Celebrating Wisconsin Dairy

While criss-crossing our district I stopped by Dairy Breakfasts in Walworth and Kenosha Counties. It was great to join Wisconsin families who were out celebrating dairy month!  

Farming is a big part of Wisconsin's economy, providing more than $116 billion in revenue and 350,000 jobs in our state.  Wisconsin is home to more dairy farms than any other state, with roughly 5,300 dairy farms and more than 1.2 million cows.

Wisconsin leads the nation in cheese production.  There are nearly 1,200 licensed cheesemakers in our state producing 25% of the nation's cheese. Last year, Wisconsin cheesemakers produced 3.58 billion pounds of cheese. Our state exports almost $4 billion worth of agriculture and food products to 151 nations. I'm working to ensure we have free, fair, and reciprocal trade agreements that allow Wisconsin famers to compete and sell their products abroad.

In Congress, I'm working to support Wisconsin family farms and our agricultural industry. This includes voting to prevent a $10 billion tax increase on family farms and supporting funding for Wisconsin's Dairy Businesses Innovation Initiative, which helps promote small family-owned dairy processors. I've also introduced the CURD Act, which defines natural cheese to help inform consumers and allow our dairy farmers to compete on a level playing field.

Dairy breakfasts continue through the end of the month. You can find one to attend with your family here.

Discussing The Issues Impacting Us All

On Monday, I joined WCLO's Tim Bremel to discuss some of the issues facing our nation. We covered topics including the One Big Beautiful Bill, Iran & Israel, federal spending, and civil discourse. You can listen to our discussion here or read an excerpt below.

"Medicare and Medicaid are two different programs: in general Medicare is a program for our seniors, 65 and older. Under the House bill, there are no changes to Medicare...

Every state runs its Medicaid program differently, which makes it complicated when you're reading or listening to national media describe Medicaid, because it may or may not work that way in the state of Wisconsin.

The changes made to this program are focused on able-bodied, childless, adults of working age. They’re saying that if you want to receive these benefits, that you're working a minimum of 80 hours a month - 20 hours a week, looking for work, or going to a training or jobs program."

Raising Wages For Working Families

This week, the Treasury Department reported that wages for blue-collar workers saw their largest five month increase in almost 60 years. Since January of this year, real wages for hourly workers have increased by 1.7%.

Wage growth represents meaningful relief for working families who have seen costs increase by more than $10,000 in recent years.  Increasing opportunities for workers and bringing down costs for all Americans are vital goals we must continue to address.   

Join My Telephone Town Hall

My priority is to be available and accessible to my constituents. Since taking office, I have held 38 in-person listening sessions, including four this year in Janesville, Beloit, Racine, and Kenosha, and monthly telephone town halls, which have drawn thousands of participants. I will continue to hold town halls of all types to hear directly from you about the issues that matter to you most.

This coming Monday, June 23rd, I will hold my monthly telephone town hall at 12:00pm. This format provides a convenient opportunity for you to connect directly with me via phone from the comfort of your home, work, or place of your choosing. To sign up to participate in our telephone town hall, please visit my website here or call in directly this coming Monday by dialing 833-380-0734.

As always, feel free to contact my office if you have any questions, want to share an opinion, or are having trouble with a federal agency. 

On Wisconsin,

Bryan Steil
Member of Congress

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