Congressman Ron Kind
Citizens attended Congressman Ron Kind’s Listening Session Tuesday afternoon at the Community Room in Hatch Public Library in Mauston. Kind gave a quick update on things that had been happening in Washington dealing with the federal budget, unemployment, digital literacy and the Farm Bill. The floor was then given to the people who had questions and concerns. Some things that popped up where the Affordable Care Act, cyber security, and other issues, but the main discussion focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a free trade deal between the U.S., Canada, and 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region that’s been under negotiation for nearly a decade. Several people were concerned about the deal, fearing that the country would accept an agreement that wasn’t opened to the public. Kind spoke to the concerns saying that there are several committees, including labor councils are involved with the negotiations and the countries are not close to an agreement. After the session, Kind encourage people to contact his office to bring forward any of their concerns.