security checks, obtaining veterans benefits, appealing federal regulations, seeking information about the military academies and so on. But even with citizen hours being mostly about constituent service, I always learn a lot about what 6th District residents are thinking.

By the time of my last citizen hour on September 2 there were three big issues on people's minds. The newest concern was Hurricane Katrina, the plight of hundreds of thousands of people down south who were displaced from their homes, and the government's lackluster response to the emergency.

Federal, state and local officials have had decades to plan for a Category Four hurricane coming ashore near New Orleans. Katrina devastated an area the size of Great Britain, and it's inevitable that responses to the emergency would take time and include numerous errors. But still, if this is the best we can do with an event which we saw coming well in advance, how can we have confidence in our preparations for major terrorist attacks with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons? We simply must do better, and I support efforts to understand what went right and what went wrong so that we can be better prepared next time.

It should surprise nobody that high gasoline prices were the cause of many heated comments. Everybody knows that gas prices shot up due to disruptions caused by the hurricane. Thirty-five percent of U.S. oil production takes place off the Gulf Coast, numerous oil and gas wells, refineries and pipelines had to be shut down in anticipation of the storm, and a lot of work has to be done to bring everything back online.

But everybody also knows that gas prices were already quite high before Katrina. Many economists point out that the booming economies of China and India are putting enormous pressure on the world's oil supplies. They also note that the record high price for gas in 1981 was $1.38 which, when inflation is taken into account, translates to $3.03 today.

So, in inflation-adjusted terms, current high gas prices are less novel than they seem. Still, they are a tremendous burden on most Americans, and developing forward-looking energy policies is an urgent need despite our major recently-passed energy bill. For the near term, I've called for congressional hearings to see if illegal collusion by the energy companies has anything to do with current prices, and I am pleased that the House Energy and Commerce Committee is doing so.

Finally, of course, people are concerned about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was a March on Washington in late September against our involvement in Iraq, and several people who were planning to participate stopped by my citizen hours and elsewhere to call for a quick departure of American troops.

However, most people continue to believe that we have to finish the job in Iraq. I know how hard this is. I've attended too many funerals for too many of our young troops to take this lightly. Still, there is a great deal of consensus among our neighbors that we can't allow the extremists in Iraq to take control of that country, use it as a sovereign base for further attacks on us, slaughter the Iraqis who have sided with us, and demonstrate to the world that we lack the will to win even when the enemy is remorseless and determined to destroy us at home and abroad.

Hurricane Damage Up Close

We all know that Hurricane Katrina caused massive damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama when it passed through on August 29, but you can't imagine the extent of the tragedy unless you've seen it for yourself. I knew that, as Chairman of the highways and transit subcommittee, I would be asked to support repairs to roads, bridges and transit systems, so about three weeks after the storm I took an opportunity to tour the region.

Much has been made of the federal government's sluggish response to the storm. Clearly, we must do better, and in fact federal, state and local governments did a great deal better when Hurricane Rita landed in Texas September 24.

There's plenty of blame to go around when considering the first storm, but those who insist on quick and efficient services should see what I saw. If you fly over the Mississippi coast you will be astounded at the power of nature. The hurricane pushed ten- to 20-foot waves ten or more miles inland, sweeping everything before them, planting boats on top of buildings and wiping out bridges and causeways.

Before the hurricane, the experts had estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 people would die if a Category 4 storm hit New Orleans. Right now it appears that the final death toll for the entire region will be closer to 1,500, and for whatever reason, we should consider ourselves remarkably fortunate that so many lives were saved despite the high winds and rain, and the inconvenience, disruption and bad behavior which followed.

Now, the rebuilding is underway, but the going will be slow. Many towns are left without residents. No one has a job, no one is buying goods at the local store, nobody is paying taxes, no one is meeting his or her mortgage obligations.

In Wisconsin we can all be glad that it didn't happen here, but it will certainly affect us. The sun may shine on our state, and the crops may grow, but massive amounts of our trade travels along the Mississippi River, and our farmers especially need that waterway to be functioning efficiently.

New Orleans exists because of the Mississippi. It's the place where our agricultural products are taken off barges and loaded onto ships for sale abroad. But the port is shut down, and the people who made it run are scattered around the country. Fortunately, however, a massive recovery operation is being carried out, largely by private companies working in cooperation with the government to set up emergency housing and electricity generation.

We can be proud of the efforts to help that we have made so far. I encountered three National Guard or Reserve troops in downtown New Orleans eating lunch in front of Harrah's Casino. One was a doctor from Reedsburg, WI. Another was from Sheboygan, and the third was a woman who works for UWM. They told me that instantaneously when the military showed up, the looters decided that they had to find better things to do with their time and things quieted right down.

Closer to home, an incomplete survey finds that Mercury Marine donated more than $200,000 in inflatable boats and motors to New Orleans; the City of Ripon adopted Opelousas, La. and sent clothing, food and other necessities; the Wee Care Children's Center in Omro collected toys for the children of Gulfport, MS; the Koenig & Vits company in Manitowoc received roughly 150,000 lbs. of goods for hurricane victims; and all around our area organizations big and small held charity brat fries, donated a day's sale receipts, hauled goods and opened homes to the storm's refugees.

Keeping Wisconsin Moving

On September 7 I took part in a ribbon cutting event in Random Lake celebrating the preservation of rail service in western Sheboygan County by the Wisconsin Southern Railroad. I'm pleased to note that I played an important role in preventing the abandonment of 37 miles of rail line by helping to arrange for its acquisition by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and its operation by the Wisconsin Southern Railroad.

Click here for a photo from the event.

Recent Votes

On July 20

With my support and a vote of 351 to 78, the House approved H.R. 2601, legislation to authorize $10.8 billion during the 2006 budget year and $10 billion during the 2007 budget year for the State Department and related agencies.

On July 21

With my support and a vote of 257 to 171, the House approved H.R. 3199, a bill to reauthorize the Patriot Act.

On July 22

With my support and a vote of 383 to 15, the House approved H.R. 3070, a bill to authorize $37.7 billion for NASA, and directing NASA to manage the human space flight program with a goal of sending Americans to the moon by 2020, launch a crew exploration vehicle as close to 2010 as possible and send astronaut crews to Mars and other destinations.

On July 25

With my support and a vote of 355 to 21, the House approved H. Res. 376, a resolution urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the "Grand Theft Auto San Andreas" video game and impose the strictest penalty if the game manufacturer is found guilty of deception or fraud to secure a lesser content rating.

On July 26

With my support and a vote of 424 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3200, a bill to make permanent current law that raises the maximum federally subsidized life insurance payout to $400,000 for service members killed in the line of duty.
With my support and a vote 263 to 165, the House approved H.R. 525, a bill to allow for the creation of association health plans through which small companies could band together to buy insurance for their employees. Association health plans that cover employees in multiple states would be exempt from many individual state insurance regulations but would be regulated by the Labor Department.
With my support and a vote of 410 to 20, the House approved H.R. 22, a bill to modernize the Postal Service.

On July 27

With my support and a vote of 428 to 3, the House approved S. 544, a bill to establish a set of procedures for the voluntary and confidential reporting of medical errors to patient safety organizations that would analyze the data and develop ways to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.
With my support and by a vote of 255 to 168, the House approved H.R. 3283, a bill to establish a mechanism to ensure that China abides by previous trade commitments, including creating a system to monitor compliance with trade obligations on intellectual property rights, market access for U.S. goods, services and agriculture and the accounting of various Chinese subsidies.
With my support and a vote of 217 to 215, the House approved H.R. 3045, a bill to implement a free trade agreement between the United States and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and a separate pact with the Dominican Republic.

On July 28

With my support and a vote of 275 to 156, the House approved the Conference Report for H.R. 6, a bill to overhaul the nation's energy policy.
With my support and a vote of 230 to 194, the House approved HR 5, a bill to cap the awards that plaintiffs and their attorneys could receive in medical malpractice cases.
Despite my opposition, by a vote of 410 to 10 the House approved the Conference Report for H.R. 2361, a bill to appropriate $26.2 billion in the 2006 budget year for the Interior Department, the EPA and related agencies.
Despite my opposition, by a vote of 305 to 122 the House approved the Conference Report for H.R. 2985, the legislative branch appropriations for the 2006 budget year.

On July 29

With my support and a vote of 412 to 8, the House approved H.R. 3, a bill to send nearly $300 billion to the states to build and fix roads, create thousands of new jobs, save lives and cut hours wasted in traffic jams.

On July 30

With my support and a vote of 365 - 33 the House approved H.Res. 340, expressing the grave disapproval of the House of Representatives regarding the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in the case of Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al. that nullifies the protections afforded private property owners in the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

On September 7

With my support and a vote of 409 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3650, a bill to allow circuit courts, district courts and bankruptcy courts to hold special sessions outside their normal geographic region if no area within their jurisdiction is reasonably available because of emergency conditions.
With my support and a vote of 412 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3169, a bill to allow the Education Department to waive the repayment requirement for Pell Grant recipients whose school attendance is interrupted because of the impact of a disaster if students were living, working or attending school in an area designated by the president to warrant major disaster assistance.

On September 8

With my support and a vote of 410 to 11, the House approved H.R. 3673, a bill to appropriate $51.8 billion for disaster relief to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
With my support and a vote of 416 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3669, a bill to temporarily increase to $3.5 billion, from $1.5 billion, the amount that the Federal Emergency Management Agency may borrow to pay claims under the National Flood Insurance Program that exceed collected premiums in the National Flood Insurance Fund.
With my support and a vote of 414 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3668, a bill to allow the Education Department to waive the repayment requirement for any federal student grant assistance provided to students under Title IV of the Higher Education Act if their school attendance is interrupted because of the impact of a major disaster.

On September 13

With my support and a vote of 401 to 1, the House approved H.R. 3649, a bill to continue funding through the current budget year for various sport fishing and recreational boating programs.

On September 14

By a vote of 106 to 316, the House rejected an amendment to HR 3132 to eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender or for making false statements during registration. I voted with the majority to reject the amendment.
With my support and by a vote of 371 to 52, the House approved H.R. 3132, a bill to create a national sex offender registry database and require individuals convicted of a sex crime to register before completing a prison term or within five days of being sentenced if they are not sentenced to prison. Convicted sex offenders who fail to register would face fines and five to 20 years in prison. State foster care programs would be required to check child abuse and neglect registries in all areas where prospective foster care families have lived within the past five years.

On September 15

With my support and a vote of 415 to 0, the House approved H.R. 889, a bill to authorize $8.7 billion in the 2006 budget year to fund the Coast Guard.
With my support and a vote of 224 to 188, the House approved H. Res. 437, a resolution to establish a bipartisan select committee to investigate the government preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina.

On September 20

With my support and a vote of 400 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3761, a bill to give more flexibility a bill to give more flexibility for a Labor Department program that provides temporary disaster relief and training to individuals who take part in projects that assist victims of a disaster.

On September 21

With my support and a vote of 422 to 0, the House approved H.R. 3768, a bill to provide tax breaks to Hurricane Katrina victims, including provisions to waive penalties for early withdrawal from retirement funds, increase deductions for charitable donations by individuals and businesses and allow low-income workers to maintain benefits such as the earned income tax credit.
With my support and a vote of 394 to 24, the House approved H.R. 250, a bill to authorize $2.1 billion in the 2006 budget year through 2008 for activities designed to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

On September 22

With my support and a vote of 231 to 184, the House approved H.R. 2123, a bill to reauthorize the Head Start program through the 2011 budget year.

On September 28

With my support and a vote of 415 to 4, the House approved H.R. 3402, a bill to authorize nearly $85 billion for the Justice Department and related agencies for the 2006 through 2009 budget years.
With my support and a vote of 383 to 31, the House approved H. Con. Res. 245, a resolution urging the Supreme Court to speedily recognize the constitutional right of children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school.

On September 29

With my support and a vote of 229 to 193, the House approved H.R. 3824, a bill to overhaul and reauthorize the Endangered Species Act through 2010.
The House approved H.J. Res. 68, a joint resolution providing for continuing appropriations through November 18 for all federal departments and agencies whose fiscal 2006 appropriations bills have not been enacted.

This Week's Floor Schedule

The House is in recess until Thursday in recognition of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish High Holy Days.
On Thursday, October 6, the House is scheduled to consider the House-Senate Conference Report on H.R. 2360, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal year 2006.
On Friday, October 7, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 3893, the Gasoline for America's Security Act of 2005.

Recent Grant Announcements

The days leading up to the end of the budget year on September 30 typically result in a flurry of last-minute grant and loan announcements. Here is a sampling:

$99,000 for Jackson: The U.S. Agriculture Department approved a $99,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant to construct a road to a business park in the Town of Jackson. The park is expected to create 40 jobs.

$7,130 for Coloma Business: The USDA approved a $7,130 Rural Development grant for a business in Coloma to make energy efficiency improvements for greenhouses used to grow hydroponic vegetables. The business has also committed $21,424 to the project.

$500,000 for Hilbert Dairy: The USDA approved a $500,000 Rural Development grant for a dairy in Hilbert to purchase an anaerobic digester which will process manure to produce methane gas to power an electric turbine. The dairy will use one-third of the electricity, and the remainder will be sold over the power grid as "green" renewable energy.

$87,425 for Newton Dairy: The USDA approved an $87,425 Rural Development grant to help a dairy in Newton to purchase an anaerobic digester.

$45,500 for Chilton FD: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved a $45,500 grant to help the Chilton Fire Department purchase personal protective gear such as fire-proof coats and pants.

$34,504 for Black River Fire Department: The USDHS approved a $34,504 grant to help the Black River Fire Department purchase modern breathing equipment for use in fires.

$500,000 Each for Sheboygan and Westfield Anti-Drug Efforts: As part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Drug-Free Communities Support Program, the ONDCP approved $500,000 each in matching grants for the Family Resource Centers of Sheboygan County and the School District of Westfield.

$27,075 for Knowles FD: The USDHS approved a $27,075 grant to help purchase an all-terrain vehicle, an emergency generator and training equipment.

$264,522 for the Oshkosh Area School District: The U.S. Department of Education approved a $264,522 grant to the Oshkosh Area School District to fund an elementary and secondary school counseling demonstration program.

$850,000 Loan for Dodge County Housing Authority: The USDA approved an $850,000 Rural Rental Housing loan for the Dodge County Housing Authority.

$80,750 for Ada FD: The USDHS approved an $80,750 grant to help the Ada Fire Department complete the construction of a tanker truck.

$88,578 for Kiel FD: The USDHS approved an $88,578 grant for the Kiel Fire Department primarily for the purchase of breathing equipment for use in fires.

$45,600 for Silver Creek FD: The USDHS approved a $45,600 grant for the Silver Creek Fire Department to help pay for the purchase of helmets and fire-resistant clothing.

$479,379 to Help Low-Income Entrepreneurs in Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Winnebago counties: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved a $479,379 grant to Advocap, Inc., to provide training and other services for low-income entrepreneurs interested in starting their own businesses in Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Winnebago Counties.

$238,547 for Oshkosh Area Schools: The U.S. Department of Education has approved a $238,547 grant to help the Oshkosh Area School District to strengthen school emergency crisis management plans.

Back to Top