1. Protecting Individuals with Disabilities.

     2. Fenofibrate.

     3. Weekly Roundup.

     4. My Contact Information.

As a society, we must be mindful of the millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities, and be aware of how public policy will affect their lives. With that in mind, it is my duty as the representative for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District to protect individuals with disabilities and support their employment opportunities. In Congress, this has always been one of my top priorities.

I have long been an ally of Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) because they are a valuable resource in the lives of individuals with disabilities. CRPs offer exceptional work environments and an opportunity for these individuals to grow, gain skills, and make lifelong friends. Wisconsin is home to over 60 CRPs, eight of which are in the 6th District.

Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows CRPs to pay individuals with disabilities a special minimum wage. Some balk at the prospect of paying someone a special minimum wage, but the reality of the situation is different from the theory. Click here to view some common misconceptions about CRPs and Section 14(c).

Having visited CRPs in and around the 6th District, like Lakeside Packaging in Oshkosh, Ascend Services in Manitowoc, Green Valley Enterprises in Beaver Dam, RCS Empowers in Sheboygan, Fox River industries in Berlin, and Northwoods, Inc. in Portage, I have spoken to many Wisconsinites with disabilities who enjoy their place of employment and look forward to coming into work every day.

Without Section 14(c), many individuals with disabilities could lose their jobs and be relegated to day services. And despite this reality, some in Washington are working to remove it. 

A provision within President Biden’s $4.7 trillion spending plan would eliminate Section 14(c) and create the very real possibility of our CRPs making significant layoffs or even closing their doors permanently. Whenever I speak with individuals who work at CRPs, they tell me that they love their jobs and would be devastated if they lost them. Congress should be focusing on supporting and expanding employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, not taking them away.

Since President Biden’s $4.7 trillion spending plan currently awaits consideration in the Senate, I wrote a letter, signed by 13 of my colleagues, to Senate leadership urging them to consider the loss of employment for individuals with disabilities and remove this provision from the legislation.

The importance of a job for individuals with disabilities cannot be overstated. I will continue fighting to protect Section 14(c) to ensure individuals with disabilities do not get left behind as a result of poor government policy. My support for these individuals will remain steadfast and I will work tirelessly to ensure their job, and their sense of dignity, is not taken away.

As the world continues to battle COVID, we should be open to every avenue to treat this virus, including when patients begin to experience severe symptoms. Unfortunately, the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the media have paid far too little attention to one treatment that has produced promising results. Fenofibrate is an already FDA-approved drug that early research has shown to be effective in preventing serious complications from COVID. Because of this, I have been urging the CDC and NIH to further pursue this promising lead and support research looking into Fenofibrate’s effects on COVID-positive patients. 

I have been in close contact with Israeli doctor Yaakov Nahmias, who is conducting research at Hebrew University in Israel, where they have found that Fenofibrate has the potential to prevent COVID’s ability to spread amongst lung cells and further damage them. This past August, they further investigated Fenofibrate’s effect on severe COVID patients by administering it to 15 COVID-positive individuals who had pneumonia and required oxygen support. Within 48 hours, progressive inflammation markers, a key indicator of deteriorative COVID, dropped. Within a week, 14 of the 15 patients no longer needed oxygen support, with the 15th being taken off oxygen by day 10. While this is not an adequate sample size to fully confirm the effectiveness of the treatment, it is certainly a promising result that I feel needs further attention.

Additionally, the University of Pennsylvania is also researching Fenofibrate’s ability to treat COVID. Unfortunately, they are in need of hundreds more participants for their trials.

Because of these results, I led a letter with six of my colleagues calling for the NIH to support these two promising clinical studies and help complete this potentially life-saving research. Time is of the essence, and without a sufficient numbers of patients and large enough sample sizes, this research may not be complete until well into 2022.

I recently spoke on the House floor about this research and the need for us to pursue every avenue in fighting COVID-19. 

On Wednesday, we celebrated the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution! The Bill of Rights protects our civil liberties and guarantees the basic rights of all American citizens.

On Monday, we celebrated the 385th birthday of the National Guard. Thank you to all of the patriots who have answered the call to serve!