By Rep. Jesse Kremer
September 27, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Printable Version

Wisconsin can become a biotechnology leader by prioritizing life-saving, ethical research utilizing umbilical cord blood. Like stem cells found in bone marrow, cord blood contains unique stem cells that can help repair damaged body tissues. Unlike bone marrow cells, cord blood is collected safely and painlessly after birth and has been used to treat over 80 conditions including Alzheimer’s, leukemia, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, liver failure, spinal cord injury, stroke, autism, genetic diseases, immune deficiencies and many, many more.

If collected, cord blood is stored in either public or private banks. Public banks are often non-profit and receive blood from various donors. Private banks serve individuals who pay thousands of dollars to have their cord blood stored for private, family use in case of a future illness. According to an article published in the June 2015 edition of Bone Marrow Transplant, approximately six times more cord blood is stored in private banks than in public; however, public banks release approximately 30 times more units of blood to treat illnesses.

With approximately 130 million annual births world-wide, cord blood is a largely untapped, plentiful source of highly specialized, potentially life-saving stem cells. Unlike embryonic stem cells, umbilical cord cells do not result in the taking of a life to research the preservation of life. Wisconsin’s leaders and representatives in the scientific community should encourage the establishment of cord blood banks here in the state as well as promote the ethical, life-saving research in this promising field.

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
August 31, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Printable Version

“As a firefighter, I am sick and tired of cleaning up fatal accidents on Highway 23.” “I’m a 23 year old single guy, why am I forced to purchase an absurdly expensive insurance plan that covers pregnancy?”   “Why is Voter ID still in the courts?” The answer? Unelected, federal judges have decided that they can write law and become “gods” in their own right. As James Madison once said, “As the courts are generally the last in making the decision, it results to them, by refusing or not refusing to execute a law, to stamp it with its final character. This makes the Judiciary department paramount in fact to the Legislature, which was never intended, and can never be proper.”

Many courts have abandoned a purist sense of judicial review – the act of judging laws against the Constitution and nothing further. Instead, they have created their own reality and place more reliance on precedent, or prior court rulings. Their revisionist tactics include plucking the words “wall of separation between church and state” completely out of context from a letter that Jefferson wrote to a Baptist group in Danbury, CT. In truth, the original intent of this phrase, as penned by the church, was to protect it from rulers like King Henry VIII during the reformation in 1500’s Europe, not vice versa.

Even as I write this, the activist U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has been attempting to usurp each state’s tenth amendment right to resist the mandate that young girls be forced to lose their dignity and privacy by changing next to teen boys in school. The court ruled that we must defer to the “experts” – unelected, federal Education Department bureaucrats – to set policies and define reality for our children.

If we really want to take this country back, we have to ensure that unelected judges are not the be-all and end-all, but simply one of the checks and balances in our government. The only way to accomplish this is to ensure that we elect federal officials who will confirm judges that will not “play god,” but will serve God and protect the sanctity of the Constitution of these United States. Elections do have consequences.

Save

Save

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
July 25, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Printable Version

“I hate politics.” “I don’t like politicians.” “I don’t follow elections.” “What I think doesn’t matter.” Do these words sound familiar? I hear them all too often and it saddens me.

Until a few years ago, I had never been a member of a political party. I hadn’t knocked on doors to discuss issues with folks or considered myself a viable candidate for office. While I didn’t expect to win, I felt that even if I lost, at least my children would know the importance of engaging in the democratic process. It was a challenge jumping headfirst into something that I knew little about; however, I believe that this is what the authors of the Constitution intended – representation by the people, not wealthy, politically connected elitists who could buy their way into office.

Our government was given to us by some of the brightest political minds to have walked this earth. While not perfect, our political process is important. There are bad actors in government just as there are in all walks of life, but we need not let that discourage us from our responsibility as citizens. The majority of elected officials are in office to serve, to stand up for the Constitution and to ensure that our freedoms are not trampled upon.

Good representatives take their constituent’s thoughts and concerns to heart; I personally read every constituent contact. Elections do matter, and they will matter this fall. They should not be about who is the most attractive, who is the most popular or who will provide the most handouts; rather, they should be about who will preserve and protect our rights and freedoms today and for years to come.

July 18, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Rep. Jesse Kremer is proud to announce his endorsement by three solid pro-life organizations.  The representative issued the following statement:

“I am humbled to once again be supported by three strong family-oriented organizations: Pro-Life Wisconsin, Wisconsin Right to Life and Wisconsin Family Action.  I will be honored to be the voice of my constituents to encourage traditional family values and champion legislation to save the pre-born residents of this state.”

In his first year of elected office, Kremer authored the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” (often referred to as the “20 week bill”), was instrumental in voting the “Fetal Body Parts and Research” bill out of committee, voted for bills to cut the taxpayer funding and abuse of taxpayer dollars by abortion providers and authored the “Student Privacy Act” (also inaccurately portrayed by the media as the “transgender bathroom bill”).

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
June 14, 2016, Madison, Wisconsin

Printable Version

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill.  

Reflecting on Memorial Day and looking forward to Independence Day, we should reflect on the sacrifices made for our freedom. As an airline captain during 9/11 and military veteran, I feel compelled to share a story I read in the Washington Post that brought tears to my eyes.

In the fall of 2001, Heather Penney, a rookie, was the first female F-16 pilot the 121st  Fighter Squadron in D.C. ever had. The squadron had just finished two weeks of air combat training and
were sitting in the briefing room when someone announced that a plane had hit the World Trade
Center. A few minutes later, the Pentagon was hit and a fourth plane was reported to be on the
way. Nothing was prepped and the jets were still equipped with dummy ammo. Weapons or not,
somebody had to fly – and now. It was decided that Penney would fly with Col. Sasseville. As
they scrambled to suit up, Sasseville volunteered for the cockpit. Without hesitating, Penney
agreed to take the tail. Doing away with the usual half hour of preflight checks and with the crew
chief still scrambling to pull the safety pins, she powered up the engines. They took off to the
northwest, flew over the Pentagon and scanned the sky. During the flight, they contemplated the
mission. Thoughts of how to ram the jet without allowing it to hit a target were racing through
their minds. Penney later reflected that the thought of failure was worse than the thought of a
kamikaze mission. However, thanks to brave passengers willing to give all for their country, they
didn’t have to take out the airliner. Penney and Col. Sasseville were able to return to their
families after learning United Airlines flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.

God bless all who have served and are serving to ensure that we continue to live in the greatest
country on earth.

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
June 14, 2016, Madison, Wisconsin

Representative Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum) issued the following statements following Rep. Mandela Barnes’ (D-Milwaukee) statement associating Christianity with hate and violence:

“I am fed up with the disgusting and divisive nature of some of the leaders in our state and nation. The politicization begins with our President, but has reared its ugly head here in our own state.

“I am calling out someone who should be a leader, but has instead become a laughing stock. Rep. Mandela Barnes, who is hoping to become a Senator by ousting one of his own for not being radical enough, is blaming Christians for the evil act of war on U.S. soil by an ISIS allegiant this past weekend. This guy, a sitting Wisconsin representative, is an absolute loon of a ‘leader’ doing everything he can to divide and conquer, politicizing a horrific event – the modus operandi of our own President. The Orlando rampage was derived from pure evil and hate – something that Christians and Muslims both denounce.

“Our country has been torn apart by President Obama’s divisive racism, hatred of Christianity and lambasting of the military and law enforcement. This terrible belief system has obviously crept into our own statehouse. The division must come to an end, and it should start with leaders like Rep. Barnes.

“The representative resides in a community that is crumbling around him, but doesn’t even have the courage and fortitude to address the real problems in his own backyard – an explosion of crime, the breakdown of the family and inner city youth who are thirsting for a strong, honest, father-figure leader with integrity. Rep. Barnes could be that strong, black leader – but that would take hard work and perhaps some criticism by his own colleagues.

“I, for one, have had enough.”

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
April 27, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Progressive activists have finally blatantly, and unintentionally, unveiled their real war on women. In an attempt to appease a few individuals, these extremists have overplayed their hand and we, as citizens, must stand up to their intolerance and bigotry.

Earlier this year, I authored a bill that addressed the federal Department of Education’s (DOE) revisionist tactics regarding Title IX and school funding. My bill would ensure that, in our public schools, any location where there may be partial or full nudity – for instance, bathrooms and locker rooms – would be designated exclusively for biological girls or biological boys, and that anyone identifying as a different sex would be given other accommodations.  Unfortunately, the bill died in committee.

The DOE has also attempted to force the hands of local school districts as nearby as Palatine, Illinois, to implement a policy that would allow a biological boy to change in the girls’ locker room. Their argument? We can’t discriminate based on sex. The only problem is, the feds do not have a definition of sex. Is sex what you think you are, or what your birth certificate confirms that you are? Where is the missing-in-action feminist movement and the ACLU? In 2006, Washington State passed the “Washington State Gender Identity Law, a law that is proving to be highly discriminatory to women as there have already been instances of blatant sexual harassment and indecent exposure in changing rooms. In Washington, a guy who thinks he’s a woman today can legally walk into a swimming pool changing room, expose himself to a female high school swim team and the law can do absolutely nothing. After all, genitalia aside, he stated that he is a woman. Is this a safety concern for women and young girls? Absolutely! Will I take my daughters to Target to change in a stall that has cracks between the door, and an open top and bottom? No way! Will I drop my girls off at an open high school swim to change in their respective changing room? Not on your life! Not if there is any chance that they will be exposed to the whims of the sexless progressivism of the business, professional sports and entertainment community who have absolutely no regard for women’s physical and emotional privacy and safety.

With a Republican legislature and governor, there is absolutely no reason that we should not act to protect the safety of children and the rights of women in this state. I, for one, will continue fighting to put a stop to this madness and legally enshrine social boundaries to protect our women and children.

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
March 24, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Printable version, click here.

Breaking News: “Wisconsin legislators pass a bill requiring private and parochial schools accepting voucher payments to abide by open records and open meetings laws.” Does this statement shock you? While this has not become law, there is a very real possibility that this could be law a decade from now. Let me explain. Early last year, many private and parochial schools were pushing for a statewide voucher program. After all, this would be the greatest thing since sliced bread, right? Free money! Fortunately, not every parochial and private school board and principal sees it this way. Yes, I did vote for the voucher program via the 2015-17 state budget; it was the right thing to do. Low-income parents – parents who, previously, had zero ability to pay for a parochial or private school education – now have the opportunity to choose a school where their children can thrive. A word of caution though, the political winds will eventually shift in Wisconsin and program rules will change. Need proof? How about this real life anecdote – during one of our last Assembly floor sessions in February, Democrats attempted to bring a bill to the floor for a vote that would have required any school in the choice program to abide by open meetings and open records laws, thereby opening every Christian, choice school and their policies to public scrutiny.

During recent CESA 6 meetings with area public school superintendents and school board members there was dissent over the requirement that public school districts transport voucher kids and provide special education resources. Truth be told, I can envision a day when legislation will rear its ugly head requiring voucher schools that receive state transportation aid get their own kids to school and fund their own special education programs (even though special education dollars are allocated from the federal government to run the program). And what about the trending requirement that public schools provide changing rooms for kids who identify as the opposite sex? What about the sex education curriculum? When will creationism be challenged by the requirement to also teach evolution? How about Bible study, discussions of sin and societal ills in a Christian school? Prayer in school? And what kids will be required to attend religion class? I can guarantee that no voucher school will be safe from these mandates, intense scrutiny and oversight. Activist courts have already bastardized the First Amendment; thus, I don’t believe the Supreme Court would stand in the way of a law prohibiting prayer in publicly funded parochial schools if voucher students are present. Consider the following excerpt from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) convention resolution in 1967: “…1) avoid any aid that would hinder our Christian schools from carrying out their objectives, 2) avoid any aid that would lead to dependency upon the government and would undermine our Christian stewardship, 3) avoid any aid that would bring with it improper government control…”

While the choice program is an excellent outreach tool and a truly useful welfare program, it will be evolving for years to come and must be utilized with extreme caution. I urge any school considering participation in the voucher program to set defined limits and remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch – there must be an exit strategy.

By Rep. Jesse Kremer
February 20, 2016, Kewaskum, Wisconsin