Dear Friend,
This week, some appalling news came out of Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI) following investigative reporting from The Capital Times.
They revealed that DPI concealed more than 200 cases of educator sexual misconduct and grooming from the public. The report covers 2018-2023, when DPI was under the leadership of Tony Evers and now Jill Underly.
It uncovered that DPI dedicated scant resources to investigating these cases. Because of this, they did not properly track, investigate, or share information about sexual misconduct cases with the public. Click here to read the full article from The Capital Times.
The reporting goes on to explain that DPI let teachers accused of sexual misconduct hand in their licenses to avoid being fully investigated. We should all be able to agree that allegations of sexual misconduct should be fully investigated, and if verified, the public and parents must be informed.
Unfortunately, Governor Evers’ DPI does not disclose why an educator’s license was taken away. Just as we do with nurses and accountants in our state, DPI should maintain a public record explaining why teaching licenses are revoked.
As a father of three daughters, this report makes me sick. DPI’s top priorities should be educating our children and keeping them safe.
Instead, DPI has been focused on lowering education standards to hide poor school performance, distributing woke transgender materials to preschoolers, and covering up the financial mismanagement of Milwaukee Public Schools.
Our kids deserve better. Parents deserve transparency, and Wisconsinites deserve answers. As of this Telegram, Governor Evers and DPI Superintendent Jill Underly have stayed silent and refused to comment on this alarming report.
With only 31% of Wisconsin’s 4th graders reading at grade level and now this cover-up of educator sexual misconduct, it’s clear that our Democrat state leaders have failed our schoolchildren. The good news is that State Senate Committee on Education Chair John Jagler (R-Watertown) and Vice Chair Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood) are already calling for answers from DPI. I will continue to demand accountability and transparency to ensure this doesn’t continue.
Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us! We hope you enjoy this week’s edition of the Tiffany Telegram.
Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress
The U.S. Term Limits organization recognized me for my commitment to term limits in Congress this week. Alongside Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05), I’m working to make this commonsense reform a reality. You can read more about it here.
Democrat shutdown update
This week, Democrats continued their government shutdown. Yesterday, Senate Democrats were given another opportunity to reopen the government and allow our military and air traffic controllers to get paid, but they declined and instead are holding our government hostage. This is now the tenth time Democrats have voted to shut down the government. The House passed a clean, bipartisan budget bill four weeks ago, and even though Democrats voted for a similar measure 13 times under President Biden, they are refusing to provide the 60 votes needed for this measure to pass the Senate. I was hoping Senator Baldwin would drop her outrageous demands, which include taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens and money for DEI initiatives in foreign countries, but she didn’t. Thankfully, President Trump is finding ways to ensure our troops receive paychecks. For the sake of seniors, small businesses, veterans, and the millions of Americans who need the government to operate smoothly, I hope Democrats will come to their senses and vote to reopen it.
Protecting those who protect us
For years, Democrats and far-left activists have called for the dismantling of police departments across the country and have supported harmful anti-police rhetoric that has demonized our law enforcement officers. We have seen these sentiments have dire consequences culminating in nearly 80,000 law enforcement officers being assaulted in 2023, which is a ten-year high. In addition to this, recent attacks on ICE officers have increased by 1,000% since the beginning of the year with Democrat mayors and governors actively defying federal law enforcement operations. We have seen cases in Dallas where a sniper opened fire on an ICE field office, in Houston where agents were run off the road and ambushed which resulted in several officers being hospitalized, and in Portland where Antifa-linked groups have targeted federal agents throughout the city. In order to help combat this, I have cosponsored the Protect and Serve Act by Representative John Rutherford (FL-05) to increase the prison sentences and fines for those who deliberately target law enforcement officers in the line of duty. Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day for us, and we must make sure that we bring justice to those who actively seek to harm them.
Historic childcare improvements
This week, I met with Abby Arrowood of the Antigo Child Care Center. Abby is a leader in the Antigo community who has worked hard to revitalize the center. Childcare must be accessible for parents. That’s why in the Working Families Tax Cut, we delivered real relief for families by expanding childcare tax credits and increasing support for parents and employers who help provide care. You can read more from Rep. Ashley Hinsen (IA-02) on how we are making childcare affordable here. I enjoyed spending time with the kids as they enjoyed their healthy afternoon snack.
Stopped by the Antigo Child Care Center to hear about the great ways they are serving our community.
District Update
Upcoming deadline: Congressional App Challenge
Mark your calendars: Thursday, October 30th, at 11:00 AM is the deadline to register and submit your application for the 2025 Congressional App Challenge. This App Challenge provides an opportunity for those interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to compete against their peers from across the country. All middle and high school students (6th-12th grades) in the Seventh District are invited to participate individually or in teams of up to four. The winning app will be featured on CongressionalAppChallenge.us and be eligible for display at the U.S. Capitol. Creators of the app will also have the opportunity to attend a congressional reception in Washington, D.C. Click here for registration information and guidelines.
Photo of the week
We are lucky in northern and western Wisconsin to have a fall with bright foliage and crisp air. If you have a photo of Wisconsin you’d like to share, send it to [email protected] with your name and location. Your photo could be featured in next week’s Telegram!
“Fiery Foliage” – Submitted by Dan and Lisa of Phelps
Resources
Vacation is meant to be relaxing, so don’t let renewing or applying for your passport stress you out. The current processing time is 4 to 6 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.
Additionally, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available in Wisconsin due to economic losses caused by excessive moisture. Click here to see if you are eligible to apply.
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 X, 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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