It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and with less than a week to go, many people are wrapping up last-minute shopping and getting ready for a relaxing holiday. Yet one concern remains top of mind for families across the country: the rising cost of health care. Since the enactment of the Unaffordable Care Act in 2010 – which passed without a single Republican vote – health care premiums have continued to climb year after year. With that in mind, just like Santa’s elves, House Republicans were hard at work this week – fixing the problem and finally addressing the root causes of rising health care premiums, all wrapped up in one comprehensive package.
No matter how many times the Democrats claim Republicans are the “Grinch who stole healthcare,” nothing could be further from the truth. On Wednesday, House Republicans passed the Lower Healthcare Premiums for All Americans Act to bring down the costs that have skyrocketed for years.
The reality is that Democrats singlehandedly created the healthcare system they are now complaining about. Instead of working with us to fix it, they would rather use it as leverage heading into the midterms. As you may remember, just last month during the shutdown, they made it clear that they are happy to use the suffering of the American people as “leverage.” This bill takes the opposite approach – it fixes our broken system, expands choice and competition, and provides the transparency needed to lower health care costs for all Americans.
This legislation strengthens and expands Association Health Plans and CHOICE Arrangements, giving small businesses and their employees access to more affordable health care options. Association Health Plans let small businesses team up to buy health insurance together, giving them access to lower group rates and wider provider networks instead of costly Obamacare marketplace plans. CHOICE Arrangements are an optional benefit that lets employers give employees tax-free money to pay for health care, giving workers more choice while helping businesses control costs and avoid the hassle of running a full insurance plan.
It funds Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs) to lower health insurance premiums for people who buy coverage on their own by 11%. By fully funding cost-sharing reductions, insurance companies wouldn’t need to raise premiums to cover their losses. It will also require pharmacy benefit managers to be transparent with employers, giving small businesses the information they need to negotiate better deals and lower prescription drug costs for their employees.
If Democrats were serious about preventing hardworking Americans’ premiums from skyrocketing next year, they would have joined us to pass these commonsense reforms. Unfortunately, there were 211 Scrooges who voted against it. While they would rather focus on taxpayer-funded subsidies that only benefit about 7% of healthcare recipients, we’re working to lower prices for all Americans. History shows that when you increase competition, costs come down – and that’s exactly what we delivered this week. I hope this brings you and your family a bit more peace of mind this holiday season. You can watch my interview with NewsNation, where I discuss this and more by clicking here.
Thanks for unwrapping this week’s special edition with us! Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas – we’ll see you again in the new year with the next edition of the Wied Wire.
In the Wieds
Tree-mendous Traditions
Washington, D.C. shines especially bright during the Christmas season. At the U.S. Capitol, the annual Capitol Christmas Tree tradition has been lighting up the West Lawn since 1964. Each year, a different state provides the evergreen, decorated with thousands of ornaments handmade by children from across the country. This year’s tree jingled all the way from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and is adorned with more than 5,000 ornaments and 6,000 lights. Just down Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House celebrates with its own iconic traditions. This year’s theme is “Home is Where the Heart Is” filling the rooms with warmth and nostalgia, brought to life through 51 Christmas trees, 75 wreaths, 25,000 feet of ribbon, and 2,000 strands of lights. Ever since First Lady Jackie Kennedy introduced themed decorations in 1961, each administration has added its own twinkle to the Blue Room Christmas Tree, while wreaths, garlands, and gingerbread creations deck the halls. The beloved tradition of the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony began Christmas Eve in 1923 when President Calvin Coolidge lit a 48-foot Balsam Fir and it continues to draw families together with music, carols, and the glow of lights to this day. These traditions reflect the spirit of the season – faith, family, and community – shining merry and bright from the heart of our nation’s capital. If you’d like to book a White House tour to experience the magic in person, click here.
A Dairy Merry Win for Kids
This week brought a bit of early Christmas cheer to families, farmers, and school cafeterias across the country. The House passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, bipartisan legislation I was proud to cosponsor. After more than a decade of restrictive federal policy, this bill restores the option for schools to once again serve whole and 2% milk, both flavored and unflavored – giving kids access to the nutrient rich milk they overwhelmingly prefer. For years, dairy farmers, nutrition experts, and parents have pushed to bring whole milk back to school menus, pointing to its strong nutritional profile and its popularity with students. The Senate approved the bill earlier this fall, and with the House’s action this week, it now heads to the President’s desk for signature. This is a win for kids’ health and a welcome boost for America’s dairy producers – including the hardworking farm families who keep Wisconsin’s agricultural traditions thriving. And as we head into a season filled with cookies, cocoa, and holiday gatherings, it feels especially fitting to celebrate a bipartisan victory that puts real milk back on the table for millions of students.
Howl-iday Update on Sound Stewardship
The Pet and Livestock Protection Act sleighed its way through the House this week, which would remove gray wolf from the list of endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, established in 1973 to recover and stabilize at-risk species, has helped deliver successful recovery for dozens of species, including the bald eagle and gray whale. For the gray wolf, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a final rule in 2020 delisting the gray wolf in the lower 48 states and returning population management to state agencies. However, in 2022 – after a lawsuit from a radical environmentalist group – a federal judge in California vacated the rule. As a result, all gray wolves in the lower 48 states, except for the Northern Rocky Mountains, are once again listed under the ESA. In Wisconsin, wolf populations are healthy and secure. Current estimates exceed the goal of 800-1200 and far surpass the original benchmark of 350 wolves. Once populations have recovered, management should be returned to the states, which are best positioned to determine the sound conservation practices going forward. The purpose of the ESA is to protect species at risk of extinction – not to keep them wrapped in federal protections long after they’ve recovered. While wolves play an important ecological role, they are also wild animals that pose a real threat to livestock and pets. Given their well-documented history of attacks and killings, it’s long past time to allow states to manage their wolf populations properly – just like all other wildlife – so Wisconsin families and their pets can enjoy peace and goodwill.
Guiding Santa’s Sleigh for Seventy Years
It’s one of the most beloved Christmas traditions – watching Santa’s sleigh as he makes his way across the globe on Christmas Eve, guided by NORAD’s Santa Tracker. But did you know it all started with a wrong number? Back in 1955, Sears placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper with a phone number for children to call Santa. Unfortunately, the number was misprinted, and instead of reaching the North Pole, children were calling a top-secret military hotline at the Continental Air Defense Command – the Cold War predecessor to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Colonel Harry Shoup, the officer on duty, picked up the phone expecting a general or even the President. Instead, he heard a small voice ask, “Is this Santa?” Rather than hanging up, he played along. And when the calls kept coming, he had airmen help staff the line to update children on Santa’s status. The week of Christmas, Col. Shoup’s staff added Santa and his sleigh to the plexiglass map used to track unidentified aircraft. What began as a fluke soon became a cherished tradition. Each year since, NORAD has “tracked” Santa’s flight path, first by phone and radio, and now through websites and apps – the tradition has sleigh-ed the test of time. Volunteers answer thousands of calls and emails from children waiting to see when Santa will arrive, keeping the magic alive. This year marks NORAD’s 70th year of keeping Christmas on course – a reminder that sometimes the best traditions come from happy accidents.
Check out this video from NORAD explaining the magic behind keeping Santa’s reindeer on their radar.
Rockin’ Around the 8th District
The Gift of Giving Back
This past weekend, I was honored to join the Brown County Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol for their annual wreath-laying ceremony as part of the Wreaths Across America. Each December, volunteers across the country place wreaths on the graves of our fallen heroes – a simple, solemn act that ensures their service is remembered during the holiday season. It was an honor to stand alongside families, veterans, and community members as we paid tribute to those who served. Every American owes their freedom, and a deep debt of gratitude, to our veterans, and I was humbled to stand with them. Wishing all of our veterans, their families, and friends a very Merry Christmas.
Elf-icient Service for Every Season
Providing the best constituent services to people of the 8th Congressional District is a top priority for me. Whether it’s the VA, IRS, or the SSA, my staff is ready to deliver! No matter how tangled the tinsel of federal bureaucracy gets, don’t ever hesitate to contact my District Office at 920-301-4500 or submit a message through my website here. Over the past year, my staff and I have delivered real results for the people of Northeast Wisconsin. From helping a veteran finally secure a long-overdue disability benefit to tracking down a tax refund that’s been stuck in limbo, we’ve assisted hundreds of constituents in unwrapping the red tape that too often stands in the way. You can see one of those real success stories in the testimonial below – just one example of how our team is making a difference for families across the 8th District.
Photo of the Week
[see featured photo above] We’ve received so many wonderful pictures since launching the Photo of the Week section of the Wied Wire, and I’d love to keep them coming. This week’s photo features our DC branch of the Wied Wire decked out in Christmas sweaters, spreading holiday cheer and showing that even policymaking can be merry and bright. If you’d like to submit a picture to be featured in an upcoming Photo of the Week, please email it to twstaff@mail.house.gov with your name and location. We look forward to highlighting more of your photos that celebrate the places, people, and moments that make Wisconsin so special.
