U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, announced this past weekend he will not seek re-election for his spot in Congress.

The Badger Herald interviewed Ribble Tuesday to look back on his six years in office.

The Badger Herald: What is your reason for retiring?

Ribble: This coalesced for me over Christmas-time. I brought my two oldest grandsons up to Wisconsin during the week and we hung out, went to movies, played in the snow and had all kinds of fun.

And about a week or so ago my wife and I were sitting in our living room and she said, “I’m ready for you to come home.”

So I’m coming home. It’s as simple as that.

BH: When do you plan on retiring?

R: I’m going to finish out the rest of this term, which ends on Dec. 31.

BH: Do you expect to be involved in government after you retire?

R: I plan on continuing to be an active member of the Republican party and participating in elections and helping candidates I feel good about win elections.

I’m going to stay engaged, but I’m not going to run for office again.

BH: How did you first get your start in politics?

R: I got my start through sheer frustration as a business owner. I thought our national debt impeded progress and we had to try to get our fiscal house in order if we wanted our economy to grow.

As I viewed those threats to my business and to my family I decided to offer myself up as a candidate for Congress.

BH: What do you see as your biggest successes during your time in Congress?

R: I think a lot of members of Congress, and even the American people, have a tendency to look first at the work they do in Washington on the legislative front, but I don’t. I think the biggest accomplishments come from my interactions with constituents at home.

Personal, face-to-face interactions where we solve a problem for somebody, that’s where the rubber really hits the road for somebody like me. When I look at the things I’m going to be most proud of as I leave my time here, it’s going to be those things.

BH: Could you go into more detail about what you think your legislative successes have been?

R: Every single year I was on the Budget Committee, we produced a budget that would balance within the 10-year window.

When I came here in 2011, the structural deficit that year was $1.4 trillion. This year it’s going to be just slightly over $400 billion. That’s a $1 trillion reduction in deficit.

When I was on the Agriculture Committee we passed a five-year farm bill. In my first year in Congress, I was the senior author of the transportation bill that was signed into law by President Obama, and this year we passed a five-year highway bill for the first time in over a decade.

I’ve had the good fortune of being part of some of the major reforms that have happened on farm policy, road building, construction and fiscal management in Congress. I would point to those as all highlights of my time here.

BH: What changes would you like to see in Wisconsin and in the nation? What needs the most work?

R: I think ultimately some of the things that give me the greatest pause are centered around national security and economic growth.

Until we face up to the fact that we have to change our tax code and become more globally competitive, it’s going to be hard to get the economy really humming again. U.S. exporters and multinational businesses are at an economic disadvantage because of how we manage taxes.  

At the local and state levels, there’s a lot of issues with licensing. We restrict entrepreneurs from entering certain trades because of onerous licensing laws that need to be addressed.

On the national security front, this country is going to have to face the fact that ISIS is a very serious threat to global peace and security. We’re going to have to deal with it very forcefully if we’re going to put an end to it.