1. My Priorities for 2022.

     2. Constituent Services.

     3. Weekly Roundup.

     4. My Contact Information. 

The New Year offers us a time to reflect on the previous year, and look toward continuing to build on our accomplishments and set new goals. It is an honor to represent you in Congress, and I will continue to bring our Wisconsin values and common-sense solutions to Washington, DC.

As we head into 2022, here are a few of my top priorities for the new year:

Immigration

• On his first day in office, President Biden issued several executive actions rescinding many successful immigration policies instituted by the former Administration. As a result, in 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported more than 1.7 million encounters with illegal migrants at the Southern border, nearly four times the amount of encounters in 2020. I visited the border five times last year to speak with Border Patrol agents about how the surge of migrants we saw in 2021 is overwhelming them, and steps we can take to support them from Washington. In practice, the lack of action addressing the border crisis tells the drug cartels, who control the Mexican side of the border, that they have more control over our immigration system than we do. Because of this, we saw record a amount of fentanyl come across the border in 2021, and first time in history, more fentanyl was seized than heroin. In an effort to deter criminals from trying to smuggle this lethal drug into our country, I introduced the Fentanyl Penalties Parity Act, a bill to increase the penalty of trafficking fentanyl. This year, I will continue promoting safe, legal entry into the United States to discourage cartels from using and abusing people and families seeking to immigrate here, and push for immigration reforms that will prevent illicit drugs from pouring into our communities.

Career and Technical Education 

• One of the reasons I am so proud to be a Wisconsinite is because we make things in our state. Manufacturing is one of the key drivers of the American economy, and Wisconsin is one of the top manufacturing states in the country. In fact, Wisconsin's Sixth District is home to more manufacturing jobs than any other Congressional District. That is why it is so important that we support the manufacturing industry and prepare our children for these good, high-paying skills-based jobs of the future. This year, I will continue to advocate for students to pursue career and technical education and work in Washington to promote policies that expand access to this education and other training programs like apprenticeships.

COVID-19

• Entering the colder months, Wisconsin has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases, as we did during the fall and winter last year. This can largely be attributed to the cold weather and more people staying indoors. Not only does this keep us closer to one another, but it cuts down on our time in the sun, which is crucial for vitamin D production. Vitamin D helps lead to a healthy immune system, which can make all the difference should you contract COVID-19. In addition to vitamin D, early research has shown that Fenofibrate, an FDA-approved medication, may lessen the ill-effects of COVID-19, as shown in research out of Hebrew University in Israel and University of Pennsylvania.

Environment 

• We are truly blessed to live in Wisconsin, a state with so many natural resources and beautiful landscapes, and we must protect them for future generations to enjoy. We must also carefully balance protecting our environment and allowing the economy to grow and create jobs. The Great Lakes are some of America’s most valued assets, and the Sixth District has 80 miles of beautiful coastline along Lake Michigan. That is why I supported the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which gives our state more resources to ensure the Lakes are healthy and clean, and will continue to support legislation that will help Wisconsin both remain beautiful and create jobs.

Veterans

• As your member of Congress, I have the duty to make sure that the approximately 44,000 veterans who live in the Sixth District receive the support and access to care they’ve earned. I will continue to hold the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable and work to increase the quality and timeliness of care. While the country faces many fiscal challenges, we must ensure that we take care of our veterans and make sure our men and women in uniform have what they need to keep us safe.

Health Care

• Moving our health care system in the right direction requires standing strong on foundational principles. First, health care reform must be patient-centered. This means empowering patients with the ability to make responsible choices in all aspects of their health care and health insurance. Second, health care reform must adhere to free-market principles. This means that hospitals, doctors, and health insurers must be free to compete among themselves to provide the best service at the lowest cost to the American people. The insulin market is a prime example of our broken health care system. Last year, I introduced the Insulin Cost Reduction Act to help drive the price of insulin down for people who depend on it by making the treatment more affordable and accessible for Medicare Part D participants. 

Protecting Life

• I am committed to protecting life from conception to natural death. We have a moral and civic duty to protect those who are voiceless and defenseless, including unborn children. The Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision that ensures the federal government cannot use tax dollars to fund abortions and has been a bipartisan staple of spending bills for decades. With increasingly frequent calls for the Hyde Amendment’s removal, I am reaffirming my commitment to oppose any spending bill that does not include Hyde protections. As your Representative, I will continue to support legislation that protects the sanctity of all life as I represent you in Congress.

One of the most important things I do as a U.S. Representative is help people with federal problems. Although I cannot override the decisions made by a federal agency, I can often intervene on a person's behalf to answer questions, find solutions, or just cut through the red tape.

Below you will find a list of agencies that I can help you with. However, regardless of which agency you need help with, I need a completed privacy authorization form to comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act. Please download this printable version of the privacy authorization form and then fax or mail to the address listed under the agency from which you are seeking assistance.

Which agency do you need help with? 

Education Department

FCC - Federal Communications Commission

Housing and Urban Development

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Internal Revenue Service

Department of Labor

Medicare

Military

Office of Personnel Management

Passport Service

Postal Service

Social Security Administration

State Department - Visas

Department of Veterans Affairs

It was a pleasure to meet employees of Wells Concrete and tour their facility in Valders.

As your Congressman, I’m here to serve you. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to my offices in Fond du Lac and Washington. If you enjoyed this newsletter be sure to forward it to your family and friends so they can stay informed on what I’m doing in Washington and the Sixth District. 

You can also stay up-to-the-minute by following me on Facebook (Congressman Glenn Grothman), Twitter (@RepGrothman) and Instagram (@RepGlennGrothman).