Response from Senator Tammy Baldwin

[Virginia Foulk]

As usual, she plays her cards for political gains, not for the people.  Just sent her another email - stating that if Congress insists on stopping gun sales to anyone under 21, then the young men and women must not be forced into the Military until age 21. My mom lost 22 brothers in WWII, both under 19 when they were conscripted into service.  Donald was just 20, and his brother 21, when they were killed. We are still wondering where Donald's remains are located. (I was asked to submit a swab for their investigations of remains found.  Even today, the Army is trying to match information with found parts to let families know.  Just received 8 pages of the how and what types of tests are being used to match items with the submitted information. Suspect, they won't be able to find Donald's remains, but then, at least they are trying. (He was a Sargent leading a mission in Africa. We had heard that he had been attacked by a crocodile while crossing a stream, but that has never been confirmed.   

So either age 21 for military service, or let 18 years olds buy if they pass the background check.!!  So, I'll wait to hear from her on that email message.

(In response to my email about illegals, and budget spending giving away our money to the illegals.)

Thank you for contacting me about legislation that funds the federal government and our immigration system.  I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I am disappointed that, in recent years, Congress has failed to craft long-term spending agreements that create certainty for the American people.  I believe we need to move away from partisan brinkmanship and focus on a long term bipartisan agreement that strengthens the economic security of ordinary Americans and moves our economic recovery forward. 

That is why I worked with my colleagues to reach a two year, bipartisan budget agreement, which increases federal investments in many programs important to Wisconsin.  The agreement—the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123)—will provide 10 years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, $4 billion to rebuild and improve veterans hospitals and clinics, $6 billion for the fight against the opioid crisis while increasing investments in our national security and our military.  It also provides more than $7 billion to Community Health Centers (CHCs) to help support access to high quality health care for rural and low-income Americans.  This law helps address health care costs by ensuring that the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole” will be fully closed by 2019 to give seniors faster relief to help afford life-saving prescription drugs and secures $2 billion for research at the National Institutes of Health.  Finally, I fought to provide Wisconsin dairy farmers with much-needed, immediate relief and this agreement delivers by making improvements to dairy programs important to Wisconsin.

In addition, I hear from people across Wisconsin that our current immigration system is broken.  I believe immigration is part of our American story, and immigrants are part of America’s future cultural and economic prosperity.  I also believe we must take steps to secure our borders to address illegal entry into our country.  For these reasons, I support a comprehensive approach to fixing our immigration system.  I believe that this should include a permanent solution for individuals enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was created for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and subsequently terminated by President Trump last year.  On February 15, I voted for bipartisan legislation that would have provided certainty for DACA recipients—commonly referred to as “Dreamers”—while also allocating more funding for border security.  Unfortunately, President Trump threatened to veto this bipartisan compromise and it failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move forward.  I continue to believe that there is bipartisan support in the Senate for legislation that strengthens border security and does right by Dreamers who have only known America as their home, and I believe that we should be working in a bipartisan way to get the job done. 

The middle class families and small businesses that are working so hard to move our economic recovery forward deserve to have both parties in Washington working together to pass a bipartisan budget that creates jobs and grows our economy.  It is time that we make Washington work for the American people.  Furthermore, I remain committed to listening to Wisconsinites and working in a bipartisan manner to address immigration reform.

Once again, thank you for contacting my office.  It is important for me to hear from the people of Wisconsin on the issues, thoughts and concerns that matter most to you.  If I can be of further assistance, please visit my website at www.baldwin.senate.gov for information on how to contact my office.

Sincerely,