{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kind.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-kind-has-key-wisconsin-priorities-included-year-end-budget", "Rep. Kind Has Key Wisconsin Priorities Included in Year End Budget", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Ron Kind", "K000188", "kind.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "La Crosse, WI Today, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03) voted in favor of an end of year budget bill that includes a number of Wisconsin priorities that he worked over the last months to have included.\nWith today's vote we avoided another disastrous government shutdown and gave families and businesses across Wisconsin more certainty. With this certainty western and central Wisconsin businesses will continue to grow and produce good-paying jobs in our communities, Rep. Kind stated.\nAdditionally, I am pleased that Congress could come together in a bipartisan manner and ease the negative impact of the ongoing indiscriminate cuts to critical areas like education, job training, and Medicare. Today's budget also works to fix a number of issues I have been pushing for, including reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, increasing transparency in the VA, and providing additional funding for rail safety.\nSpecific provisions Rep. Kind has pushed for that were included in the 2016 Budget:\n A $300,000 increase for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which would help improve rail safety. Find a copy of the letter Rep. Kind sent here. \n A number of provisions from Rep. Kind's Inspectors General Transparency Act of 2015, including requiring the VA Inspector General to provide all work products to the Congress, share work products with any individual or entity that requested it, and post final reports on the IG website no later than 3 days after it is submitted in final form. \n Whistleblower protection to assure that VA medical staff has the same protections as other VA employees. \n\n3 year reauthorization of Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program. In August Rep. Kind welcomed Secretary Sally Jewell of the Department of the Interior to La Crosse to tour the Mississippi River Basin and discuss the success and local impact of the Land and Water", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kind.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-kind-has-key-wisconsin-priorities-included-year-end-budget"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5540099702775478, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}