Dear Editor:
Welcome back to another exciting year at UW-Madison – one of this country’s premier institutions of higher education.
As your voice in the United States Congress, I’m honored to represent you and the University of Wisconsin in the nation’s capital. This campus, its faculty and staff, and its students have all provided me with some of the most memorable moments in my life as the granddaughter of two UW faculty members, a UW law school graduate, and as your elected representative first on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, then in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and now in the U.S. Congress.
Part of what makes the UW such a nationally recognized leader is the passion and conviction students bring to social-justice causes here and throughout the world. From the controversy over Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China to the debate on stem-cell research, leaders on both the student and faculty level have helped shape my legislative agenda. Rest assured that your activism, petitions and letters on issues ranging from monitoring Tibetan policy to opposing the Bush Administration’s plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are heard loudly and clearly.
My staff, in both Washington and Madison, is ready, willing and able to serve the needs of UW Students. If you have questions about your Pell Grant or student loan, or are experiencing trouble with a federal agency such as the INS or IRS, or if you are a veteran having difficulty cutting through some bureaucratic red tape, contact my office at 258-9800. I pledge my staff and I will do everything possible to make sure you and your case get a fair hearing.
For more than 150 years, UW students like yourselves have made their mark in the world in such fields as the sciences, the arts, journalism and government. You are a part of an incredibly rich tradition, fellow Badgers. Welcome back to another semester. It’s an honor to serve you.