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PBS Wisconsin original
production.

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>> Injustice anywhere is
Injustice Everywhere.

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>> Wisconsin congressional
members respond to ICE's

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clash with protesters in
Minneapolis, and speculate

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if that fight could move
closer to home.

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[MUSIC]
I'm Frederica Freyberg

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tonight on "Here& Now".
Wisconsin's U.S. senators

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address health care
premiums and the ACA

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enhanced tax credits, cost
of living and ICE use of

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force in Minnesota.
Governor Evers lays out his

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roadmap for his final year
in office, and Zac Schultz

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reports on the legislative
priorities from the

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candidates vying to be the
next governor. It's "Here&

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Now" for January 16th.
>> Funding for here and Now

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is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and

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Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> Fallout from federal

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immigration enforcement in
Minneapolis continues this

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week with six federal
prosecutors. They're

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resigning over the
assignment to investigate

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the widow of the 37 year
old mother shot and killed

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by an Ice agent. And
Thursday was the last day

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of open enrollment for
marketplace Affordable Care

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Act plans, with early
indications showing 1.4

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million fewer enrollees
than last year. But the

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U.S. House last week voted
to extend those credits,

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with 17 Republicans joining,
including Wisconsin third

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Congressional
Representative Derrick Van

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Orden. To check where that
measure goes in the Senate,

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we turn to Wisconsin's U.S.
senators, Democrat Tammy

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Baldwin and Republican Ron
Johnson, who joins us now.

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Senator, thanks very much
for being here.

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>> Thanks for having me on.
>> So what do you know

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about any compromise to be
had on the extension of

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these ACA enhanced credits?
>> Well, I appreciate you

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reporting it accurately.
We're talking about the

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enhanced credits for the
supposedly 24 million

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people on the exchanges.
More than 22 million will

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still get the Obamacare
subsidies, which were very

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generous. The only people
losing subsidies are people

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making over 400% of the
poverty line. That's about

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1.6 million people. And I'm
actually working with the

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couple Democrat senators to
address those individuals

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because they are facing
unbelievably high premiums

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because of Obamacare. It is
so destroyed. The

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individual market. Some of
these folks close to

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retirement are facing
premiums of 36, $38,000 a

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year. So I'd like to help
them. But again, I really

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have there's no reason to
extend the enhanced

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temporary pandemic
subsidies for people who

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still will retain the
Obamacare subsidies.

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>> What kind of traction is
that? Getting your proposal

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to maintain credits for
those at 400% above poverty?

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>> Well, what I've been
told is there are enough

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Democrats who will
co-sponsor that. But right

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now, I think they're still
holding out hope that they

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can extend all the
subsidies. I just believe

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that's dead on arrival here
in the Senate. We voted

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that down multiple times
during the shutdown. That's

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that's just not going to
happen.

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>> Were you surprised by
the 17 Republicans in the

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House who voted to extend
those enhanced credits?

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>> No, I think the issue
has been so misreported.

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It's been so misrepresented
that I think there are

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people in very close
districts were concerned

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about that
misrepresentation. They

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constituents that, no, they
want to help them handle

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the extremely high premiums.
But but remember, the

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reason premiums are so high
is because Obamacare is

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just flawed. It's it's it's
an awful structure. It

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forced a very small
percentage of the American

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population. Those 24
million people on the

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individuals change to
completely bear the cost of

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covering people with
preexisting conditions. So

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that's the reason why
premiums, since the

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implementation of Obamacare
have increased four times

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rate inflation. So again,
it's completely failed. And

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the only thing the subsidy
is doing right now is

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they're masking that. It's
certainly helping people.

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ought to fix Obamacare. We
repair the damage done and

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transition to a system that
would actually work like.

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Well, the root cause of our
health care financing

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system is the third party
payer system. Somebody else

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is going to pay the the.
Provider, the, you know,

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the costs of, of the
procedures and, and the

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medical services. All we
pay for is insurance. It's

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way too high or we pay our
taxes. So until you

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actually reintroduce
consumerism, where

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consumers know what things
cost and they're concerned

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about what things cost.
Right now, doctors don't

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know. Nurses don't know,
patients don't know. The

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only people know are the
bean counters. So that's a

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completely flawed system.
You've removed all the

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benefits of a free market,
competitive system out of

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health care. So you don't
have lower costs, you don't

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have better quality, you
don't have better service.

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So again, return
consumerism, free market

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competition in there. Now
providers aren't going to

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incentive in our current
health care system is to

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increase prices because
everybody is taking a

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percentage cut off it.
They'd rather take a

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percent cut off something
cost $10,000 rather than

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five. So it's about
consumerism. That's the

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>> On immigration
enforcement. Minneapolis

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obviously continues to be a
powder keg. How does the

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president, invoking the
Insurrection Act, bringing

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in U.S. military help or
hurt? What's going on there

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in your mind?
>> Well, what you ought to

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do is take a look at
different states, those

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cooperating with Ice as we
try and administration

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tries to clean up this
enormous mess left behind

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by Biden and Democrats, who
opened up our borders

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versus those states that
are resisting where local

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law enforcement actually
holds illegal immigrants

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that have committed crimes
so that Ice can pick them

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up peacefully at the jails.
You're not seeing a problem.

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Where you're seeing a
problem is where you have

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insurgents like Governor
Walz and the mayor inciting

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people to resist and
obstruct justice. And that

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led to the tragedy of that
one woman's death.

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>> Do you have concerns
that Wisconsin will be

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similarly embroiled?
>> I would hope that

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Wisconsin county sheriffs
and local officials would

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cooperate with Ice. I think
generally they do. We don't

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we do not have, you know,
pockets of large illegal

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immigration, immigrants in
the state of Wisconsin. So

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it's not as big an issue
here as it is with the

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Somali population and
others in Minnesota and

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some of these other big
cities.

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>> Do you feel like public
benefits fraud in Minnesota

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justifies the Trump
administration to surge ice

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there?
>> That's not why they're

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doing it. They're two
totally separate issues.

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>> And yet that has been
something that the

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president has spoken to.
>> Well, again, you have a,

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you know, large Somali
population that now we are

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seeing evidence of how much
they are defrauding the

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federal government on a
host of government programs,

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you know, flying $700
million of cash out of the

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Minneapolis airport. Again,
there's some real problems

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there, but that's separate
from the illegal immigrants.

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And quite honestly, the
sanctuary cities, sanctuary

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states like Minneapolis and
Minnesota, where you don't

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have local officials
working with Ice to

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peacefully turn over people
they've detained, have

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committed crimes. Other
states that do it. You

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don't have these problems.
>> You stated this week

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that you do not want to see
immigration enforcement

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action on farmers. Do you
have any assurances on that?

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>> Just that, you know, for
example, President Trump

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was not happy with the raid,
I think the Hyundai plant.

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So people here that are
working, contributing, that

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is not the people that Ice
is, is primarily going

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after right now. They're
going after the criminals.

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Now, if you're associating
yourself with people who

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have committed crimes, if
you get caught up in those

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enforcement actions, I mean,
if you've come to this

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country illegally, you've
committed a crime as well.

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But that's not who the
Trump administration is

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>> Do you support on the
kind of world stage do you

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support the
administration's actions in

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Venezuela, or threats
against Iran, or even

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looking at Greenland? Do
you support that kind of

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foreign policy.
>> Is undeniably good, that

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Maduro is no longer the
illegitimate leader and

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destroying Venezuela. Now,
what comes next? I don't

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know if the mullahs could
be replaced by the Iranian

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people. That would be a
good thing for the world.

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They are a menace.
Greenland. From my

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standpoint, I'm not worried
about a military invasion

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there. I think it's
appropriate for President

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Trump to understand and
point out what a strategic

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how strategically,
strategically important

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Greenland is. And I think
there's probably more and

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more intelligence coming
out, exactly what Russia

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and China may be doing
there. And we need to make

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sure that Greenland is
protected for NATO and for

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for America and for our own
national security.

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>> What do you think
average Wisconsinites care

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most about right now? Do
you think it's the cost of

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living?
>> Sure. Always has been,

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always will be. And it's
difficult to, you know,

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once you've devalued the
dollar to the extent we

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have over the over the
decades, a dollar held in

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1998 is only worth $0.51 as
recently as 2019, that

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dollar's worth $0.80. And
so the 40 year high

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inflation incurred during
the Biden administration

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that permanently devalued
the dollar. So, you know,

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those a lot of those prices,
they're not going to go

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back down. Now there are
certain commodities like

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energy gasoline you
noticing because we

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actually are encouraging
drilling and energy

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production. Gasoline prices
are going down. You know, I

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think a more rational
approach to bird flu is is

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probably bring down the
price of eggs. So there are

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certain things we can
address. President Trump

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right now is and I had a
briefing in terms of what

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he's doing to make sure
that European countries or

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other developed countries
pay the same price we pay

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for drugs. So they don't
free, free, free load off

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of our innovation. That
will also help things, you

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know, in terms of
pharmaceutical pricing.

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>> All right. Senator Ron
Johnson, we'll leave it

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there. Thanks very much for
your time.

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>> Have a good day.
>> Democratic U.S. Senator

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Tammy Baldwin was on the
Senate floor this week to,

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in her words, rail against
Republicans repeated

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attacks on the Affordable
Care Act. Senator Baldwin

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joins us now. Thanks very
much for being here.

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>> It's a pleasure. Thanks
for having me.

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>> So you say that, but
Congressman Van Orden and

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16 other Republicans in
that body voted in favor of

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extending the enhanced tax
credits. Does that

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represent some movement
toward that in the Senate?

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>> You know, it was it. We
had a moment in the Senate

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to take up the bill that
was passed in the House of

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Representatives that would
have extended the tax

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credits for three years,
and my Republican

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colleagues blocked it, pure
and simple. We have known

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for well over a year that
these tax credits would

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expire at the end of 2025,
and I have worked

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tirelessly to try to extend
these tax credits so that

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working families can afford
their health care premiums

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if they buy through the
Affordable Care Act. But

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we're seeing the numbers
start to come in. Thousands

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of Wisconsinites have
dropped health care

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coverage, and we expected
only to get worse, as some

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who were automatically
enrolled get their premium

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bills and figure out that
it's just not in their

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budget to continue health
care. And so while I will

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never throw in the towel on
fighting for affordable

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health care for all, I can
tell you that for some it

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is too late. In this
particular year to repair

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the damage that has been
done. And as to my

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colleague from Wisconsin in
the House, he has railed

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against the Affordable Care
Act, supported repeal of it

236
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in its entirety for for
years now. And this at the

237
00:12:36,790 --> 00:12:40,827
last minute, in my mind,
does not recover, does not,

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00:12:40,894 --> 00:12:44,698
does not make him now a fan
of the program.

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>> So we just spoke with
Senator Johnson and and he

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00:12:49,036 --> 00:12:53,941
is proposing maintaining
the tax credits for people

241
00:12:54,508 --> 00:12:59,246
at 400% above poverty. Is
that something that you

242
00:12:59,313 --> 00:13:03,217
would support?
>> Look, I believe that

243
00:13:03,283 --> 00:13:07,287
there is a lot of room for
negotiation on the

244
00:13:09,189 --> 00:13:13,660
extension of the Affordable
Care Act tax credits, and

245
00:13:13,727 --> 00:13:17,965
there is no reason in my
mind that we can't have

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00:13:18,765 --> 00:13:23,837
reasonable income cap, or
to have a provision that

247
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says that you can't be
expected to pay more than a

248
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certain percentage of your
income on health care. I

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00:13:31,545 --> 00:13:35,749
just want to relate a story
that I shared on the Senate

250
00:13:35,816 --> 00:13:40,721
floor. I have a constituent
who is paying 40% of their

251
00:13:41,588 --> 00:13:44,291
income on their health
insurance premium. That's

252
00:13:44,358 --> 00:13:48,495
how much it's gone up. In
the absence of these

253
00:13:49,062 --> 00:13:51,565
Affordable Care Act tax
credits. And so I think we

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00:13:51,632 --> 00:13:54,735
have to be reasonable here,
capping the percentage of

255
00:13:54,801 --> 00:13:57,938
people's income that should
be contributed towards

256
00:13:58,005 --> 00:14:01,642
health insurance. But I
think we can look at a

257
00:14:01,708 --> 00:14:06,713
reasonable limit for higher
wage earners to have that

258
00:14:07,314 --> 00:14:10,984
tax credit taper off.
>> On immigration

259
00:14:11,818 --> 00:14:14,488
enforcement. Do you think
the president, invoking the

260
00:14:14,555 --> 00:14:17,424
Insurrection Act to bring
in the military helps or

261
00:14:17,491 --> 00:14:21,395
hurts what's going on right
now in Minneapolis?

262
00:14:21,461 --> 00:14:25,432
>> You know, when you see
this president surge, what

263
00:14:25,499 --> 00:14:29,970
is now close to 3000 armed
masked Ice agents into

264
00:14:32,606 --> 00:14:37,411
neighborhoods, schools,
residential areas, I think

265
00:14:37,477 --> 00:14:41,782
that makes our communities
less safe, not more safe.

266
00:14:41,849 --> 00:14:46,753
And the chaos that is going
on in in Minnesota by these

267
00:14:48,188 --> 00:14:52,326
unaccountable actions taken
by these Ice agents, is the

268
00:14:52,392 --> 00:14:56,396
part that is causing
tensions to rise. And I

269
00:14:56,930 --> 00:15:02,069
think that the Trump effort
to change the narrative and

270
00:15:02,803 --> 00:15:07,808
blame residents who are
peacefully protesting this

271
00:15:07,875 --> 00:15:12,212
presence is wrongheaded.
He's been talking about

272
00:15:12,279 --> 00:15:15,916
reckoning and retribution.
That's what I think this is

273
00:15:15,983 --> 00:15:21,154
all about. And it is very,
very disconcerting to see

274
00:15:21,221 --> 00:15:25,792
this surge. Right now, Ice
agents outnumber local law

275
00:15:25,859 --> 00:15:29,129
enforcement 3 to 1.
>> What do you think about

276
00:15:29,196 --> 00:15:31,632
invoking the Insurrection
Act?

277
00:15:31,698 --> 00:15:34,768
>> I think it's entirely
wrongheaded and is about

278
00:15:34,835 --> 00:15:38,372
the retribution campaign
that this president is on

279
00:15:38,438 --> 00:15:40,741
and inappropriate.
>> Do you think this kind

280
00:15:40,807 --> 00:15:43,944
of powder keg comes to
Wisconsin?

281
00:15:45,712 --> 00:15:50,117
>> You know, I think we
need to be watching and

282
00:15:50,184 --> 00:15:51,985
vigilant about what's
happening in our

283
00:15:52,052 --> 00:15:55,522
neighboring state of
Minnesota and be ready. I

284
00:15:55,589 --> 00:15:59,493
think it is very
responsible for our local

285
00:16:00,093 --> 00:16:04,898
leaders and state leaders
to be talking actively

286
00:16:04,965 --> 00:16:08,335
about what this would look
like in Wisconsin.

287
00:16:08,402 --> 00:16:12,272
>> On foreign policy, US
threats against Iran, the

288
00:16:12,339 --> 00:16:15,876
incursion into Venezuela
and the play on Greenland.

289
00:16:15,943 --> 00:16:18,245
In your mind, where does
all this leave the US in

290
00:16:18,312 --> 00:16:21,682
the world?
>> You know, first of all,

291
00:16:21,748 --> 00:16:26,286
it's so clear that the
president is distracted and

292
00:16:26,353 --> 00:16:29,356
trying to distract the
attention of the American

293
00:16:29,423 --> 00:16:33,560
public. When he ran for
president, he said on day

294
00:16:33,627 --> 00:16:37,865
one, I will bring costs
down, and on day one, I

295
00:16:37,931 --> 00:16:42,803
will end our international
conflicts, our endless wars.

296
00:16:42,870 --> 00:16:47,341
And instead, he has
promoted policies that have

297
00:16:48,242 --> 00:16:51,011
increased prices of
everything from groceries

298
00:16:51,078 --> 00:16:55,749
and consumer goods to
energy, housing. And he has,

299
00:16:57,618 --> 00:17:01,855
instead of bringing an end
to conflict, he has

300
00:17:02,689 --> 00:17:05,926
proposed or actually
engaged in more. This

301
00:17:05,993 --> 00:17:08,695
president is totally
distracted from what he

302
00:17:08,762 --> 00:17:11,732
promised he would do for
the American people.

303
00:17:11,798 --> 00:17:15,102
>> Because what do you
think Wisconsinites care

304
00:17:15,169 --> 00:17:18,739
most about right now? Is it
the cost of everything,

305
00:17:18,805 --> 00:17:22,809
including housing.
>> Including housing,

306
00:17:23,310 --> 00:17:27,781
including health care? As
we just discussed, many are

307
00:17:27,848 --> 00:17:30,217
making facing these
impossible choices and

308
00:17:30,284 --> 00:17:33,587
actually dropping something
as essential as health care

309
00:17:33,654 --> 00:17:37,024
coverage because they can
no longer afford it.

310
00:17:37,090 --> 00:17:41,628
Because of policies that
Donald Trump has promoted,

311
00:17:41,695 --> 00:17:46,366
the economy is by far the
number one concern that I

312
00:17:46,433 --> 00:17:50,270
hear from my constituents.
And it's, you know, the

313
00:17:50,337 --> 00:17:54,174
cost of things feels just
impossible to them right

314
00:17:54,241 --> 00:17:58,812
now. Housing costs have
skyrocketed, and we have

315
00:18:00,581 --> 00:18:04,585
seen grocery prices
accelerate in terms of

316
00:18:05,085 --> 00:18:09,990
inflation in recent months.
And the president's energy

317
00:18:10,057 --> 00:18:13,660
policies are going to
create a significant price

318
00:18:13,727 --> 00:18:17,998
price hike for people. And
so, again, this president

319
00:18:18,065 --> 00:18:22,603
is distracted and he is not
focusing on the very things

320
00:18:22,669 --> 00:18:25,772
that Wisconsinites who
voted for him would like

321
00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:28,976
him to.
>> Are there fixes to this

322
00:18:29,042 --> 00:18:33,046
that you may be working on
across the aisle?

323
00:18:34,481 --> 00:18:38,552
>> There are certainly
there are fixes to

324
00:18:38,619 --> 00:18:40,888
everything. As I said, I
won't throw in the towel on

325
00:18:40,954 --> 00:18:44,224
health care costs. I
continue to work with my

326
00:18:44,291 --> 00:18:47,160
Republican colleagues on
ways in which we can bring

327
00:18:47,227 --> 00:18:49,730
down the cost of
prescription medication,

328
00:18:49,796 --> 00:18:53,267
ways in which we can reform
the health care system,

329
00:18:53,333 --> 00:18:57,104
which is terribly broken
right now on housing. I

330
00:18:57,171 --> 00:19:00,140
certainly reach out to my
Republican colleagues to

331
00:19:00,207 --> 00:19:04,878
join with me and others to
to make sure that private

332
00:19:05,812 --> 00:19:09,816
equity firms and large
corporations aren't

333
00:19:09,883 --> 00:19:14,488
gobbling up all the single
family homes that make them

334
00:19:14,555 --> 00:19:17,624
take them off the market
and make homeownership so

335
00:19:17,691 --> 00:19:20,694
more, so much more
difficult for first time

336
00:19:20,761 --> 00:19:25,299
homebuyers. You know, the
average age of the first

337
00:19:25,365 --> 00:19:29,636
homebuyer is now 40 years
old. Imagine that. And the

338
00:19:29,703 --> 00:19:34,608
price in the last decade or
so of of housing has nearly

339
00:19:35,742 --> 00:19:39,913
doubled in our state. And
so we have to squarely

340
00:19:39,980 --> 00:19:42,683
focus on these issues of
affordability, so that

341
00:19:42,749 --> 00:19:45,085
being in the middle class
means something, means

342
00:19:45,152 --> 00:19:48,522
you're getting ahead.
>> We leave it there.

343
00:19:48,589 --> 00:19:51,325
Senator Tammy Baldwin,
thanks very much.

344
00:19:51,391 --> 00:19:55,562
>> Thank you for having me.
>> Governor Tony Evers this

345
00:19:55,629 --> 00:19:58,699
week laid out a list of his
priorities for his final

346
00:19:58,765 --> 00:20:01,668
year in office, as the
state legislature has a

347
00:20:01,735 --> 00:20:04,805
matter of weeks left in its
schedule to advance any

348
00:20:04,872 --> 00:20:07,774
unfinished business to the
floor. It's unclear how

349
00:20:07,841 --> 00:20:10,310
much of the governor's
affordability agenda will

350
00:20:10,377 --> 00:20:13,647
make it through.
>> Whether it's

351
00:20:13,714 --> 00:20:16,750
prescriptions for insulin
or other daily

352
00:20:16,817 --> 00:20:20,254
out-of-pocket costs, or the
skyrocketing price of

353
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,624
health care coverage.
Things are simply not

354
00:20:23,690 --> 00:20:26,260
affordable, and paychecks
aren't going as far as they

355
00:20:26,326 --> 00:20:30,864
used to. I'm asking the
legislature to approve $1.3

356
00:20:30,931 --> 00:20:34,034
billion in property tax
relief to prevent property

357
00:20:34,101 --> 00:20:37,571
tax increases for average
Wisconsin homeowners and

358
00:20:37,638 --> 00:20:40,874
help lower property taxes
for working families,

359
00:20:40,941 --> 00:20:45,245
veterans and seniors across
our state. Under this

360
00:20:45,312 --> 00:20:47,915
proposal, we can make sure
the average homeowner will

361
00:20:47,981 --> 00:20:51,718
not see the property
property tax increase.

362
00:20:51,785 --> 00:20:55,255
Period.
>> With so many candidates

363
00:20:55,322 --> 00:20:57,925
running for governor, it
can be hard to remember all

364
00:20:57,991 --> 00:21:02,129
the names, much less where
everyone stands on each

365
00:21:02,196 --> 00:21:04,565
issue. Last month "Here&
Now", senior political

366
00:21:04,631 --> 00:21:07,935
reporter Zac Schultz sat
down with nine of the

367
00:21:08,001 --> 00:21:11,004
leading candidates. You can
find those interviews on

368
00:21:11,071 --> 00:21:14,875
PBS Wisconsin Organic
Valley. In addition, over

369
00:21:14,942 --> 00:21:17,711
the next few months, you'll
hear from the candidates on

370
00:21:17,778 --> 00:21:20,480
individual issues
everything from school

371
00:21:20,547 --> 00:21:23,984
funding to data centers to
creating more affordable

372
00:21:24,051 --> 00:21:26,920
housing. Tonight, we kick
things off with their

373
00:21:26,987 --> 00:21:30,157
highest priorities what
each candidate would work

374
00:21:30,224 --> 00:21:34,361
on first as governor.
>> For the first time in 16

375
00:21:34,428 --> 00:21:38,498
years, you can legitimately
say control of the

376
00:21:38,565 --> 00:21:40,601
Wisconsin legislature is up
for grabs in the next

377
00:21:40,667 --> 00:21:43,904
election, which means the
incoming governor could

378
00:21:43,971 --> 00:21:47,107
actually pass their agenda.
So we asked each candidate

379
00:21:47,174 --> 00:21:49,843
what the first bill would
be that they want to sign

380
00:21:49,910 --> 00:21:52,479
into law. The most common
answer had to do with

381
00:21:52,546 --> 00:21:55,449
dealing with the rising
costs of everything.

382
00:21:55,516 --> 00:21:58,151
>> So the things that I
want to make sure that I'm

383
00:21:58,218 --> 00:22:00,254
signing into law are things
that are going to reduce

384
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,322
costs for Wisconsinites,
and that's going to be

385
00:22:02,389 --> 00:22:05,759
health care costs primarily.
But also looking at child

386
00:22:05,826 --> 00:22:07,861
care, we've got other
states that we can look at

387
00:22:07,928 --> 00:22:09,863
for examples where they've
been able to subsidize

388
00:22:09,930 --> 00:22:13,133
child care. For folks,
treating that as

389
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,302
infrastructure is going to
be something that's going

390
00:22:15,369 --> 00:22:18,038
to be a priority for me.
>> Well, the first thing I

391
00:22:18,105 --> 00:22:20,407
want to sign is about, you
know, how do we really

392
00:22:20,474 --> 00:22:22,342
tackle this affordability
crisis? You know, I would

393
00:22:22,409 --> 00:22:25,145
love for us to focus on
affordable and attainable

394
00:22:25,212 --> 00:22:27,347
housing in every corner of
of the state of Wisconsin.

395
00:22:27,414 --> 00:22:30,317
I would like for us to
focus on fully funding our

396
00:22:30,384 --> 00:22:32,753
public schools, making sure
that there are good paying

397
00:22:32,819 --> 00:22:35,989
jobs, no matter where they
are in our state, and

398
00:22:36,056 --> 00:22:38,759
making sure that our young
people are ready for the

399
00:22:38,825 --> 00:22:41,762
jobs of today and tomorrow.
>> No matter what we do,

400
00:22:41,828 --> 00:22:44,231
the first thing we need to
do is work on affordability.

401
00:22:44,298 --> 00:22:46,934
I think there are any
number of ways in which we

402
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,770
need to ensure, whether
it's on the issues of

403
00:22:49,837 --> 00:22:52,139
stable housing around the
state, or whether it's on

404
00:22:52,206 --> 00:22:54,808
the issues of health care,
Medicaid expansion, which

405
00:22:54,875 --> 00:22:57,377
the governor has tried to
do over the course of his

406
00:22:57,444 --> 00:22:59,479
eight years, hasn't been
able to do. Those are the

407
00:22:59,546 --> 00:23:02,349
types of things that can be
done under with a

408
00:23:02,416 --> 00:23:04,484
Democratic majority, and
those are the types of

409
00:23:04,551 --> 00:23:07,354
things that I'd be eager to
do right away.

410
00:23:07,421 --> 00:23:09,523
>> Well, I think there's a
laundry list, and that's

411
00:23:09,590 --> 00:23:12,392
part of our challenge. But
one of the things that I

412
00:23:12,459 --> 00:23:14,595
want to see first is things
that are focused on

413
00:23:14,661 --> 00:23:16,430
affordability, property
taxes and income taxes in

414
00:23:16,496 --> 00:23:18,866
particular. It's
embarrassing to me that our

415
00:23:18,932 --> 00:23:21,435
top bracket of income tax
is almost double what

416
00:23:21,502 --> 00:23:24,338
Illinois's is. I'd like to
see it flattened out and

417
00:23:24,404 --> 00:23:28,008
then slowly eliminated, and
then property taxes. I'd

418
00:23:28,075 --> 00:23:31,178
like to see us go from 4 or
5 entities on property tax

419
00:23:31,245 --> 00:23:35,949
bills down to 2 or 3. The
goal of cutting them by 50%.

420
00:23:36,016 --> 00:23:37,951
You make a moonshot, and if
you hit the stratosphere,

421
00:23:38,018 --> 00:23:39,987
you've won.
>> Well, the first thing

422
00:23:40,053 --> 00:23:42,990
that the governor comes in
and does in at any time

423
00:23:43,056 --> 00:23:45,792
when there's a new governor
is write the budget. And so

424
00:23:45,859 --> 00:23:48,462
I will be working closely
with whoever's in the

425
00:23:48,529 --> 00:23:50,497
legislature to make sure
that we have a budget that

426
00:23:50,564 --> 00:23:52,833
is immediately addressing
challenges that

427
00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:55,636
Wisconsinites are facing,
things like healthcare and

428
00:23:55,702 --> 00:23:58,505
child care costs. But also
we have a real challenge

429
00:23:58,572 --> 00:24:02,109
around public education. We
need to reinvest in our

430
00:24:02,176 --> 00:24:04,578
teachers and our schools,
and we need to make sure

431
00:24:04,645 --> 00:24:07,714
that our university and our
tech colleges are funded in

432
00:24:07,781 --> 00:24:10,317
a way that helps them move
forward. It's all about

433
00:24:10,384 --> 00:24:13,587
investment.
BadgerCare expansion right

434
00:24:13,654 --> 00:24:17,090
away. Day one special
session if necessary. I

435
00:24:17,157 --> 00:24:19,259
refuse to sign a state
budget that does not

436
00:24:19,326 --> 00:24:21,061
include BadgerCare
expansion. If we have not

437
00:24:21,128 --> 00:24:24,698
already gotten to that
point. We're one of nine

438
00:24:24,765 --> 00:24:27,367
states. We are one of nine
states that has yet to

439
00:24:27,434 --> 00:24:30,604
expand our Medicaid program
under the Affordable Care

440
00:24:30,671 --> 00:24:34,975
Act. It's it's a travesty
that that is not the case.

441
00:24:35,042 --> 00:24:38,078
Republicans and legislature
have denied people the care

442
00:24:38,145 --> 00:24:40,781
that they deserve.
>> Boy, you know, I don't

443
00:24:40,848 --> 00:24:43,750
think we have any choice at
this point, but we got to

444
00:24:43,817 --> 00:24:46,553
deal with education. I just
saw some data this week

445
00:24:46,620 --> 00:24:48,689
where almost half of first
graders cannot read at

446
00:24:48,755 --> 00:24:52,392
grade level. We have fallen
behind Mississippi and

447
00:24:52,459 --> 00:24:54,394
education. That is
unacceptable. I don't care

448
00:24:54,461 --> 00:24:56,463
if you're Republican,
Democrat or whatever

449
00:24:56,530 --> 00:24:58,866
political persuasion. We
have always had a long,

450
00:24:58,932 --> 00:25:01,502
proud tradition of
educating children well,

451
00:25:01,568 --> 00:25:05,172
and we've got to get that
back. Otherwise our state

452
00:25:05,239 --> 00:25:09,710
cannot succeed. But I think
next is the cost of living,

453
00:25:09,776 --> 00:25:14,781
and it is getting the cost
of energy down, reducing

454
00:25:14,848 --> 00:25:17,851
taxes, things like that
that make Wisconsin more

455
00:25:17,918 --> 00:25:21,188
affordable.
budget that raises wages

456
00:25:21,255 --> 00:25:23,957
for people, restores
people's rights, lowers

457
00:25:24,024 --> 00:25:27,461
costs on the biggest ticket
items like health care and

458
00:25:27,528 --> 00:25:30,531
funds our public school
system. Our kids have been

459
00:25:30,597 --> 00:25:33,133
getting shortchanged for a
generation, and it's not

460
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,269
fair. And it's actually
terrible for our economy.

461
00:25:35,335 --> 00:25:38,005
Big signature policy items
that I'm interested in

462
00:25:38,071 --> 00:25:40,107
passing is opening up the
state health insurance and

463
00:25:40,174 --> 00:25:42,576
the state pension systems
to any person to be able to

464
00:25:42,643 --> 00:25:45,112
buy in.
>> Red flag laws and

465
00:25:45,579 --> 00:25:50,117
background checks and safe
storage. I think gun safety

466
00:25:50,184 --> 00:25:54,755
is a universal issue, and
we have to meet we have to

467
00:25:55,856 --> 00:25:58,358
ensure that we're
protecting our kids. Then

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00:25:58,425 --> 00:26:01,562
public education and
universal child care. I

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00:26:01,628 --> 00:26:04,798
think when we put our kids
first, working class

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00:26:04,865 --> 00:26:07,434
families all win.
>> Reporting from Madison.

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00:26:07,501 --> 00:26:10,504
I'm Zac Schultz for "Here&
Now".

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00:26:11,338 --> 00:26:13,674
>> For more on this and
other issues facing

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00:26:13,740 --> 00:26:17,578
Wisconsin, visit our
website at PBS Wisconsin

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00:26:17,644 --> 00:26:20,714
and then click on the news
tab. That's our program for

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00:26:20,781 --> 00:26:21,782
tonight I'm Frederica
Freyberg.

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00:26:21,849 --> 00:26:23,517
[MUSIC]

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00:26:44,137 --> 00:26:45,973
>> Funding for "Here& Now"
is provided by the Focus

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00:26:46,039 --> 00:26:48,275
Fund for Journalism and