Here & Now

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) on the Hectic Week in Washington

Frederica Freyberg:

Now to Washington, where the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee grilled U.S. Attorney General William Barr Tuesday. 7th District Congressman Tom Tiffany is a Republican committee member. He joined in the questioning on topics including ongoing protests around the country and the placement of federal agents in U.S. cities. All of this takes place as Congress debates the next coronavirus relief bill and as Commerce Department announced a record decline in economic growth in the last quarter. In a few minutes, we will talk with Democratic U.S. Representative Mark Pocan. We are joined by now Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who is in Washington. Thanks for being here.

Tom Tiffany:

Good to be with you again, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

So I know you’re far away but you’ll be home soon. What is your reaction to the mask mandate ordered by Governor Evers?

Tom Tiffany:

I trust my friends and neighbors to do the right thing. And I think Governor Evers should trust them also. I think about small businesses and others. Some of them have mask mandates. And you get to choose whether you get to go into that business or not. I just think Governor Evers should trust the people of Wisconsin to make the right decision for themselves. And I think he’s focusing on the wrong issues. When you have statues being torn down at the Capitol, the Capitol nearly being harmed a few weeks ago, as well as unemployment compensation claims not being taken care of by the Evers administration. Some people have not gotten their checks from months ago. We’re hearing about foreclosures. People losing their vehicles. I think Governor Evers has more important things he should be focused on.

Frederica Freyberg:

And I want to talk about some of those things in a moment but Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force told states that they should impose mask mandates especially in the midst of these surges. So what about that kind of messaging from the White House?

Tom Tiffany:

I think Governor Evers should work with the Legislature. The Legislature’s been offering to work with him throughout this whole process, including when the Supreme Court interceded back in May. And they made it clear. Go work with the Legislature. That’s what Governor Evers should do.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do you personally wear a mask indoors or when you cannot distance?

Tom Tiffany:

I do wear a mask. Like I’m out in DC right now, whenever I’m walking the halls, going in to vote, things like that, I wear a mask.

Frederica Freyberg:

As to unemployment which we were speaking about just a moment ago, what is your position on whether the extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits should be extended in the next federal coronavirus package?

Tom Tiffany:

Yeah. That’s one of the key questions that’s before us out here in Congress and I think you’re seeing the Senate leadership along with the House leadership led by House Speaker Pelosi, that’s really what they’re talking about. And Speaker Pelosi wants to extend the $600 add-on for unemployment. But when you think about the numbers, I’m not sure that’s the best route to go ’cause when you look at unemployment in Wisconsin, the base unemployment is $9.25 an hour. It’s an equivalent to that. When you add the $600 bonus on to that, that’s another $15. A person would be making nearly $25 an hour being on unemployment. Now, I think most people just want to go to work. But I think unemployment shouldn’t be that rich. I mean, if you take a look at a couple, if a couple is both on unemployment, they’re making the equivalent of $100,000 a year with that $600 add-on. Employers are telling us we need employees. And it’s time — we built that bridge with the enhanced unemployment. Now it’s time to ratchet that back.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about aid to state and local governments? Do you think that Wisconsin should see additional money from the feds?

Tom Tiffany:

Well, they’ve already received additional dollars, so in the CARES package from a few months ago, $2 billion was allocated to the state of Wisconsin. And that was for Governor Evers. The governors were given sole authority over it and they were able to distribute those dollars. I think the federal government was very generous in giving that $2 billion to Wisconsin. And Governor Evers can allocate that as he choose to, whether it’s schools, local governments and others.

Frederica Freyberg:

Let’s turn to this. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee you had occasion as we said this week to question Attorney General Bill Barr. You asked him to stop the riots in places like Madison. Would you support bringing in federal police agents to do that, including those that are coming into Milwaukee, for example?

Tom Tiffany:

It would be preferable that federal agents do not come in. However, if there’s federal buildings, federal property that is being damaged, then the federal government has a duty to go in and protect those properties. It’s like Portland. At that federal courthouse out there, they have a duty to protect and that’s what they’re doing out there. If it’s federal assets, they should be protected by the federal government.

Frederica Freyberg:

Representative Gohmert announced he tested COVID positive following that hearing before the Judiciary Committee. Do you expect to be tested because of any contact you had with him?

Tom Tiffany:

Yeah. I talked to the House physician in regards to that, and I was not within Representative Gohmert for 15 minutes, within six feet for 15 minutes, so they said just closely monitor. You do not have to test. I’d be happy to take a test anytime, but the House physician said it’s probably not necessary, just monitor, and that’s what I’m doing.

Frederica Freyberg:

What’s it like to be in the midst of a busy city, Capitol Hill, and people are getting sick and you all are doing your jobs and flying back and forth. What is that like?

Tom Tiffany:

You make sure you keep yourself safe. You make sure you distance as appropriately. The airlines have tough restrictions in place. They require masks whenever you’re on a plane, in an airport. Those things are all happening to make sure that we protect our health. I just think the most important thing is we all need to be aware. We as individuals have a responsibility, and that’s the most important thing that we can all do, is take responsibility for our health.

Frederica Freyberg:

Congressman Tom Tiffany, thanks very much for joining us.

Tom Tiffany:

Yeah. It was good to be on today, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

Thank you.