Message from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald

Good morning!

In this week’s eNewsletter edition I’d like to share the latest column I penned for our local newspapers in case you missed it…

Private money in public offices is an important issue—especially for Wisconsinites who voted earlier this year to approve a state constitutional amendment that banned the use of private grants in election administration. As a former state legislator, I helped create and implement our strong state election laws in Wisconsin and, since coming to Congress, I have been working hard to oppose efforts that would erode the integrity of officials and offices that serve the American public.

Since coming to Congress, I have cosponsored several pieces of legislation that would restore faith in our public institutions and processes. While I was glad to see Wisconsinites pass this important election funding amendment, I am also a cosponsor of H.R.4501, the End Zuckerbucks Act, which would prohibit tax exempt organizations from providing funding to official election organizations. This bill effectively makes the recently passed Wisconsin State constitutional amendment federal law.

But our efforts can’t stop at election administration—private funds and interests are infiltrating Wisconsin state government too. Earlier this year, state Attorney General Josh Kaul hired a new special assistant attorney general's position on environmental litigation. The position is being paid for by the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center (SEEIC) at New York University Law School—which was funded by former Democrat New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s charitable foundation with a $6 million grant.

Similar environmental fellows have been appointed in a dozen other states. Minnesota and Virginia, on the other hand, have recently banned this practice—and for good reason. Private money directly funding official government functions, like attorney general enforcement actions, can create a conflict of interest between what is in the best interests of a private sponsor, versus what is in the best interests of the People. This is precisely what happened with the aforementioned ‘Zuckerbucks’ which funded official election proceedings in Wisconsin, and now private interests with their own agendas are inside our state attorney’s office too.

That’s why I introduced the Ensuring State Attorney General Accountability Act, this summer. This bill would prohibit private interest funding to any attorney general of a state for the purpose of a lawsuit, investigation, or renumeration of personnel.

This legislation is a critical step we must take as a follow-up to ‘Zuckerbucks’ to keep out-of-state billionaires in check and out of our state attorney general’s office. The attorney general should work only for the people of Wisconsin, not outside climate activists—and this bill makes sure of that.

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Thanks for reading this week’s eNewsletter.

Have a great week!

- Scott

That’s a wrap for this week’s eNewsletter! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on my work for the 5th District of Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

Scott Fitzgerald
Member of Congress