LOCAL NEWS

Rep. Tom Tiffany addresses PFAS, foreign policy, economy with public at town hall last month

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany stopped

at Dale’s Weston Lanes March 24 to hear from the community and dropped a number of revelations about policies he supports and recent votes.

For an hour the freshman Congressman took questions submitted before the event began and talked to 50 people. One man from Wausau mentioned the harmful “forever chemicals” recently found in the city’s water wells above the state recommended level of 20 parts per trillion with levels between 23 and 48 parts per trillion and asked what Tiffany would like done about it.

The U.S. government does not presently regulate these substances which the Environmental Protection Agency has noted can be linked to long term health issues. It is also unknown just how harmful they truly are, but, for Tiffany, there is merit in more study and, as mechanisms for the problem are still being developed federally, much of the right answer is still an unknown.

“I think one of the key things the federal government can do at this point is the research that is necessary,” he said. “Because really, there has not been the extensive research done to set those thresholds of what are extremely problematic. The EPA should be doing significant research to find out what those levels are that are appropriate just like we do so many other substances.”

At another point in the gathering the talk shifted to the economy. A number of area residents were concerned about inflation and the cost of gasoline. Tiffany said spending was leading to the economic pinch many are seeing, but also said some proposals to address issues like higher costs of gasoline would not get his backing if they ultimately came to the House floor for a vote.

“There is a proposal floating through Congress which would give people $100 or $1,000 of additional money because of the high gas prices,” Tiffany said. “If that comes forward I will not support it because it does not get to the root of the problem which is, to have additional production. Increase supply and prices will come down, the worst thing to do is spend more.”

The U.S is the world’s largest oil producer and began the path to the title during the administration of former President Barack Obama. He signed laws allowing the nation to send its oil abroad after a ban of more than 40 years on the practice and, alongside innovations in the industry which allowed for more extraction of energy resources in more difficult locations, what the nation imports has declined. But, getting new supply is not easy and, other countries have been setting just what the world ends up paying for this crucial commodity for economies.

“Modern horizontal fracking wells take six to eight months to produce their first oil,” The Atlantic’s Robinson Meyer wrote recently. “Since Congress lifted the ban on oil exports in 2015, all American-drilled oil and some of our natural gas has been priced on the international market. Global market forces, not our fossil fuels, set the price of oil and gasoline in the United States.”

This point then led to Tiffany discussing his recent vote against a ban on Russian oil coming into the United States. The House passed a bill to ban the product March 9 and Tiffany was one of just 17 members to oppose the proposal. He was joined by Democratic Party representatives like Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and told those who came out to listen to his words that, while the proposal was well-intentioned, he did not think it would accomplish its goals and would give too much power to the executive branch after years of Congress letting its own authority be neutered.

“Russia was going to sell oil anyway,” he said. “As we do not take that oil, your prices are going to go up. Also, the bill did not go into effect for 45 days and it would have given more executive authority to the president with foreign policy in the future. That is why I voted against that. We have to get back to where we have a co-equal authority by the three branches of government.”

The event ended with Tiffany saying it was one where there was good exchange, even with those who disagreed with him. For Republican Schofield State Rep. Patrick Snyder, the PFAS issue posed during the day is one which might be best solved with potential future cooperation.

“I think they are trying to find the source,” Snyder said. “Once they do, if it is an industry of some kind, we can approach them and see if they have a plan to mitigate that. You’ve got to remember it is forever chemicals so it could have been something which has been building.”

▲ Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany addresses constituents during a listening session at Dale’s Weston Lanes in Weston March 24. (Evan J. Pretzer)

Tiffany explains vote against ending forced arbitration for sexual misconduct cases

During a media availability after the listening session Rep. Tiffany also clarified his recent opposition to the Ending Forced

Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.

The bill, which City Pages reported on shortly after it took effect, removes the ability for employers to force an employee with a sexual misconduct claim or case at work to confidentially settle. It passed through Congress with bipartisan support in February and was signed by President Joe Biden last month. Tiffany was one of 97 Republicans to oppose the legislation and said he did so as there are people who need arbitration due to the lengths of the legal process.

“Some people want to go through arbitration because the judicial process is so long that they do not get relief,” Tiffany said. “Sometimes by using arbitration people get a more expeditious ruling and satisfaction in a shorter timeframe. Some people do not want to go through a process for years, they want to get the incident behind them and get at least some compensation.”