In the 17 years that Russ Feingold has served Wisconsin in the US Senate, he has visited each county in the state at least once a year. Friday was Oneida County’s turn to tell the Senator what was on their minds.

About 50 people showed up in Lake Tomahawk for the listening session, which the Senator opened with a comment on “the largest deficit in American history,” and his own efforts to cut spending. Although he admits he did vote for the stimulus bill, he said, “We can’t keep doing this stuff.”

Feingold announced his introduction next week of the Control Spending Now Act, a comprehensive plan which would reduce the deficit by more than half a trillion dollars.

Each attendee at the listening session had an opportunity to speak, and their comments and questions were focused mainly on health care reform. “People seemed to be consumed with this issue,” Feingold said. “The senate proposal is in the finance committee and the health care committee now, and will soon be presented to the full Senate where we will be debating it for weeks.”

A majority of those residents speaking on the subject were in favor of health care reform, urging the passage of universal health care with a public option. “The president said he wanted to fix the problem,” said one man. “But we don’t hear that anymore. It doesn’t look like anything will really change, and we don’t have the money to make the legislators listen to us. We’re just a bunch of hillbillies from Northern Wisconsin and we can’t compete with the big companies.”

Feingold responded by saying he “doesn’t hang out with executives of big companies,” but understood the man’s frustration. “This is a leading topic of discussion and people seem to be overwhelmingly in favor of universal health care. But during the last two weeks there has been anxiety over too much government, and people are afraid to give up what they have.”

“I think a public option is a good idea,” he continued. “it fits the president’s test. We need to be open-minded and I will absolutely read this bill and any amendments attached to it and then decide.”

Many participants on Friday afternoon recounted their own painful tales of lost insurance coverage and insurmountable expenses. Some offered ideas such as eliminating lobbying of government officials, passing laws against the advertising of prescription drugs, bringing in drugs from Canada, making health care providers into “civil servants” like police and firefighters, reforming insurance companies into non-profit enterprises, or getting rid of insurance companies altogether.

One question about why insurance companies are allowed to make such enormous profits led to Feingold stating, “Insurance companies just do whatever they want. They are exempt from anti-trust law and that’s something I want to repeal. I am one of eight senators who are working to change that.”

“All of the proposals we are looking at address the ‘pre-existing condition’ clause in insurance coverage,” he continued. “That is a positive thing I think everyone can agree on.”

Feingold also addressed the problem of people being dropped by insurance companies when they get sick or being denied coverage for certain treatments. “There is health care rationing going on in our current system. It’s happening right now.”

Some residents had reservations about proposed health care reform, citing the issues of illegal aliens, questions on funding of initiatives, harm to insurance companies and their employees, and government funding of abortion.

Feingold answered this last concern, “Federal funding of abortion is illegal. It will remain illegal. If that is happening, it’s a law enforcement issue.” He added that many private insurance companies do cover abortion and that anyone paying premiums may be contributing to that.

Tort Reform, setting limits on law suits brought against health care providers by patients and families, was also brought up. That is something controlled on the state level, Feingold explained. “In Wisconsin, we have created a system that is dealing with this and we’ve had huge success. Doctors move here because of the system we have. I’m not sure this is something you want the federal government to take away from state control.”

Other issues were raised at the Listening Session, including government corruption, introduction of invasive species into the Great Lakes, privatization of military operations, the “unfriendly” tourist atmosphere created by Homeland Security measures, and the war in Afghanistan.

The Senator replied to this last comment, “I was the first senator to call for a timeline for leaving Iraq, and I have now called for a timeline for Afghanistan. The president doesn’t agree. He seems to be only listening to people who want to put in more troops.”

Gun control and its affect on the Northwoods’ economy also came up. “Most of us believe in the right to bear arms,” said Feingold. “We didn’t have that right in Wisconsin until I wrote legislation that called for those rights not just for hunting, but for self-defense. I wanted it to be an individual right and now it is.”

“I did vote for the Brady bill and against semi-automatic weapons,” he continued, explaining the National Rifle Association’s lack of support for him. “The NRA has a rule: if you ever vote against them you get an ‘F’ for life. But I believe in the right to bear arms, and I will oppose gun registration.”

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