Progressive Thinking

16 Democratic Assembly members urge Dane County DA to file new charges against Gov. Scott Walker.

MADISON - I’m just back from a road trip yesterday, which took me up to Green Bay and then down to Racine, and that reminds me to let you know that I’m available to come talk in your own community if you can arrange it. Just shoot me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Meanwhile, before the weekend is in full swing, I’d like to tell you what we’ve been up to this week.

One key development, which got virtually no coverage in the statewide media, is that 16 Democratic Assembly members wrote a letter on Thursday urging Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to file new charges against Gov. Scott Walker. Check it out here:

Wisconsin legislators keep heat on Walker

You know we’re against dark money, whether it’s coming from the Wisconsin Club for Growth or from a group that’s close to the Democrats. That’s why we exposed this new dark money group that’s cropped up in the Green Bay area:

New Dem electioneering group on air in 18th Senate race

And our research team did some original work examining the local government background of our state legislators to figure out why so many Republicans have been curbing local control. In fact, even though many had actually served in local government, respect for their roots has given way to party loyalty:

Votes on local control show special interests, party loyalty outweigh community

That’s all for now. Enjoy the weekend! Go Badgers…

From sexual assaults at the Lincoln Hills School for youth to financial mismanagement and neglect at the King Veteran Home, Gov. Walker and his Republican legislature have let down our families. We can’t delay action any longer.

LA CROSSE, WI - Vulnerable children and aging veterans in Wisconsin need our help. Shocking investigative reports have exposed a range of problems at the King Veteran Home and the Lincoln Hills School for youth. From assaults and infection outbreaks to outdated facilities and financial mismanagement, Gov. Walker and his Republican legislature have failed Wisconsin families.

At the King nursing facility, veterans and family members are concerned about worsening conditions and ongoing staff shortages. For more than a year, workers have complained of urine-soaked carpeting, tainted drinking water and outdated medical equipment.

Instead of approving $18 million in facility repairs and upgrades, Gov. Walker diverted $12 million from the veteran nursing home fund to backfill budget deficits. Republican leaders are set to raid another $18 million from King over the next two years.

Similar problems exist at the Lincoln Hills School in northern Wisconsin. Staff vacancies and inadequate facilities are jeopardizing safety and putting children at risk. Assaults have become all too common and the Department of Justice is currently investigating several reports of child neglect, intimidation of witnesses and tampering with public records.

Families have been left to wonder: Is this really the best we can do? Shouldn’t the care and safety of Wisconsin children and veterans be a top priority?

What’s become painfully clear after numerous investigative reports is that these problems didn’t pop up overnight. They’ve been allowed to fester for years under an administration that operates in secrecy, discourages transparency and refuses to accept responsibility.

Gov. Walker spent millions of dollars and countless hours traveling across the country in pursuit of his presidential ambitions. Had that same attention been paid to the concerns of children and veterans here in Wisconsin, perhaps we could have avoided the crisis we currently find ourselves in.

But we’re here now and families deserve solutions. We can’t delay action any longer, so let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Security upgrades at Lincoln Hills and an overhaul of the tainted drinking water system at the King Veteran Home are badly needed. Rather than delaying infrastructure investments, we should immediately approve shovel-ready projects and rehabilitate outdated facilities.

Staff shortages have worsened as a result of pay cuts, forced overtime and safety concerns. We can reduce staff turnover by fairly compensating employees, improving working conditions and limiting the unsustainable use of forced overtime.

Rather than more tax breaks for multi-millionaires, we should prioritize funding for these facilities, improve services and expand opportunities for residents. And we should immediately block Gov. Walker’s plan to raid $18 million from our veteran nursing homes.

Care for our veterans shouldn’t suffer as a result of Gov. Walker’s fiscal mismanagement.

We need leaders willing to put aside personal ambitions and stand up for those who have been silenced and marginalized for too long.

Legislative Democrats will continue to push for action until Wisconsin families receive the care and attention they deserve.

This election, help us protect Wisconsin children and veterans by voting for leaders who will focus on proven solutions rather than personal ambitions.

Federal Agency was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Act in response to the banking crisis of 2007-08, which caused the Great Recession. Customers of Wells Fargo, or any other bank or credit union, can monitor their accounts to make sure they don’t see unauthorized products or account activity and report them here.

EVANSVILLE, WI - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in response to the banking crisis of 2007-08, which caused the Great Recession.

As independent financial regulators, the CFPB, enforces regulations on banks, payday lenders, debt collectors, and other financial companies operating in the United States and helps consumers to take more control over their economic lives.

On September 8, the CFPB fined Wells Fargo Bank $100 million for widespread illegal sales practices. An additional $85 million in fines were imposed on Wells Fargo by other government agencies.

Wells Fargo illegally opened new accounts and transferred funds from existing accounts in order to meet sales targets established by senior management executives. They used customer’s personal information to create hundreds of thousands of unauthorized deposit and credit card accounts, going so far as to create PIN’s for accounts without the consent of their customers.  While senior executives then received millions of dollars in cash bonuses these illegal practices led to consumers being charged fees for insufficient funds, interest charges, annual credit card fees, and other late fees.

If you were one of the thousands of people who incurred fees as a result of an unauthorized Wells Fargo account, the CFPB has ordered Wells Fargo to refund all of your money. Some payments have already been made; others will be sent in the coming months.

Customers of Wells Fargo or any other bank or credit union should always monitor their accounts to make sure they don’t see unauthorized products or account activity. If you suspect that you had an unauthorized account opened, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB, at www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ or by calling toll-free (855) 411-2372.

The creation of the CFPB as well as the consumer protections included in the Dodd-Frank Act were positive responses to one of darkest hours in our financial history. Since 2011, the CFPB has returned nearly $12 billion to 27 million victims of shady and illegal financial practices.

Even with the overwhelming success of the CFPB, there is a concerted effort by Wall Street to loosen regulations on banks, payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial companies.

Those looking to loosen financial regulations are operating on very short memories. Just eight years ago, reckless Wall Street practices nearly destroyed our economy. Millions of people lost their jobs and millions more lost their homes. Trillions of dollars in retirement savings were wiped out and taxpayers had to bail out banks that were deemed “too big to fail”.

Efforts to hamstring the CFPB and loosen banking reforms will not help the small consumers, investors or taxpayers on Main Street. It will simply allow powerful Wall Street interests and banks that are “too big to fail” to run amok and wreak financial havoc again.

New health insurance plans offer relief from runaway pharmaceutical prices. Wisconsin health consumers will save over $209 million.

WISCONSIN - At news conferences in four cities yesterday Citizen Action of Wisconsin announced that for 2017 some major insurance carriers in Wisconsin will be offering new health plans designed by the federal government to provide immediate relief from skyrocketing prescription drug prices and other medical costs. The announcement took place in Appleton, Wausau, Milwaukee, and Madison.

Deductibles jumped 40% this year in Wisconsin, yet the Walker Administration has refused to take any meaningful steps to address high medical prices. To fill the gap, advocates and state legislators took matters into their own hands by directly lobbying Wisconsin health insurance companies to adopt new Federal plans designed to combat high deductibles.

The savings generated because of the introduction of these new plans are dramatic. The average health consumer purchasing insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace stands to save $1,462 Rx deductibles and $3,482 on other high value medical services. Overall Citizen Action of Wisconsin estimates the new plans will save Wisconsin health consumers over $209 million per year in lower deductibles.

At the Capitol news conference Senator Jon Erpenbach and Representative Melissa Sargent represented Democratic legislators who joined Citizen Action in asking Wisconsin health insurers to offer “Low Out-of- Pocket” plans.

These new health plans will have the following common features:

• $0 deductibles for prescription drugs (generic, brand name and specialty)

• $0 deductible for Primary Care Visits to Treat an Injury or Illness

• $0 deductible for Specialist Visits

• $0 deductible for Mental/Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Outpatient

• Manageable co-pays that do not differ company to company.

Four companies have so far confirmed to Citizen Action their intention to introduce ”Low Out-of-Pocket” health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2017.

1. Molina Healthcare

2. Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative

3. Group Health Cooperative of South Central WI

4. Network Health

“The introduction of new cost saving health plans in Wisconsin shows it is possible to use the tools provided by the health care reform law to make tangible progress on medical and prescription drug affordability,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “Even more progress on skyrocketing health care costs would be possible if Governor Walker and conservatives in the State Legislature would cease their efforts to sabotage health reform, and join health advocates in working to guaranteed quality affordable health care in Wisconsin.”

Chart:

Average Current 2016 Deductibles by County (reduced to $0 for some services in “Low Out of Pocket” Health Plans)

* - Average deductible based on all silver plans available in county 2016 individual market without cost sharing

** - 42 county weighted average shows what the average resident in these 42 counties that will feature Low Out-of-Pocket health plans currently see for deductibles. Weighted by total enrollment.

More information on the features of the new health plans, and on savings in each Wisconsin County, can be found here.

Over the years, problems with the facilities and quality of care at the King Veterans Home have raised concerns across the state. This week, we approved a nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau investigation to consider both financial and quality of care issues at King.

MADISON - “There used to be a real nice coffee shop. But they turned it into vending machines,” David Wedde told the Joint Committee on Audit.

To many it might seem like an insignificant thing but it was not just a coffee shop. It was a symbol of comradely at the Veterans Home in King. Everyday veterans gathered in the shop to trade stories. Now impersonal machines have replaced the shop – a victim of budget cuts.

Tim Michael added, “Shouldn’t be so hard to get treatment for PTSD. Why do we have a surplus when we need these things?”

A few moments after the two Navy veterans from Waupaca County testified, the entire committee voted to approve a comprehensive performance audit of the King Veterans Home.

A Capital Times investigative report recently highlighted problems at the state-run facility. Stories of difficulties at King trickled out of Waupaca County for many years. Over the years, Senator Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) whose district is near King, made inquiries related to problems at King. A year ago, Sen. Lassa requested the Joint Audit Committee co-chairs move forward with an audit.

Later, Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) requested an audit and detailed what an investigation should include. The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) included many of his suggestions in its scope for the proposed audit.

During the hearing, committee members (of which I serve as ranking minority member) heard conflicting testimony. State officials were quick to remind members the state administered Veterans Homes received four and five star quality ratings from state and federal inspections.

Yet allegations from residents, family members, and employees (both current and former), as reported in the media, paint a different picture. Employees and residents struggled with shortages but were afraid of retribution if they complained.

Committee members heard about administrative and financial problems. Staff shortages, forced overtime and inadequate wages led to high staff turnover and poor quality of care.

Budget cuts resulted in buildings without air conditioning, dilapidated equipment, and lost opportunities for residents like day trips to ball games. Volunteers testified that no doctor was on staff for the veterans, which meant anyone with medical needs was transported for care. Often veterans were not properly clothed for winter trips.

Administrators eliminated services that symbolized a high quality environment – like the coffee shop and pontoon boat rides on the lake – that gave King its home-like atmosphere.

Legislators, residents and advocates all asked how “surplus” money could be transferred away from the Veterans Home at a time when routine maintenance was delayed and staff were poorly paid.

State officials emphasized they created financial solvency from the deficit they inherited. They described the general fund tax dollars used by the administration to infuse the veterans programs and stated this was the first time since 1988 that state general fund dollars were transferred to bail out the ailing Veterans Trust Fund.

I found it difficult to reconcile the allegations of poor quality care, old equipment, worn out buildings, and untrained staff with administration officials’ repeated reference to four and five star quality ratings.

Reading through documents and letters I received, it appears state officials sacrificed things that made King special to veterans in favor of budget cuts. Mysteriously, these cuts happened at a time when “surplus” monies were transferred to cover deficits in other programs. Getting to the bottom of this problem is exactly why we need a nonpartisan audit that follows both the money and the quality of care for veterans.

Problems at the state’s veteran homes are not new. As a former chair of the audit committee, I joined co-chair Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) to approve a 2010 investigation that exposed many financial problems and led to recommendations on consistent rate setting; hiring and overtime costs; and resolving lax financial administration.

Senator Olsen reflected the feelings of many lawmakers, including myself, when he eloquently described the audit:

“If there are problems at King, we must shine a light on them and we do not rest until we figure out how to resolve them in a manner benefiting our veterans that demonstrates our utmost respect and gratitude for their selfless service to our great country.”

To the state leaders: we can start with something simple but important like bringing back the coffee shop.

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Senator Vinehout serves as the ranking member of the audit committee which unanimously approved the audit.