Dear Friend,
 
National Dairy Month has been an annual celebration every June for 86 years now. It started in 1937 as National Milk Month to promote and educate Americans on the benefits of drinking milk.
 
Wisconsinites already know milk is an important part of our diet, but did you know it is the number one source of nine essential nutrients including calcium, vitamin D, and potassium? Milk provides numerous health benefits and can lead to better bone health, lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.
 
Chances are you probably remember seeing those famous ‘Got Milk’ (including chocolate milk!) ads from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Milk Processor Education Program’s ad campaign that dominated the airwaves and magazine covers from 1993-2014 as a way of encouraging kids to drink more milk so that they would grow up healthy and strong.
 
Sadly, despite all its health benefits, it appears that chocolate milk has made its way onto President Biden’s ever-growing hit list of products to ban.
 
Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal reported that the USDA, who spent over 20 years advertising on its behalf, was officially considering banning chocolate milk from elementary and middle schools as part of their updated nutrition standards for the School Lunch Program.
 
This isn’t the first-time milk has made its way onto the chopping block. Back in 2010, when President Obama signed a law mandating that the milk served in our school cafeterias had to be fat-free we saw an alarming decline in milk consumption in schools – from 2014 to 2016 schools served 213 million fewer half-pints of milk.
 
And according to the Journal of American Dietetic Association, removing flavored milk from schools resulted in a 62-63 percent reduction in milk consumption by kids in kindergarten through 5th grade, as well as a 50 percent reduction in 6th through 8th grades.
 
Unfortunately, while milk consumption in schools has been on the decline in recent years, bone fractures in school-age children have been on the rise. Chocolate milk is full of rich nutrients that support bone growth and development, and millions of children enjoy drinking it. This week I introduced H.R. 3930, the MILK Act, to ensure that chocolate milk stays on the menu in our school cafeterias. Click here to learn more about my bill. 
 
Thanks again for spending some of your Friday afternoon with us – we hope you enjoy this week’s edition and wanted to thank those of you that share our weekly update with your friends and neighbors! We’ll be back in two weeks with our next edition of the Telegram.

Sincerely,




Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

I enjoyed getting to meet with a group of future farmers from Owen-Withee who are out in DC attending FFA’s Washington Leadership Conference this week! 

Biden vetoes bipartisan bill to block student debt bailout
Telegram readers know all about President Biden’s massive bailout scheme dressed up as “student loan forgiveness” and the fact that despite its namesake, it didn’t magically erase all student loan debt with the stroke of a pen. Instead, it simply shifted the debt obligations incurred by one group of Americans to another – to the tune of $400 billion. I’ve said from the beginning that I don’t believe that the President should be able to unilaterally force the American people into assuming the debt of student loans they never signed up for, which is why I signed on to H.J. Res 45 to put an end to President Biden’s student loan bailout scheme. Unfortunately, despite passing with bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, President Biden decided to double down on this unfair and expensive plan as he vetoed H.J. Res 45 on Wednesday.
 
Wausau in Washington
On Tuesday, I got to meet a group of newly graduated 8th graders from John Muir Middle School in Wausau. They came prepared with many great questions about how I got involved in politics, the financial state of Wisconsin and the United States and what that means for everyday Americans, and what was going on in Washington this week. While in Washington, they were able to attend the D-Day remembrance ceremony at the World War II Memorial, see the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, tour the U.S. Capitol and more. I hope you all enjoyed your time in DC, and congratulations on graduating middle school!

I had a great time meeting with John Muir Middle School’s 8th grade class in our nation’s capital!

Committee Update

Judiciary
Biden’s “border crisis by design”
This week we heard from President Trump’s former Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf, who spoke to House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. Mr. Wolf explained how the Biden administration has systematically shut down many of the effective border controls deployed during the Trump administration. The result? Back-to-back record breaking years of illegal migrant and terrorism suspect encounters at our chaotic southern border. What’s even more troubling is that the nightmare unfolding daily on the U.S.-Mexico border isn’t an accident. It may be exactly what President Biden is trying to accomplish. “[W]e see a border in chaos and crisis because the Biden administration ideologically and arbitrarily dismantled all of these proven policies… concerns by Career Border Patrol experts were ignored and political correctness and rank ideology supplanted common sense and adherence to our immigration laws.” Mr. Wolf said. He also noted that “perhaps the most egregious example of [The Biden administration] violating the law is the unlawful use of parole authority.” I agree. That’s why I authored legislation to crack down on parole abuse, which passed the House last month. You can read more about that bill here.

Natural Resources
Countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific
On Wednesday, the Natural Resources Committee announced the creation of the Indo-Pacific Task Force. This bi-partisan task force consists of seven Republicans and seven Democrats from the full Committee, and I am fortunate to be one of the Republicans appointed to this panel. We will be conducting investigation and oversight on the extent of Communist China’s efforts to get a foothold in the region. I am optimistic about the chance to work across party lines to counter Beijing’s influence operations in the Pacific. That includes working with our frontline U.S. territories; the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa – as well as what are known as the ‘freely associated states’ which include the nations of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. It also means working with other international partners in the Indo-Pacific region such as Taiwan. You can watch the press conference formally announcing the formation of the task force, here.

Looking forward to getting to work on the Natural Resource Committee's new Indo-Pacific Task Force.

Recent Legislation

Protecting free speech on campus
Having to conceal your opinions and beliefs on campus is something that too many American college students are often intimidated into doing these days. Sadly, students in Wisconsin are no exception. A recent survey from the University of Wisconsin showed that a majority of students within the UW system are afraid to express their views in the classroom out of fear that they may face retaliation. Some students even claim that they withhold their opinion out of fear that they will be graded poorly. This is not only common in the classroom, but also while attending events on campus. All students, regardless of political beliefs, should feel comfortable with attending campus events and sharing their opinions. That is why I introduced H.R. 4007, the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act, along with my colleague Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC). This much-needed legislation would require universities that receive public funding to report First Amendment violations and publicly share campus policies on free speech. This action is long-past due, and I urge Congress to do everything it can to protect free speech.

District Update

National fishing and boating week
With 15,000 lakes to its name – yes, that is more than Minnesota – Wisconsin offers a lot of opportunities for celebrating National Fishing and Boating Week. As many of you may know, I owned and operated my own riverboat cruise business in Northern Wisconsin for 20 years, so I know firsthand the lifetime memories that boating can bring you. Whether it is casting a line, water skiing, or cruising on the pontoon, I hope that everyone has a chance to celebrate with their friends and family this weekend and create some memories of their own! 

Photo of the week
If you would like your photo to be the next one featured in our photo of the week section, be sure to email it to [email protected] with your name and location. We have received some wonderful submissions, and I am looking forward to seeing more, especially if you have some spring photos to share. This week’s photo of the week is in recognition of National Fishing and Boating week and was taken out on Pike Lake.

“Keeping it reel” – submitted by Jim in Mercer

Resources  

Summer is just around the corner, so don’t wait until the last minute to apply for or renew your passport for your upcoming vacation. The current processing time is 10 to 13 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.

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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