I hadn't ridden on a yellow school bus in many, many years, and all my previous trips had been in happier times when the laughter of schoolchildren filled the air. The ride on June 13 wasn't for a school trip, and many of my fellow riders were senior citizens, sitting silently with apprehension etched in their faces. The only sound was the bus motor as we rode down empty streets and slowly through pockets of high water into a Columbus neighborhood. I was with local officials escorting residents back into the homes they had evacuated five days earlier. Imagine what they were feeling.
I have met, talked with, and heard from those who are suffering from this month's severe weather and its aftermath. And I've been on the ground in Columbia and Sauk counties to see the damage first-hand.
We already know the most immediate effects of the flooding. We have yet to comprehend and experience all of its repercussions. We know they will be severe and far-reaching. Many Wisconsinites are experiencing losses this year along with the resulting emotional, physical and financial toll.
Some families are facing trials on several fronts. It seems as if every day we are hearing of businesses that are closing, factories that are shutting, and companies that are laying off employees. Even as I write this, flood waters have forced the temporary closure of two plants in Jefferson. Almost every county has been hit with layoffs of one kind or another.
Some of these same families are facing foreclosure on their homes due to the mortgage crisis. And there isn't a part of the state where people aren't affected by the still-rising price of gas.
With all of these challenges at home, we can never forget that Wisconsin sons and daughters are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. News reports from home must only add to their worries, even as they struggle to perform their jobs and stay safe.
The federal government already is responding to our most recent, weather-related disaster, and will provide more assistance in the coming months. On June 19, the House passed an emergency supplemental appropriations amendment that included $2.65 billion in disaster relief in the aftermath of the floods and tornadoes in the Midwest. This will provide additional funding for FEMA Disaster Relief accounts, SBA disaster loans, agriculture assistance, the Community Development Block Grant, the Economic Development Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Our Congressional delegation is united in its support of our state and its people. On June 17 we sent a bipartisan letter, signed by every member of the delegation, to President Bush urging him to comply quickly with Governor Doyle's request for federal aid.
The Internal Revenue Service also is postponing certain tax deadlines until August for taxpayers who live in areas or have businesses that qualify for federal disaster relief. The agency also is waiving certain penalties for late payments. IRS computer systems automatically identify taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and apply automatic filing and payment deferment. Affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at (866) 562-5227 to request tax deferment.
For people who fear, or are facing, foreclosure on their homes, on June 30, starting at 9 a.m., Congressman Paul Ryan and I will kick off a workshop on "Homeownership Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention." This event is free and open to the public and will be held at Blackhawk Technical College, 6004 South County Road G in Janesville.
Speakers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and University of Wisconsin Extension (UWEX), among others, will make presentations, and representatives from financial institutions will be on hand to offer one-on-one counseling to individuals and families. To register for the workshop, please call Pat Common, HUD, at (414) 297-3214, ext. 8636. If you are unable to attend, but would like preventing foreclosure assistance, please call Suzanne Dennik, UW Extension, at (414) 290-2422.
If there is one bright spot in all of our recent hardships, it is the manner in which Wisconsinites have responded both professionally and personally to every situation, coming to the aid of their fellow citizens. In the case of the most recent floods and tornadoes, our municipal, county and state agencies performed exactly as we all hoped they would. It was high tribute to hear FEMA Administrator Paulison hold up Wisconsin's response as a model for other states to follow. It was heartwarming to walk into the Sauk County Emergency Management office and meet so many volunteers who had come to lend a hand.
It's gratifying to see businesses voluntarily reach out, sending drinking water, offering office space to the Red Cross, and providing meals to clean-up crews. Hundreds of people have filled thousands of sandbags, picked up shovels, and donned hip-waders to help their neighbors.
Our consolation in these challenging days is that the worst of times brings out the very best in the people of Wisconsin and, for that, we can all be thankful.
- Rep. Tammy Baldwin is a Democrat from Madison.
I have met, talked with, and heard from those who are suffering from this month's severe weather and its aftermath. And I've been on the ground in Columbia and Sauk counties to see the damage first-hand.
We already know the most immediate effects of the flooding. We have yet to comprehend and experience all of its repercussions. We know they will be severe and far-reaching. Many Wisconsinites are experiencing losses this year along with the resulting emotional, physical and financial toll.
Some families are facing trials on several fronts. It seems as if every day we are hearing of businesses that are closing, factories that are shutting, and companies that are laying off employees. Even as I write this, flood waters have forced the temporary closure of two plants in Jefferson. Almost every county has been hit with layoffs of one kind or another.
Some of these same families are facing foreclosure on their homes due to the mortgage crisis. And there isn't a part of the state where people aren't affected by the still-rising price of gas.
With all of these challenges at home, we can never forget that Wisconsin sons and daughters are in harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan. News reports from home must only add to their worries, even as they struggle to perform their jobs and stay safe.
The federal government already is responding to our most recent, weather-related disaster, and will provide more assistance in the coming months. On June 19, the House passed an emergency supplemental appropriations amendment that included $2.65 billion in disaster relief in the aftermath of the floods and tornadoes in the Midwest. This will provide additional funding for FEMA Disaster Relief accounts, SBA disaster loans, agriculture assistance, the Community Development Block Grant, the Economic Development Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Our Congressional delegation is united in its support of our state and its people. On June 17 we sent a bipartisan letter, signed by every member of the delegation, to President Bush urging him to comply quickly with Governor Doyle's request for federal aid.
The Internal Revenue Service also is postponing certain tax deadlines until August for taxpayers who live in areas or have businesses that qualify for federal disaster relief. The agency also is waiving certain penalties for late payments. IRS computer systems automatically identify taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and apply automatic filing and payment deferment. Affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area must call the IRS disaster hotline at (866) 562-5227 to request tax deferment.
For people who fear, or are facing, foreclosure on their homes, on June 30, starting at 9 a.m., Congressman Paul Ryan and I will kick off a workshop on "Homeownership Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention." This event is free and open to the public and will be held at Blackhawk Technical College, 6004 South County Road G in Janesville.
Speakers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and University of Wisconsin Extension (UWEX), among others, will make presentations, and representatives from financial institutions will be on hand to offer one-on-one counseling to individuals and families. To register for the workshop, please call Pat Common, HUD, at (414) 297-3214, ext. 8636. If you are unable to attend, but would like preventing foreclosure assistance, please call Suzanne Dennik, UW Extension, at (414) 290-2422.
If there is one bright spot in all of our recent hardships, it is the manner in which Wisconsinites have responded both professionally and personally to every situation, coming to the aid of their fellow citizens. In the case of the most recent floods and tornadoes, our municipal, county and state agencies performed exactly as we all hoped they would. It was high tribute to hear FEMA Administrator Paulison hold up Wisconsin's response as a model for other states to follow. It was heartwarming to walk into the Sauk County Emergency Management office and meet so many volunteers who had come to lend a hand.
It's gratifying to see businesses voluntarily reach out, sending drinking water, offering office space to the Red Cross, and providing meals to clean-up crews. Hundreds of people have filled thousands of sandbags, picked up shovels, and donned hip-waders to help their neighbors.
Our consolation in these challenging days is that the worst of times brings out the very best in the people of Wisconsin and, for that, we can all be thankful.
- Rep. Tammy Baldwin is a Democrat from Madison.
