In the News

 MILWAUKEE- A contraception controversy is heating up.  Should employers, including religious groups, be forced to provide free birth control? It's a growing conflict among Catholics.  The church teaches them contraceptives are wrong, but the Obama Administration is telling them religious institutions must cover contraceptives free of charge for their… Read more »

 By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel On a conference call with reporters Wednesday, House Democrat Gwen Moore of Milwaukee defended the Obama’s Administration’s decision not to exempt Catholic universities and hospitals from a requirement that businesses cover contraceptive services for employees. Moore said the issue wasn’t one of government imposing… Read more »

 By Pete Kasperowicz  Several House Republicans on Wednesday morning protested the Obama administration's decision not to exempt religious organizations from a requirement to provide birth control coverage in healthcare plans, including contraceptives and abortion drugs. Obama's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) exempted churches and other places of… Read more »

 WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's congressional Democrats said they appreciated President Obama's vow to revive manufacturing in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But the state's Republicans said Obama's plea for economic fairness wrongly focuses on guaranteeing outcomes through government action, instead of opportunities in a free… Read more »

 Sen. Herb Kohl (D) "We appreciate that the president is focused on the right things for our country: increasing our economic output and decreasing unemployment. In Wisconsin we're particularly happy about his focus on manufacturing since our state's economy and employment, more than most any other state, is dependent on a strong manufacturing base. The president… Read more »

  What is insourcing? After decades of watching American companies take jobs to other countries, we're beginning to see entrepreneurs and manufactures make the decision to keep factories and production facilities here in the United States—or even bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. How do we know this is happening? For the past 22 months, the… Read more »

 Greg Kaufmann  Nation readers know the record-setting levels of poverty in America today: nearly one in six citizens below the official poverty line of $22,300 for a family of four, including one of five kids. African-American and Hispanic children are even worse off, with poverty rates of 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively. More than one in three Americans are… Read more »

 By Ashley Lopez NARAL Pro-Choice America, a national reproductive rights group, announced today that it sent a letter to President Obama denouncing a federal agency’s recent decision to overrule an FDA request to expand access to Plan B, or the morning after pill, to young women under the age of 17. The letter contained more than 35,000 signatures. Since Health and… Read more »

 By Pete Kasperowicz  With Christmas less than two weeks away, House Democrats in particular are ramping up their use of metaphors involving the Grinch who stole Christmas and Ebenezer Scrooge as they look to make their criticism of House Republicans more timely for the holiday season. "Americans across this country can tune into C-SPAN and watch our own version… Read more »

 By Pete Kasperowicz The House payroll tax holiday extension bill on Tuesday afternoon survived its first Democratic challenge — a point of order that sought to derail the legislation. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) raised the point of order before debate on the rule for the bill even began, and was followed by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who spoke… Read more »