Glenn Grothman is the congressman for Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District. Grothman is currently serving his fourth term in Congress, having first been elected in 2014.
In the House of Representatives, Grothman serves on three committees, the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, where he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security, and the House Committee on the Budget. Grothman's time in office has also been marked by his passionate advocacy for manufacturing, worker training, welfare reform, higher education reform, immigration reform, and pro-life causes. Grothman has also been recognized for his work to protect Medicare and Social Security by receiving the “Guardian of Seniors’ Rights” award.
The federal government has been living beyond its means for far too long. Our national debt is over $18 trillion and grows larger every day. The annual budget deficits are close to $500 billion. The debt and deficits not only hurt our economy, but they also affect our national security and the security of our future generations. Members of both parties have been careless in spending and borrowing.
Families and business owners of the 6th District continue to voice their concerns to me about the inability of Washington to get its fiscal house in order. One major reason I ran for Congress was to tackle America’s addiction to spending and send many programs currently operated by the federal government back to the states. As a member of the House Budget Committee, I will work to cut spending, root out waste, and balance the federal budget.
The 6th District is home to many of Wisconsin’s farms and agriculture production jobs, playing a major role in our state and national economies. Besides Wisconsin’s famous dairy industry, our state’s numerous crops put food on the tables of many in our District as well as feed the world through our strong export markets. Many current and proposed federal regulations threaten the livelihoods of Wisconsin farmers. The EPA in particular has gone much too far to impose top-down, nationwide restrictions that attempt to address issues which would be better handled locally or regionally. I’ll always put Wisconsin’s agriculture workers and farms before overzealous federal bureaucrats.
Manufacturing is one of the key drivers of the American economy, and Wisconsin is one of the top manufacturing states in the country. The 6th District in particular is home to many large and small manufacturing operations.
Unfortunately, many challenges face the manufacturing sector, especially in the global economy that we live in. Costly, needless, and overly-complicated government regulations handed down from bureaucrats in Washington are one of the top issues, as is the complex tax code that is riddled with loopholes.
As your voice in Congress, I will always advocate for Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector and the tens of thousands of constituents that work in this critical industry. Cutting regulations, reforming the tax code, and making our manufacturing sector more globally competitive are among my top goals to help manufacturing in Wisconsin prosper and continue to create jobs.
Our nation’s health care system is broken. Obamacare has only made health care coverage more costly for Wisconsin families and has forced millions to lose their preferred doctor, health plan, or both. The new taxes, mandates, higher premiums and the marriage and work penalties found in Obamacare are unfair and have made it even more difficult for Wisconsin families to make ends meet. I support repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Moving our health care system in the right direction requires standing strong on foundational principles. First, health care reform must be patient-centered. This means empowering patients with the ability to make responsible choices in all aspects of their health care and health insurance. Second, health care reform must adhere to free-market principles. This means that hospitals, doctors, and health insurers must be free to compete among themselves to provide the best service at the lowest cost to the American people.
The federal tax code is more than 70,000 pages of regulations, loopholes, and special interest giveaways. For the average American, this complexity is a huge burden that costs billions of dollars every year to comply with. Small businesses, the backbone of our economy, also suffer under this undue burden.
I believe taxpayers deserve a tax code that is simple to understand and easy to comply with. I will work to reform our nation’s tax code and strive to use reform to lower taxes for all Americans. The less the government takes from its citizens, the more money Americans can use to provide for their families, save for the future, and grow our economy.
Helping the economy grow and create jobs is my number one priority here in Congress. As a former lawyer and tax preparer in Wisconsin, I experienced firsthand how government can hinder private sector job creation with its myriad of regulations and red tape. In order to create jobs and improve wages for Americans, the federal government needs to get out of the way. Eliminating duplicative regulations, cutting wasteful spending, and streamlining our nation’s tax code will create incentives for businesses large and small to hire more workers, increase wages, and grow our nation’s economy.
Ensuring that every child in America receives a great education is one of my top priorities. As a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, I am privileged to be on the frontlines of reforming education at the federal level.
While the federal government does have an impact on education throughout the country, I believe the bulk of the responsibility rightfully lies with the local and state government. With that in mind, most of my priorities on improving education here in Washington, D.C., are focused on removing the federal government’s involvement in local schools and empowering parents and teachers to make decisions that are the best fit for their children’s needs in their local school districts.
Social Security is an important program for millions of American seniors. Unfortunately, the Social Security program is facing serious financial shortfalls. By 2023, the Social Security Disability Program will run out of funds to pay current beneficiaries the funds they are supposed to receive. By 2033, the main Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money, and seniors relying on their Social Security checks will be forced to lose their benefits.
This is unacceptable. As your Representative in Congress, I’ll fight to protect and preserve Social Security so current and future retirees have the program available to them. To do so, Congress needs to start working now to ensure the program’s vitality for today’s retirees and tomorrow’s. The longer we wait the worse the situation will become.
I am committed to protecting life from conception to natural death. We have a moral and civic duty to protect those who are voiceless and defenseless, including unborn children and those with developmental disabilities. During my service in the Wisconsin Legislature I was a proud two-time recipient of Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Legislator of the Year Award and was a consistent supporter of pro-life legislation, as well as legislation to help and protect those who are developmentally challenged. I’ll continue to support legislation that protects the sanctity of all life as I represent you in Congress.
All Americans should have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream regardless of their economic status. In America, being successful shouldn’t matter if you grew up rich or poor. Hard work, using your God-given talents, and playing by the rules should enable everyone to be as successful as they choose. Far too often, though, Americans are being trapped in poverty and are not able to move up to the middle class or beyond.
Unfortunately, many government programs designed to fight poverty are actually hampering upward mobility among those they’re trying to help. These programs must be reformed to allow Americans achieve their full potential. Reform of these programs can take on many forms, such as introducing more incentives and rewards for work, encouraging two-parent families, and discouraging damaging behaviors like drug use. I’m committed to reforming these programs to ensure that all Americans can be successful.
Our right to own and use firearms is protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As a Wisconsin Concealed Carry License holder, I will support legislation that protects your 2nd Amendment rights. While we should continue a national dialogue on efforts to reduce gun violence, stop killings and keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals, I believe the rights of law-abiding citizens should not be undermined. As this debate continues, I remain committed to supporting the 2nd Amendment rights of individuals that are guaranteed by the Constitution.
Over the past several years, companies ranging from small businesses to large multinational corporations have experienced a significant skilled labor shortage. As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, and representative for the Congressional district with more manufacturing jobs than any other, I have made it my priority to ensure that our children have access to a high quality education, which does not always mean a four-year college degree. By supporting job training programs, apprenticeships and career and technical education, we are increasing opportunities for young Wisconsinites to join high demand jobs that employers are eager to fill.
We are truly blessed to live in Wisconsin, a state with so many natural resources and beautiful landscapes. I believe in protecting our most precious natural resources for future generations to enjoy. I am proud to represent a beautiful district with a variety of lakes, rivers and other natural attractions. We must carefully balance protecting our environment while allowing the economy to grow and create jobs.
The Great Lakes are some of America’s most valued assets. Being the representative for a district that has 80 miles of beautiful coastline along Lake Michigan, it is my priority to protect the lake from both an environmental and business standpoint. That is why I was proud to vote for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in nearly two decades.
Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery that needs to be eradicated. The United States must do everything in its power to end human trafficking once and for all. Large events are often hot beds of activity for human traffickers, so we must raise awareness of the problem and become more adept at stopping this evil practice. Experts estimate that 10,000 children come across our southern border each year to be sold into slavery, which is why securing our borders is a key step in combatting human trafficking. I am proud to say that in 2018, I championed H.R. 1865 through Congress. After this bill became law, online ads for sex trafficking dropped by 87 percent. We still have work to do, so I will continue to fight this scourge in Congress and will consider any piece of legislation that aims to end this atrocity.
If illegal immigrant apprehensions continue at current levels, the United States is on track to see total year apprehensions at approximately 600,000, a level the United States has not experienced since the George W. Bush administration. To say there is not a crisis at our southwest border is irresponsible and compromises our national security. Congress needs to address our immigration crisis now. That is why I am a member of the Border Security Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. As your Congressman, I will continue to fight for stronger border security that includes a physical barrier along our southwest border with Mexico and increased resources for our hard-working border patrol agents. The United States is not anti-immigrant. In fact, we naturalize over 700,000 new citizens each year. Immigration reform is not about keeping people out of our country, it is about encouraging people to come here through the proper channels.
A key piece of securing our borders and fixing our broken immigration system is building a wall on our southern border. I have spoken to many ICE agents and border patrol officials who all say that a major issue with illegal immigration is the volume of people streaming across our borders illegally. A wall will help deter drug traffickers, human traffickers and cartel operatives and make sure families truly in need and refugees are directed to secure checkpoints. That is why I will continue to champion my bill, the People’s Border Wall Fund Act, which will create a special fund within the U.S. Treasury that will be able to accept privately donated funds for the sole purpose of building a wall along our southern border. It will be strictly illegal for these funds to be used by the treasury for any other purpose.
I have also introduced the Ending Sanctuary Cities Act. The term ‘sanctuary city’ applies to local jurisdictions who willing do not comply with federal immigration laws. In 2015, more than 200 cities in the United States fell into this category. My bill will put more pressure on states to follow federal laws by making them choose between receiving federal grant money and continuing to unlawfully harbor illegal immigrants. The Secretary of Homeland Security would be required to submit delinquent jurisdictions to Congress. Additionally, individual law enforcement officers in these “sanctuary cities” will be protected from discharge or discrimination from any state or local government Our job is to keep Americans safe and our country secure, and so-called “sanctuary cities” impede our ability to do just that. Not enforcing our current immigration laws is a public safety issue. In fact, 121 people who were released from immigration custody were later charged with murder between 2010 and 2014.
Now, more than ever, it’s imperative our military be at full strength. As we face threats at home and abroad, our military should have all the resources it needs to keep us safe. As your member of Congress, I have the duty to make sure that the approximately 44,000 veterans who live in the Sixth District receive the support and access to care they’ve earned. I’m working in Washington to hold the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable and increase the quality and timeliness of care. While the country faces many fiscal challenges, we must ensure that we take care of our veterans and make sure our men and women in uniform have what they need to keep us safe.