Dear friend, I hope you are well and staying warm. I wanted to share a recap with you all of what the 117th Congress accomplished. From lowering the cost of prescription drugs to historic investments in clean energy to delivering relief to our communities, Democrats worked to address our most pressing needs.
Inflation Reduction Act
- Cap the price monthly out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries, starting in 2023.
- Out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries will also be capped at $2,000 for part-D drugs.
- Incentives to purchase energy-efficient appliances, which can save families $350 a year on energy bills, including:
- A tax credit to install solar panels can save families $300 a year on energy bills.
- A tax credit to purchase electric vehicles can save families nearly $1,000.
- Extend cost-saving American Rescue Plan (ARP) tax credits for three years, so you can continue saving money on your health care through the ACA market.
- Help build a fairer tax system and improve access to taxpayer assistance by enhancing IRS funding.
- Make historic investments in clean energy, providing good-paying manufacturing jobs.
- Help ensure the wealthy pay their fair share, including a 15 percent corporate minimum tax on large and profitable companies.
- Promotes American manufacturing of clean energy technologies including wind, solar, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen.
American Rescue Plan
- Provide $1400 survival checks to millions of Americans.
- Gave families a historic tax cut with the expanded Child Tax Credit, lifting nearly 3 million children out of poverty.
- Fought food insecurity by increasing SNAP benefits by 15 percent to reach households in need.
- Help homeowners and renters stay housed by providing relief in the form of emergency assistance and the Homeowner Assistance Fund.
- Extend COVID-19 unemployment benefits.
- Supply $160 billion to create a national vaccination program, robust testing, and a strong public health workforce.
- Provide $130 billion to help schools safely reopen, along with resources to address learning loss and help support students’ well-being.
- Deliver $360 billion in relief to state, local, and tribal governments.
- Uplift small businesses facing loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHIPS and Science Act
- Increase American production of semiconductors and support in research ($57.2 billion), innovation, workforce development, and manufacturing ($39 billion) to make America globally competitive while investing in American manufacturing.
- Expand STEM job opportunities and secures $10 billion to support tech hubs across the country.
- Support diversity in STEM, including new initiatives for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions through the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- Create new investments in STEM education for K-12, community colleges, undergraduate, and graduate education to help cultivate a vibrant STEM workforce that keeps America at the forefront of global innovation.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- Provide $55 billion for clean water infrastructure, including $15 billion specifically to remove lead pipes nationwide.
- Provided funding to Increase access to high-speed internet, so no community gets left behind.
- Provide funding to fix our crumbling roads and bridges, with Wisconsin, estimated to receive $5.2 billion for road improvements and $225 million for bridge enhancements.
- Reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, with Wisconsin expected to receive $125 million.
- Help make our roads safer for residents while addressing the harms caused when the interstate system or other transportation projects separated some communities.
- Secure $3.5 billion in funding to help Americans improve their homes’ energy efficiency, lowering costs for those who struggle to pay energy bills.
- Help transform brownfields, abandoned and idle properties, into spaces that benefit residents and our community.
- Improve our airports, with Wisconsin estimated to receive $198 million for these efforts.
Legislative Achievements
My legislation became law to award every member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black Women’s Army Corps Battalion to serve overseas during WWII, a Congressional Gold Medal. This legislation honors our heroes who served our country, providing long overdue national recognition.
Additionally, I:
- Successfully included provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization that called for a study of the impact of intimate partner violence on maternal health.
- Including a proposal in the VAWA to increase tribal sovereignty, allowing tribal police to have jurisdiction over more crimes.
My provision, which I worked with my colleague Rep. Lucy McBath on, to the SECURE 2.0 Act became law that would allow domestic violence victims to withdraw funding from their retirement accounts without penalty if they are fleeing from an abuser. This funding will help them as they rebuild their lives.
I also fought for key programs and initiatives in the appropriations package to address child hunger, promote healthier communities, support low-income, and first-generation students, address homelessness, and protect domestic abuse survivors and their children.
This includes the FY 2023:
- A $54 million increase in TRIO.
- $6 billion for WIC, which will help meet anticipated needs and support a yearlong increase in fruit and vegetable cash voucher.
- $3 million in School Breakfast expansion grants, which was originally created in the program I authored in the 2010 Child Nutrition Authorization Act.
- $3.6 billion in increases for the McKinney Vento programs.
- $700 million for Department of Justice (DOJ) VAWA programs.
- $51 million for the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning program.
- $415 million for the HUD Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Home.
Additionally, I secured over $25 million for community-funded projects in this bill. That was in addition to the over $5 million I secured for local projects in the FY 2022 funding process.
Water Resources Development Act: My provision was included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 authorizing a project in Milwaukee to use green infrastructure to help reduce the volume of water entering our sewers during storm events, and contributing to sewer overflows into nearby waterbodies. This bill became law on December 29, 2022.
I also championed community projects (formerly called earmarks), which will directly benefit Wisconsin’s 4th District residents. Take a look at some of the district-wide funding and a map of location-specific funding.
Find more details here.
Casework Successes
Last but not least, I was so proud of the assistance my office was able to provide to my constituents, including:
✅$588,478 in IRS payments secured
✅$4,562,810 in Small Business Administration assistance
✅$198,900 in VA payments
✅$103,366 Social Security Administration benefits
My Office is Here to Help
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to my office at 414-297-1140. Take care.
Your friend,
Gwen
