U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil said Americans will like and appreciate the tax and spending cuts in the federal reconciliation package, while also supporting beefed up immigration enforcement budgets. Looking ahead to the closure of a 94-year-old bridge crossing the Mississippi River in Crawford County, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Structures Director Josh Dietsche shared an update on the state of bridge infrastructure around the state.
 

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil
R-1st Congressional District

• In the wake of the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a national opinion poll released July 24 found that 41% of respondents support the law promoted and signed by President Donald Trump, while 59% oppose it. A couple of days earlier, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives cut the chamber’s summer session short, reportedly because of furor over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Steil placed blame on the media for the emergence of that issue, and wanted to highlight the law.
• Steil: “The broader media landscape loves to talk about Epstein. They don’t want to talk about the president’s success at securing the border, about the positive impacts of the tax package that was just passed. I think it’s a lot to do about nothing. I lean on the side [of] more disclosure is always a good thing, sunlight is the best disinfectant. I think actually we should just move forward with this. Disclose what’s legally permissible. It’s obviously under a court seal. It’s not under the direct control of Congress. And then get really back and try to draw the attention of the media who loves to be distracted by this, back to the most important issues of the day.”

Josh Dietsche
Director, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Structures

• A bridge over the Mississippi River that opened in 1931 and connects De Soto in western Wisconsin to Lansing, Iowa is set to close in October for eventual replacement in 2027. The closure creates difficulty for commuters and businesses on either side of the river. How many other old bridges around Wisconsin are in need of repair? According to the National Bridge Inventory, out of the more than 14,000 bridges in the state, nearly 1,000 are classified as what the U.S. Department of Transportation calls “structurally deficient.” Dietsche explained this description.
• Dietsche: “It’s a term that probably sounds a little scarier than it is. Really, it just means that there is something, some kind of deterioration that’s been noted with the bridge. We always try to stress that that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe. If there’s a bridge open in the state, open to travel on, you can feel safe traveling across it.”

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