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NOTE: There will be no D.C. Wrap for the next two weeks due to the congressional July 4th recess, which lasts from July 3-11. D.C. Wrap will be back on July 20. Thank you for reading!

EVENT: In conjunction with MMAC’s annual Milwaukee Night, WisPolitics.com is hosting a DC breakfast on Wed. Sept. 6. to discuss how 2017 policy actions will affect the 2018 elections for U.S. Senate and governors.
Hear from the WisOpinion.com Insiders — former GOP state Sen. Ted Kanavas and former Dem state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala — along with Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report (invited).
See more:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2017/sept-6-wispolitics-com-insiders-breakfast-forum-in-dc/

Quotes of the week

I’m pleased Senate leadership has agreed to give us more time to analyze the health care bill. A vote this week would have been rushed, and I look forward to taking time in the coming days to improve this bill.
– U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, after Senate GOP leaders’ announcement that the vote on the health care bill would be delayed until after the July 4th recess. See the WisPolitics.com story: https://www.wispolitics.com/2017/johnson-praises-decision-to-delay-senate-health-care-bill-vote/

I want to commend Senator Johnson. I think he’s been outspoken about concerns about the process and the content of this bill. Given more time, we will move toward a better bill.
– U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, crediting Johnson for opposing the Senate Republican health care bill, adding he hoped Johnson would “stick to his convictions.”

The people of Wisconsin did not send me to the United States Senate to take people’s health care away, and I won’t stop fighting to protect the health care that people have today.
– U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin on the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday. Baldwin held up a picture of a child, Zoe, from Seymour who was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery. Her health coverage, she said, would be at risk under the bill’s provisions. See the video.

In what other job would you grant yourself a month off if you failed to get your work done? I know we need to go back home to meet with our constituents. But more than anything else I believe our constituents sent us here to do our job – to work together, to fix problems rather than punting them down the road to next generation.
– U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, in a floor speech this week, again calling on Congress to cancel the August recess until lawmakers finish the budget, fix the tax code and take up other important measures. See his remarks: http://bit.ly/2sTcGi4

This week’s news

— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, says Senate Republicans should’ve brought in Democrats when developing their health care bill.

Johnson became one of the leading GOP voices against the bill this week, saying GOP leaders were rushing the bill and that it didn’t do enough to address the underlying problems in Obamacare.

Johnson, who was part of the Senate GOP working group on health care, said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that Republican leaders should’ve sought Dems’ input.

“I wish we were doing this on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “I think it was a mistake right away saying we’re going to do this partisan. That’s where we’re at.”

See more:
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/339793-gop-senator-dems-should-have-been-in-healthcare-process-from-start

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s approval rating was balanced in the latest Marquette University Law School poll, marking a slight drop from the results in March.

Baldwin, D-Madison, was even with 38 percent of respondents viewing her favorably and 38 percent unfavorably, with 23 percent lacking an opinion, according to the poll released on Tuesday.

In March, when the last Marquette poll was out, she logged 40-35 favorable-unfavorable, with 24 percent expressing no opinion.

The change was within the margin of error, though it comes after a run of TV ads by a super PAC hitting Baldwin on her handling of the Tomah VA scandal and a response spot defending her.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, was viewed favorably by 39 percent and unfavorably by 32 percent, while 29 percent didn’t have an opinion. In March, it was 39-34-26.

And House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, was even at 44-44 with 12 percent unable to rate him. In October, he was at 45-38-17.

See more from the poll:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2017/marquette-trump-job-approval-rating-upside-down-at-41-51/

— Nicole Schneider, the research officer with Green Bay Area Catholic Education and daughter-in-law of the former Schneider Trucking head, has decided against running for the U.S. Senate next year, according to a GOP source with knowledge of her decision.

Schneider surfaced in early spring as a possible Republican challenger for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison.

See more:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2017/source-schneider-wont-run-for-u-s-senate/

— U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, will again be the chair of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee.

The subcommittee is part of the House Judiciary Committee that Sensenbrenner once chaired.

Sensenbrenner takes over for U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, who’s now chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“I’m honored to accept this new role within the House Judiciary Committee and I’m looking forward to bringing my experience and expertise to the table as my colleagues and I work together to find solutions for the many challenges our nation faces in these vital issue areas,” he said in a news release.

See the release:
https://sensenbrenner.house.gov/press-releases-statements?ID=1F789F8D-7A04-4F07-8AD9-10B66762EBA0

— Sensenbrenner is once again introducing a bill to give visas to Tibetans who have gone into exile, saying the U.S. needs to “act immediately to help these religiously persecuted individuals” who face threats from China.

The proposal is aimed at helping the Tibetans who’ve moved into exile communities in countries like India and Nepal. Current law can lead to U.S. immigration authorities deeming them “firmly resettled” elsewhere and prevent them from coming into the country.

The bill, co-authored with Dem Rep. Zoe Lofgren, would give out 3,000 immigrant visas to eligible Tibetans over three years.

See the release:
https://sensenbrenner.house.gov/press-releases-statements?ID=194BF4FC-F916-4286-8DA6-054A7D86CDA3

— U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman this week introduced a bipartisan resolution to condemn the persecution of Christians.

Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, said in a news release it’s a problem happening all over the world, saying 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed every month on average and 322 Christians are killed due to their beliefs.

See the release:
https://grothman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=341

Posts of the week

I'd like to thank all the members of congress who joined me on the Capitol steps to #MournMedicaid. We're determined to defeat #TrumpCare! pic.twitter.com/hFgriLRSVO

— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) June 28, 2017

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVu27b0F1Vt/?taken-by=mikeforwisconsin

Just met with @USTradeRep Lighthizer. We discussed how we can work together to strengthen our #MadeInWI manufacturing economy. pic.twitter.com/NUk8qfLKgh

— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) June 28, 2017