Residents meet with reps' in Wakefield

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Wakefield - There were some serious questions from around 35 residents of the western Upper Peninsula who gathered at the Wakefield VFW Post 9084 for a meet and greet event with three area legislators.

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet; state Sen. Ed. McBroom, R-Vulcan, and state Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, spoke briefly and fielded questions and comments for around two hours. All three said there is no substitute to meeting face-to-face with constituents as the best way to gauge needs and concerns.

"Sometimes it's a very, very direct personal concern ... other times there are more general and broad concerns going on in the community," McBroom said.

Markkanen said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently signed the auto-insurance reform legislation. It will take about a year-and-a-half for the law to take complete effect, he said.

The high cost of auto insurance was driven up by the high cost of health care in Michigan. The catastrophic care option is no longer mandatory but will remain an option, he said.

The industry response is more positive than negative but there is still concern, he said.

The state House and Senate have presented budgets that do not include the governor's proposed 45 cent gasoline tax, Markkanen said. This would be devastating for the U.P. economy, for people who drive several miles to work and for the tourism industry, he said.

"We're going to find a different way to fund our roads," he said.

Denny Charney, Bergland, presented his issue with Michigan's off-road vehicle street licensing. No law enforcement or Department of Motor Vehicle official would sign the application, and only legislative pressure got a response, he said.

"It's big process, but no one knows about it," Charney said.

Bergman, a member of the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees in Washington this session, said he will support active duty military and veterans.

The Veterans Choice program was good idea that was poorly implemented and the VA Mission Act of June 6 will provide options not previously available, he said. The program also responds to feedback, he said.

"This time we're not going to allow the program to go unmonitored to where it reaches the point of failure," Bergman said. "The simple point of failure was veterans appointments were getting delayed and providers weren't getting paid."

Richard Swanson, Wakefield, said the inconsistency of health suppliers at VA centers is harmful. His son, a veteran, received quality hearing aids at a Florida VA, only to have them replaced with another brand at a Wisconsin VA, which failed and had to be surgically removed, he said.

Bob Maki, Wakefield, spoke about spiraling health insurance costs. His household of two has a $15,000 deductible plan and they pay $1,800 per month.

Bergman said health care providers and small group networks should have more say than insurance companies about health decisions, he said. The challenges to this district are there are few providers and difficult access either by distance or bad weather, he said.

"We need to work on quality health care first, availability of it second, and thirdly work on the overall cost," Bergman said.

Rick Sauermilch and Alison Becker, of Ironwood, said they were present to confront Bergman for supporting legislation that enriches contractors that run border detention facilities after several human rights violation reports and for separating children from families.

"He's pushing hard to expand funding for the concentration camp program," Sauermilch said of Bergman.

Bergman said there are many issues to address with immigration but that border security was his priority.