PBS Wisconsin Public Affairs

Hi, I'm Congressman Tom Tiffany. I represent the 7th Congressional District in northern and western Wisconsin. My wife Chris and I live in Minocqua. I grew up on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin, got an agricultural degree from UW-River Falls, put that to use for seven years at a farm supply cooperative in southern Minnesota. It was about 30 years ago that I moved to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. My wife Chris and I have three daughters. They went to the Lakeland area schools here in Minocqua. Chris and I owned and operated Wilderness Cruises for 20 years on the beautiful Willow Flowage. For 29 years, I was the dam tender on the Willow Flowage. Yes, folks, I was a dam man. In 2010, I was elected to the State Legislature. Wisconsin was in a bad place under one-party rule of the Democrats. If you remember, we had a $3 billion deficit. Unemployment was nearly at double digits. I went down with like-minded people and we did the right thing to turn Wisconsin around. It was not easy, but we made those tough decisions. And we made Wisconsin a better place to live, work, and play. Fast forward to 2022, I've served for two short years out in the United States Congress, and Washington, D.C. is not taking us in the right direction. Under the agenda of President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, America is now weak and off-track. And you know the problems. Record inflation. You're seeing-- You've lost the equivalent of one month's paycheck as a result of the cost of living going up. Record energy prices. Gasoline is now, once again, over $4 a gallon here in the Northwoods. And record illegal immigration, where every state is now a border state, including right here in northern Wisconsin. And record crime, where the Defund the Police movement has taken hold. You know what the problems are. You want to hear solutions, and we have them. Let's make America strong, safe, and free again. We make America strong, first of all, by getting back to energy independence. Rather than begging the Saudis as President Biden has to produce more oil, let's produce it right here in America. Americans are ready to do that today. Let's get back to a balanced budget. I worked with a group of people in this session of the Congress that we proposed a balanced budget that'll get to balance in seven years. Let's implement that budget and let's stop the fraud that's going on in our federal programs. If we're gonna have a strong-- If we're gonna have a strong America, then we have to have a safe America. It's time to stop the Defund the Police movement and it's time for prosecutors to prosecute. Weak prosecutors are putting police in a bad spot. Let's get back to prosecuting crime and let's look out for the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators of crime. To have a strong and safe America, you have to have a free America. And that starts by respecting the First Amendment. The big tech censors need to be held to account. We may need to change Section 230 of the Telecommunications Code or use our anti-trust laws if the big tech companies are not going to allow free speech under the First Amendment. And I will always vote to protect the Second Amendment. And I also believe that we need to make sure that our daughters are free to participate under Title IX in sports so that they can compete freely against other girls. So let's have a strong, safe, and free America, and we will have a prosperous America. I look forward to earning your vote on November 8.