Lawmakers Flock to Presidential Visit

A strong showing for La Crosse area lawmakers Thursday as they greeted President Barack Obama at the La Crosse airport. Lining up to meet their chief…Steve Doyle, Chris Danou, Congressman Ron Kind and Senator Tammy Baldwin.

State Representative Jill Billings says La Crosse has been lucky to have been visited by each of the last four presidents and called it a very exciting day.

Billings says she was encouraged at what the president had to say. She told us that if the overtime package Obama presented at UWL doesn’t fly federally wise…she may on board to introduce it state wide.

Meanwhile, some are still wondering why Obama picked La Crosse to outline new proposed overtime rules and trade packages. Word was that he was here due to the work Congressman Ron Kind put into a new Pacific trade deal. As the president flew away, Kind deflected those claims, saying they were largely overstated.  Kind also suggested that it was important for the president to travel to places like La Crosse to “get out of the bubble” of Washington.

As for the new overtime pay package, Kind said he shares President Obama’s belief that anyone who puts in a hard day’s work should be paid fairly, and he is looking forward to working with the Administration on this proposal as it moves forward.