Steve Kagen for U.S. Congress Congress - Wisconsin's 8th District

Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D today praised the CARD Act, which protects consumers by forbidding abusive fees and penalties and banning unfair credit card interest rate hikes.

“For too long Wall Street financial wizards have had the upper hand, but that begins to change today,” said Dr. Kagen. “People should not have to choose between feeding their family and paying sky-high interest rates to credit card companies. I fought hard for these protections that begin to give working families an even break.”

The new “Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights” was signed into law on March 22, 2009 and began to take effect in August of last year. Protections in the law include:

• The consumer’s right to refuse rate hikes and the opportunity to pay off existing credit card balances at the old rate.
• Credit card companies are now required to give 45 days’ notice of any rate increases on new purchases.
• Consumers can now choose to close their account if the rate is increased.
• Credit Card companies must now notify customers of any rate hike 45 days in advance.
• Customers must receive account statements at least 21 days before the payment is due.
• Any interest rate hikes can only apply to future purchases – not existing balances.
• No more charging interest on debts paid on-time.
• Gimmick affecting “Due Date” such as setting morning times for payment or charging fees to pay the bill by phone is banned.
• Promotional rates must last at least six months.
• Customers under 21 must have a demonstrated ability to pay their bills – or have a guardian co-sign for their card.

The following is a statement from Dr. Steve Kagen regarding record insurance company profits:

“Outrageous. Wall Street health insurance corporations made record profits this year by laying off their workers and picking the pockets of my patients.”

“Everywhere I go people are saying the same thing: We want our money back from Wall Street. I am working hard to fix our broken health care system and will keep fighting to guarantee access to affordable care for all of us.”

Congressman Steve Kagen, MD today released the following statement regarding the news that Oshkosh Corporation was awarded a contract totaling over $3 billion for production of Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV).
“I’m honored to be playing an active roll in the ongoing success of Oshkosh truck. These higher wage jobs are just the medicine our economy needs,” said Kagen.

The estimated contract value is $3.023 billion and calls for the production of up to 12,415 trucks, 10,926 trailers, and associated support and engineering services

Thousands of jobs will be supported in Marinette County and surrounding areas by the contract to construct the Alaska Region Research Vessel, U.S. Congressmen Steve Kagen, M.D. said today as he participated in the contract signing. The three-year construction phase of the project – funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – will support 750 jobs directly at the Marinette Marine Shipyards – and a further 3,600 jobs in the broader economy.

Congressman Kagen, who serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and is a member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, voted for the legislation that brought the contract to Marinette.

“This is a great day for all of us in Northeast Wisconsin,” said Kagen. “I’m proud to have played such an important role in securing a project of this size that will support thousands of jobs for the next three years in Marinette County.”

This is the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) first major award under the ARRA. Dr. Kagen applauded the investment of over $123 million that will provide a technologically advanced tool for science, and also preserve jobs and promote economic recovery.

The Marinette Marine Corp. recently started construction on the ARRV, a 242-foot research ship with a hull designed specifically to operate in seasonal Arctic sea ice, and open waters surrounding Alaska. The vessel is designed for low environmental impact, such as reduced underwater-radiated noise levels for improved fisheries and acoustics research, and lower stack emissions for atmospheric research. The ARRV will spend up to 300 days a year at sea and will carry more than 500 researchers and students annually. . It will be operational in support of oceanographic research for at least 30 years.

Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. welcomed today’s announcement of over $4.7 million in grants awarded to the state of Wisconsin; funds that will support public health efforts by U.S. Heath and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius.

The grants, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that Kagen supported, are aimed to reduce obesity, increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and decrease smoking - the most important actions for promoting health and combating chronic diseases and promoting health.

“These grants are an important investment in the health of our economy and our children. I’m proud to have played an important role in bringing our tax dollars back here to Wisconsin,” said Dr. Kagen.

The awards to Wisconsin were in three categories:

1. Wisconsin received the maximum grant of $3 million for Competitive special policy and environmental change. This money will help bring about changes in schools and childcare settings, and use evaluation results to push for statewide legislative action and changes in state-level policy change that will promote physical activity and prevent childhood obesity.

2. Statewide policy and environmental change. Wisconsin received a further $862,797 in funding to promote better nutrition, more physical activity, as well as tobacco control.

3. Tobacco cessation programs. The Center for Disease and Control awarded Wisconsin $870,403 to expand tobacco ‘Quit Lines’, backed up by a media campaign to encourage people quit smoking.

To learn more about Communities Putting Prevention to Work, visit http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/recovery .

- Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. voted today to further control government spending, by supporting the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which would mandate that Congress pay for all programs with savings elsewhere in the budget. This marks the ninth time he has voted to institute pay-as-you-go measures.

“Our federal government must live within its means just as we do around our kitchen tables across Wisconsin,” Kagen said. “Mandatory Pay-As-You-Go rules are critical to reducing our debts.”

The bill, which is based upon the bipartisan PAYGO law of the 1990s, requires Congress to offset the costs of any tax cuts, or increases in spending with savings elsewhere in the budget. The PAYGO law of the 1990s was credited in helping to turn massive deficits into record surpluses. The Bush Administration and Republican controlled Congress allowed the policy to expire in 2002, contributing to the dramatic turnaround from a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion - to projected deficits of more than $11 trillion.

“Pay-As-We-Go will help control reckless government spending and ensure that we have room to make investments in other critical areas like jobs, education and health care. Being fiscally responsible will help us to build a better future for all of us.”

Dr. Kagen is a vocal opponent of wasteful government spending and has voted eight other times since 2007 to enact Pay-As-You-Go measures into law. He cosponsored the legislation to reinstate effective statutory Pay-Go policy and also voted against every Wall Street bailout.

Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D., persists in his fight against Wall Street banks that helped to cripple our economy. After AIG executives boldly announced that they were, yet again, going to award their top executives bonuses paid with our taxpayer dollars, Kagen stated “We want our money back, and we are coming to get you.”

Dr. Kagen voted against the Wall Street bank bailouts, in addition to every other bailout, and has also cosponsored legislation to tax the excessive and outrageous bonuses that banks like AIG pay out at the expense of the taxpayer.

“These AIG big shots survived only because they picked our pockets,” said Kagen. “Taxpayers in Northeast Wisconsin want their money back.”
“I call upon the Obama administration to catch and punish all of the crooks who looted our Treasury, starting with AIG.”

Kagen’s leadership helped pass the “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” that addressed unfair pay practices and introduced a ’say on pay’ vote for shareholders. Dr. Kagen was also a co-sponsor of the “Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act of 2009”, which created a Wall Street transfer tax that would be directed to helping small business, and the “Wall Street Bonus Tax Act of 2010,” that places a 50 percent tax on the bonuses of banks that received TARP funds.

Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. was a co-sponsor of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act in 2009, which requires Congress to find a way to pay for legislation - by either raising revenues or cutting back on other federal programs.

Dr. Kagen is calling on his Senate colleagues to act swiftly to pass this common-sense measure.

“Congress must live within its means just as we do in our own homes in Wisconsin,” Dr. Kagen said. “Passage of this legislation is long overdue and it is a critical step to prevent deficits from growing any larger.”

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act requires Congress to offset the costs of tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending with savings elsewhere in the budget. The bill that has been passed by the House, and the bill currently before the Senate are similar to the statutory PAYGO law that was in place in the 1990’s. The PAYGO law helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses. These rules were let expire by Congress in 2002. This marked the beginning of the dramatic turnaround from a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion to projected deficits of more than $11 trillion.
“I am pleased to see the Senate is moving forward with this essential investment in our future. It is impossible for us to invest in priorities such as health care, education and energy independence unless we also reduce the deficit. As we take bold actions to rebuild our economy, we must also remain fiscally responsible as we build a stronger, better future for us all.”
Under the PAYGO bill, Congress must pay for the costs of tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending with savings elsewhere in the budget. There is an exceptions clause for situations deemed an emergency.

If the net effect of all legislation enacted during a session of Congress increased the deficit, there would be a required, across-the-board reduction in certain mandatory programs, known as a sequester. Programs that assist low-income Americans would be protected, as would Social Security, and the effect on Medicare would be limited.

The following is a statement from Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D., released following President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

“Understanding that Wisconsin still needs help to recover from economic crisis, I was proud to hear President Obama make job creation and strengthening the middle class the focus of his address. In that pursuit, the thousands of small business owners I have the honor of representing across Northeast Wisconsin appreciate his strong support for job creating tax credits like the one I proposed earlier this year.”
“I look forward to continuing to work hard toward a stronger economy and achieving affordable health care, while ensuring our hard earned tax dollars are invested wisely in the future of Wisconsin.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. co-sponsored legislation that would boost private aid to Haiti by making charitable contributions to the Haiti disaster fund tax deductible for 2009 taxes.

The bi-partisan bill, which passed unanimously by the House, will help earthquake victims in Haiti by offering an immediate benefit to Americans who make charitable contributions to aid the region.

Individuals can claim donations to the relief effort as an itemized deduction on their 2009 tax return, instead of waiting until next year to claim it .

“My wife Gayle and I cannot look at the images of the death and devastation coming out of Haiti without being moved to action,” said Dr. Kagen “We are incredibly grateful to all of the Americans who are making selfless contributions to help Haiti recover from this disaster, and I am proud that my colleagues united quickly, and in a bipartisan way, to do what we can to continue to ease the pain of those who are suffering in Haiti.”

This measure will provide Americans with an immediate income tax benefit that individuals can claim in 2009, instead of 2010 – thus increasing immediate aid to the island nation. The bill would also ensure that contributions made to victims of the Haiti earthquake through a text message can be easily claimed as a charitable donation.

The House of Representatives also voted to pass a resolution expressing condolences to, and solidarity with, the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of January 12th, 2010.