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Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) held a workshop for constituents Thursday to discuss strategies for avoiding identity theft and fraud.

Steil was joined by representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS and the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. Steil said the goal was to give people tools to defend themselves against scammers and identity thieves.

"We brought in officials from Madison from Washington, DC, just to directly answer questions from folks about how can they keep their identity, their personal information safe from all of these scammers, all of these criminals who are working everyday to steal," Steil told 27 News.

According to Consumer Affairs, Wisconsin saw 8,986 cases of identity theft in 2021, or 151 cases per 100,000 people. Steil said part of the reason he held the workshop is because his constituents have come to him saying they've fallen victim to scammers.

"People have come to me over the past couple of years saying, ‘Bryan, I've fallen victim to this challenge. I've fallen victim to this scammer.’ And I want to make sure that not only can we provide the resources to that person, but how do we prevent it from happening to anybody else in the future," Steil said.

When receiving a scam call, Steil said the best thing to do is to hang up immediately. He also said to never give out personal information over the phone, and to involve local law enforcement as soon as possible if you are a victim of one of these scams.

"Until we are ultimately successful to stop the calls from coming in in the

Republican Rep. Bryan Steil hosted an event in Janesville Thursday to help people learn about preventing identity theft and fraud.

The free event included representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, Wisconsin Better Business Bureau and the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, among other agencies. Messages included hanging up when suspicious of a caller’s intentions and avoiding giving personal information over the phone.

“We need to one, stop people from calling us in the first place, but until we’re successful in preventing these calls in the first place, I want people to know the tools and the toolkit before becoming victims of these scams,” Steil said.

Panelists also encouraged attendees to report scams to local authorities not only to help themselves but to also prevent scammers from targeting others.

Supply chain issues have delayed delivery of new ambulances for the Salem Lakes Fire Department, while hundreds of emergency calls continue to wear out existing vehicles.

Now recent inflation is making matters worse.

Congressman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., was informed of the problem during a tour of the department’s Fire/Rescue Station No. 1 on Wednesday.

Salem Lakes Fire Chief James Lejcar said he ordered two ambulances about a year ago and was told the manufacturer is having difficulty getting the needed chassis. The department may have to wait until a 2023 model is available.

“We need to figure this out,” Lejcar said. “That would be the No. 1 problem I have on my docket today. We’re up 800 calls in the last two years. We’re running the wheels off these things, but we still need to get grandma to the hospital.”

Steil said he has heard similar concerns from representatives of other law enforcement and emergency personnel departments.

“You’re not the only one,” Steil said. “That has been a huge challenge, not only for fire departments, but for police departments as well.”

While the microchip shortage has received a lot of attention, Steil said the pandemic has also exposed how dependent the United States is on other countries in general.

“We’ve got to be producing stuff here in the United States,” Steil said. “If China wants to shut down Shanghai that shouldn’t have an impact on the U.S. We’re realizing it does.”

It is a matter of national security, Steil said.

“The more we onshore this in the United States, the better off we are,” he said. “The microchips are a big piece of it, but it runs the gamut, including things like the chassis.”

County, region ‘on the front lines’

Steil said Kenosha County and the southeast Wisconsin region are “on the front lines” and at-the-ready to help meet the demand for manufacturing.

“I think it’s a real opportunity,” Steil said, adding companies are choosing Kenosha County for its workforce and its infrastructure. “We have made progress to restructure the tax code, but there’s still more progress we can make.”

Steil said he is also concerned about how the inflation rate is impacting the cost of new emergency vehicles.

“I assume when you go out to buy an ambulance, the cost is up 15, 20, 30 percent,” he said.

Lejcar confirmed that, if the department “didn’t hit a particular date” on the purchase of its most recent piece of equipment it would have cost between 17 and 23 percent more.

Inflation’s impact

“My biggest fear is how this inflation is clobbering everybody,” Steil said. “You literally can’t talk to someone who hasn’t been impacted by higher grocery prices, higher gas prices, higher car prices, right down the list. There is no relief in the near future. We’ve got to dramatically change what’s going on in D.C.”

Steil said the rate of inflation also makes the department’s “Plan B” of refurbishing its existing equipment more costly.

Salem Lakes firefighter Artur Stypula, who works in the insurance business, said 2010 Freightliners purchased used five years ago for $20,000 are being insured for $60,000 because you can’t buy them for less than $70,000 now.

“And, of course, trucking affects everybody,” Stypula said.

Steil said the federal government has a lot of work to do “to unwind this and to get our way of life back.”

“The spending that’s going on in Washington, the debt we’ve got and rising costs and the energy policy on top of that. . .” Steil said, shaking his head. “It’s been two difficult years.”

Letter to EPA

The same day Steil toured the Salem Lakes firehouse, he sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan regarding “policies that are leading to energy scarcity and higher prices.”

These include the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector and the revocation of a 2020 policy regarding power plants, Steil said.

“Both threaten to raise the cost of oil and gas production and transmission and power generation,” the letter reads. “Just as importantly, they send a message to American producers that discourages investment here.”

More broadly, Steil said the Biden administration has pursued “a concerning international energy agenda” that increases the nation’s “reliance on hostile and unstable countries like Russia and contribute to higher prices.”

“Gasoline prices are up 48 percent since last March, electricity prices are up 11 percent, and natural gas is up 21.6 percent,” the letter reads. “American families are feeling the pain of high energy costs and they demand action from Washington. I look forward to your explanation of how the EPA plans to help address this challenge.”

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A wide variety of topics as WTMJ’s Vince Vitrano sat down with Congressman Bryan Steil on Tuesday.

Student loan debt relief to Ukraine refugees.

Could Wisconsin and/or Milwaukee see refugees from Ukraine?

What about student loan debt forgiveness? Is the nation close to something like that? What about the implications of debt relief? Would that price tag be deferred elsewhere, like taxpayers?

Listen to the entire interview right here.

SALEM LAKES — U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, recently thanked Salem Lakes Fire & Rescue personnel during an address in Washington for their efforts to collect lifesaving gear for Ukraine emergency personnel. He presented a copy of the Congressional Record to the department in person Wednesday.

“The whole country is watching what is going on in Ukraine and you guys stepped up to the plate,” Steil told Fire Chief Jim Lejcar and volunteer firefighter Artur Stypula, who organized the drive.

The department sent two shipments of turnout gear and other lifesaving equipment to Poland for distribution to Ukrainian firefighters. The retired equipment was collected from departments as far away as Chicago. It was transported to the East Coast in semi-trailer trucks through the Help Heroes of Ukraine organization and transported at no cost to Poland by Meest-America, a shipping company.

“I am extremely proud of our Salem Lakes firefighters for organizing desperately needed aid for the Ukrainian people,” Steil said during his address on the Congressional floor. “You came up with a creative way to help Ukraine in its fight for freedom.”

In addition to a copy of the Congressional Record, Steil presented a pin he was given when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Congress during a recent Joint Session.

“This is pin I wore for Zelenky’s address to Congress, so I give it to you guys for appreciation for what you did for the people of Ukraine who are truly under threat every day from an unjust, unprovoked attack by Russia,” Steil said. “What makes our country so great is people stepping up to the plate to help out, so I just wanted to come by and formerly say thanks to you guys for what you have done.”

Stypula, a Westosha-Central High School graduate who moved to the United States at age 5, said he still has family in Poland and felt compelled to help.

“I couldn’t imagine what they’re going through,” Stypula said of the firefighters in Ukraine.

Lejcar said watching what is happening and the response required puts things into a different perspective. The magnitude of the day-in and day-out emergencies they are faced with during the foreign invasion of their country is unfathomable, he said.

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