Dear Friend,

It was a great week back in the district.

I started the week in the western part of the district for a Joint Offices, Businesses, and Schools (J.O.B.S) Roundtable. Here, local business leaders, educators, and chamber of commerce members, as well as State Senator Romaine Quinn and State Representative Dave Armstrong, joined me for a great conversation on the workforce, employee recruitment, education, commercial driver's license regulations, childcare, and more.

On the topic of employee recruitment, I heard from many local stakeholders about the need to increase affordable housing in order for workers to be able to move to the area and purchase starter homes. Affordable housing is a critical issue in the Seventh District, and we must make sure that local zoning restrictions aren’t an impediment to adequate housing.

Many of our local planning and zoning committees hold the key to unlocking affordable housing, and I would urge you to contact them to make your voice heard.

I followed up my Barron J.O.B.S Roundtable with an Economic Development Roundtable in Wausau with local business leaders. We discussed a variety of topics ranging from energy production in Northcentral Wisconsin to the rising costs of homes in the area and the House Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act.

In last week’s Telegram, I mentioned how House Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act to save $4.8 trillion over the next ten years while also ensuring we pay our nation’s bills on time. One of the important things included in this bill were welfare work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, which nearly 80% of Wisconsinites agreed with in the last election. This will help more Americans earn a paycheck, learn new skills, and reduce childhood poverty, as well as help local employers find enough talent to fill their open positions.

There is also a plan included in the Limit, Save, Grow Act to bring down rising energy costs by unleashing baseload energy production. As we move to an all-of-the-above energy approach, Congress must make sure that we are prioritizing affordability and reliability, over cost burdens that will be passed on to customers and local businesses.

Thank you to all the local area leaders who joined me for these important discussions. I will continue to fight for pro-worker, pro-business policies in Washington.

It looks like there will be some spring weather this weekend, especially on Sunday. I hope you can get out and enjoy the outdoors.

Wishing all our anglers good luck during opening weekend! We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Tiffany Telegram.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

Ever wonder how small you'd look next to a Great Lakes freighter?

Fraser Shipyards tour
On Monday, I toured and met with Fraser Shipyards in Superior where I got to go under the John Boland freighter. Currently, Fraser Shipyards is repairing a 200-foot gash under the Boland, and it will be complete in just three weeks. Fraser handles repairs and maintenance of Great Lakes freighters and vessels of all shapes and sizes and has a reputation of being a leader in the maritime industry. I even got to stop by Lake Assault Boats, who my office helped receive $524,000 through the IRS for the Employee Retention Credit. There’s a lot of great things happening at Fraser, and I appreciated them for letting me stop by.

House poised to end Biden border disorder
We told you recently about a major Republican policy initiative to put an end to the immigration chaos the Biden administration unleashed on our country two short years ago. As part of this push, the House Judiciary Committee gave preliminary approval two weeks ago to what has been described as “the strongest border security package in history.” As Telegram readers may recall, I authored a section of this bill that would crack down on President Biden’s abuse of what’s known as parole. For those who don’t know, a quick primer: Parole is a very limited authority that allows for the admission of foreigners to the US without a visa for urgent humanitarian reasons on an individual, case-by-case basis. This would include, for example, a child from a developing country seeking cutting-edge medical treatment that might only be available here in America. Unfortunately, however, President Biden has flagrantly abused this power, converting what is supposed to be a narrow lane into a permanent open borders superhighway to admit hundreds of thousands of foreigners into the U.S. outside of normal visa rules. The good news is that the full House is scheduled to take up this legislation in the coming days – just as the Biden administration is scrambling to deal with what analysts say is an impending meltdown of what’s left of America’s border. Yet despite these repeated grim warnings – and the growing tidal wave of migrants flooding across our borders each day – the White House Press Secretary claimed with a straight face this week that illegal immigration “is down by more than 90 percent.” Maybe that’s why one incredulous immigration expert referred to the Biden administration’s self-inflicted immigration crisis as a “clown show.” I couldn’t agree more, and I hope that this week we can get this long overdue legislation through this narrowly divided Congress. You can read more about our bill here.

Talented young artists
Wisconsin’s Seventh District does not have a shortage of young artistic talent that’s for sure. This week, I announced the winners of my 2023 Congressional Art Competition. This year’s theme was A Day in the Life of Wisconsin, and my office received seventy submissions across thirteen schools in the district. Thank you to all who participated in this year’s competition and the high school art teachers who help make this competition possible. This year’s winner was Kassy Havel with Serenity from Wausau East High School. Her artwork will be displayed for one year in the Cannon House Office Building Tunnel, a walkway that leads to the U.S. Capitol. Coming in second-place was Cycle of Life by Lindsey Lucht from Wausau West High School, and the third-place winner was Emily Anderson from River Falls High School with Blaze Orange. All submissions from my 2023 Congressional Art Competition will be displayed at the Center for Visual Arts Loft Gallery from May 3rd through June 17th. More information on the winning pieces can be found here.

Congratulations to Kassy Havel for winning my 2023 Congressional Art Competition with Serenity.

                          Committee Update

Natural Resources
Iron range field hearing
On Tuesday, we had an Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Field Hearing just across the border over in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. We visited Northern Minnesota to examine the vast mineral wealth this region possesses, and to hear directly from folks who live and work there. Our panel consisted of those who work directly in mining, geology, and tourism, and what we heard from them is something that Republicans have been speaking to time and time again – we can mine these key minerals here domestically safer and cleaner than anywhere in the world. In fact, the tourism sector in this region does better when industry in the area is strong and this goes for the country too, we have a better chance to have a clean environment with a strong economy. Permitting reform is a key aspect to helping ensure this, and H.R. 1 was our first crack at delivering on such reform. Producing more minerals here domestically will lead to a cleaner environment, more domestic manufacturing of products, and a stronger America. We will continue to hold these field hearings to bring members of the committee out to real America and speak directly to communities.

Had a great time touring NewRange Copper Nickel. 

                          Recent Legislation

Biden’s new rule to fine homebuyers with good credit
This week the Fed was forced to raise interest rates to the highest level in 16 years to combat the inflation ignited by the Democrats’ high-priced spending sprees last Congress. Unfortunately, in addition to the economic hardships Americans are already experiencing, the Biden administration decided now was a good time to deliver a one-two punch to future homebuyers with a new rule that punishes homebuyers with good credit scores. Yes, you read that right. Biden’s bizarre new rule that took effect on Monday rewards homebuyers with lower credit ratings by giving them better mortgage rates than they should qualify for – at the expense of homebuyers with good ratings who will now be forced to fork over additional fees to subsidize the mortgages of those riskier borrowers. Encouraging and rewarding financial irresponsibility while penalizing hardworking Americans who have been fiscally responsible is bad enough, but doing so when our economy is already on shaky ground is downright negligent. It could end up putting the entire housing market in jeopardy because it encourages high-risk borrowers to purchase homes that they cannot afford and normally wouldn’t qualify for. That’s why I introduced the Responsible Borrowers Protection Act along with my colleague Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) to block this rule from going into effect. Punishing fiscally responsible middle-class Americans and forcing them to take on more financial burdens to make up for those who have been fiscally irresponsible in the name of “equity” is as misguided as it is wrong, and I will do everything I can to stop it.  You can read more about our bill here.

Let me axe you a question
Did you know that 96% of logging truck collisions occur on city, county, or state roads? This is partially because, under current law, logging trucks are not allowed to use interstate highways. This not only makes our state and local roads more dangerous, but it also forces the loggers to use insufficient transportation routes, hindering the amount of work they can get done. In an effort to chop down these restrictive logging regulations, I cosponsored Rep. Gallagher’s (WI-08) bipartisan Safe Routes Act which would allow logging trucks to travel up to 150 miles on Federal Interstate Highways as long as they meet the state-determined requirements. This commonsense solution would be a win for our nations loggers and for our communities by making local roads safer and less congested.

  District Update

Opening weekend
Good luck to all the anglers in #WI07 this opening weekend of fishing season! If you haven’t yet, you can buy your fishing license from the Wisconsin DNR online here and remember that kids 15 and younger fish for free all season. Be safe, have fun, and tight lines!

Did you know that Wisconsin has more than 15,000 official lakes? Click here for a list of some great spots to cast a line!

Photo of the week
We have received so many great pictures ever since we started the photo of the week section of the Telegram, and I would love to see more. It can be pictures of our state’s beautiful landscape, wildlife, and more. If you would like to submit a picture to be featured in our photo of the week section, please email it to [email protected] with your name and location.

“Don't go chasing waterfalls” – submitted by Pat at Big Manitou Falls in Pattison State Park. The heavy spring run-off made for a beautiful rainbow.

                                  Resources  

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations in Florence, Forest, Marinette, and Vilas County are eligible to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) due to losses from drought from April 28 through October 15, 2022. More information can be found here.  

While many begin to travel internationally again, the Department of State is available to assist with passport services. We recommend to apply at least six months before planned travel as routine service may take up to about 18 weeks. For more information, please visit travel.state.gov.

The USDA continues to make resources and assistance available to agricultural producers and working families to ensure access, safety and stability for food markets and supplies. 

If a friend forwarded you this newsletter, and you would like to receive it in the future, you can subscribe here for weekly updates and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance. 

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