In The Spotlight Blog

In the News: Blog 07/13/2012
WJFW Channel 12: Cranberry Growers Hope To Keep Juices In School Vending Machines, Lunches
Manitowish Waters - Juice, sauce, and craisins. That's what cranberries from Northern Wisconsin turn into after harvest. But cranberries aren't naturally sweet. So they add sugar. That's what irks the USDA and first lady Michelle Obama. As part of Mrs. Obama's "Let's Move Campaign", she and the USDA are pushing for stricter guidelines for school lunches. Drinks with less sugar is part of the move. Under the guidelines, cranberry drinks could be removed from school vending machines and lunches.
In the News: Blog 07/11/2012
Green Bay Press Gazette: Senator's staff to be available in Marinette, Lena
In the News: Blog 07/11/2012
Beaver Dam Daily Citizen: Sen. Johnson staff to visit
In the News: Blog 07/6/2012
Superior Telegram: Johnson says time to get serious about U.S. fiscal future
Understanding the problem with the nation’s deficit and debt is the solution to fixing it, according to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. And Johnson is making it his mission to help the American public understand the problem. Johnson stopped in Superior on Monday to share what he learned by looking at the numbers. “What I’ve been trying to do is I go around Wisconsin and a little bit around the country as well is just describe the problem,” Johnson said. “I’m obviously working in a United States senate that, unfortunately, is not accomplishing a whole lot. I think the thing to do between now, and hopefully when we have a real leader, is start addressing these issues and informing some of the people here in Wisconsin about what the problem is.”
In the News: Blog 07/6/2012
Financial Times: US budget: Pushed to the brink
Alongside the models of space shuttles, fighter jets and marine helicopters, a huge digital clock is counting down to the end of the year. This new feature dominates the foyer of the 17th-floor offices of the Aerospace Industries Association – the largest and most powerful lobbying organisation for the US defence industry. Last Friday afternoon, there were still 186 days, 8 hours and 46 minutes to go. After that, $500bn in automatic cuts to the Pentagon budget over 10 years are due to take effect, threatening – according to the AIA – America’s global military supremacy and 1m jobs across the country.
In the News: Blog 07/2/2012
Pierce County Herald: Johnson staff visiting North Hudson Monday
In the News: Blog 06/29/2012
The Oshkosh Northwestern: Local reaction to health care ruling: Repeal, relief and doubt
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act set off a steady stream of local reaction Thursday with lawmakers calling for the bill’s repeal, health care providers scrambling to implement its provisions and residents expressing relief and doubt about the law’s sweeping health care reforms. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., whose opposition to the bill inspired him to run for office in 2010, lamented the court’s decision, but said it will energize Republicans ahead of the November presidential and Congressional elections. "I guess from a practical standpoint of elections, our base is certainly going to be energized by the challenge facing us now that the Supreme Court didn’t invalidate the law," Johnson said during a teleconference with reporters Thursday. "So now we have to work on it in the political world, so I think it energizes our base. But again, I don’t say that with any joy. I wish the health care law would have been repealed or stricken down."
In the News: Blog 06/29/2012
NBC 26: Lawmakers React to Supreme Court Decision
Lawmakers from northeast Wisconsin are reacting to the Supreme Court’s ruling. “It’s now in the hands of Congress and the hands of American people,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R) Wisconsin. But on the other side, former Democratic Congressman, Dr. Steve Kagan said this is a milestone. "Healthcare is no longer a privilege, it's a right," said Kagan. Johnson said Thursday’s decision takes away the individual choice, and said his party will work to repeal. "It's about putting this country back on a path of an opportunity society, with people, individuals in control, not the government," said Sen. Johnson.
In the News: Blog 06/28/2012
The Daily Caller: Protesters at Supreme Court react to Obamacare decision: ‘We will not comply’
The shocked tea partiers who gathered outside the Supreme Court on Thursday to hear the court’s ruling on President Barack Obama’s health care reform law struck a defiant tone immediately after it was announced that that the law will be upheld. “A message to the IRS,” tea party leader Keli Carrender of Seattle screamed into a microphone. “We will not comply with this unconstitutional tax. So you might as well just come over and get me now. Because I ain’t paying it.” The crowd began to chant, “We will not comply, we will not comply.” Others told The Daily Caller that they were shocked that the justices upheld the individual health insurance mandate as a tax law. Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillip, carrying a ball in his hands, expressed disappointment.
In the News: Blog 06/25/2012
Liberty News Network: Sen. Ron Johnson Tried to Split "Farm Bill" In Two
Yesterday when I wrote about the so-called “Farm Bill,” I noted that 80 percent of it was food stamp. I wrote: All good things, as farm bills go, but why on Earth would Republicans not insist the SNAP program be a separate bill and vote solely on farm issues? Seems Rep. Ron Johnson reads Liberty News: