{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://duffy.house.gov/media-center/enewsletters/comfort-joy", "Comfort & Joy", "2013-12-22", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Sean Duffy", "D000614", "duffy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear friends, During this season of joy, I find myself more aware than maybe ever before of the people in our community who are in need of great comfort this Christmas. Whether it is a mother who is struggling to pay her utility bill, or a father who is dealing with the loss of his family\u2019s health insurance plan, this week I have been fortunate to work with many people from our community on ways we can help the neediest among us and hopefully make life a little more comfortable for them. Building Effective Awareness:\u00a0A year ago I sat down with many of the pastors in Wausau and asked them, \u201cWhat are the needs in our community?\u201d\u00a0 I was taken back when all of them commented on the issues of hunger and homelessness in our community. I think I\u2019m like a lot of people in our community who don\u2019t know the issues that a lot of people who are having a tough time are facing. I wanted to do what I could with my team to make sure we can make a difference with those who have fallen on hard times and make sure we can collaborate together on community resources. Also collaborate on the Federal and state side to make sure resources don\u2019t just flow to the urban parts of the country but can actually come to the parts of the country that have real problems but don\u2019t have huge staffs to cut through the red-tape. This week, more than 100 people came together for our first Hunger & Homelessness Summit. It was an honest conversation and ultimately a productive one as well.\u00a0 We found that by reaching out to each other and building a coalition within our community we can be more effective in our efforts to serve the neediest in our area. We are in the process of uploading the entire summit on YouTube. Click on the image below to watch it and keep checking back for more from the day long event. They need an Obamcare exemption too:\u00a0I\u00a0joined with a bipartisan group of Wisconsin Congressmen to ask U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to extend the federal Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) through March 31, 2014. Gov. Walker signed legislation on Friday to extend current coverage for Wisconsin citizens under several medical assistance programs, including HIRSP, through March 31, 2014 citing the failed rollout of Obamacare. The Secretary should offer all Americans with pre-existing and, in some cases, life threatening conditions the same courtesy.\u00a0 Not offering this extension nationwide could leave some of our poorest and most medically vulnerable Americans without coverage. These individuals should not lose their healthcare coverage due to technical difficulties. This Administration is delaying multiple pieces of its signature legislation on an almost daily basis because it is politically convenient for them. It is our hope that the Secretary will also offer an\u00a0extension to the numerous Americans who have had their lives inconvenienced by this ill-conceived law. To read the full letter to Sec. Sebelius, click\u00a0here. Waiting in joyful hope:\u00a0Our family is anxiously awaiting the birth of our Lord this week and if you saw Rachel and my appearance on \u201cMorning Joe\u201d you may have heard that our family is also very much looking forward to the arrival of the newest addition to our Duffy clan. Click on the image to watch the full announcement and the other topics we discussed. \u00a0 This is a very exciting time of year in our house. As we celebrate Jesus\u2019 birth this week, we will also cherish this time together as a family. Rachel, the kids, and I are always grateful for the kindness so many of you have shown us. We hope that you are able to spend this time surrounded by those you love as well. We wish you and yours a safe, merry and very blessed Christmas season. \u00a0 Merry Christmas, \u00a0Sean", 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": ["http://duffy.house.gov/media-center/enewsletters/comfort-joy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.088685054332018, "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"}