REEDSBURG — Wisconsin's third district congressman was greeted by nearly 80 people at Reedsburg Public Library Tuesday afternoon for a listening session.

After a short speech that outlined his three pillars of reform — healthcare, energy and sustainable job growth — Democrat Ron Kind fielded concerns ranging from national healthcare to bill HR2743, which could determine the fate of Schulz Automotive in Reedsburg.

Dealer Rights

Almost all 23 Schulz employees, including Gil, Mike and Dave Schulz, were in attendance to talk with Kind about the bill and their current situation. The proposed bill, if passed, would not allow car companies like General Motors or Chrysler to close franchised dealerships.

"They (GM) are trying to take back their franchise rights (from dealerships)," Mike Schulz said. "Not only the ones that are being terminated, as we are, but ones that are just struggling as well."

Kind responded by saying he hesitates to support a bill that will give government the role of micromanager. Government officials are not well-versed enough in the automotive industry to create criteria on which dealerships are succeeding and which ones are failing, he added.

Schulz Automotive employees said what GM was doing to their dealership breached their franchise contract. The Schulzes said they had lived up to all of their requirements and expectations of the contract.

"Taking rights away is pretty unfair," Mike Schulz said. He added that if they weren't doing good business, their dealership would collapse on its own.

According to Mike Schulz, the dealership was on its way to a merger with another dealership and would have grown in the coming months. Because they received a letter from GM, however, they never even had a chance.

They handed him a petition of nearly 1,500 signatures that were collected over the previous two weeks at Viking Village Foods in Reedsburg. Don Carrig urged Kind to not worry so much about the rest of the country and to focus on protecting his constituents, like Schulz Automotive.

"Schulz is your constituent," he said. "So read the bill with that in mind."

Procedure Issues

There were more than a few people who questioned Kind about the speed in which bills were being passed through Congress.

Jan McClary asked Kind about a detail in the ever-expanding Cap and Trade Bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed last week, despite 44 no votes from Democrats. She outlined a provision in the bill that will require homes to have an energy audit performed at the point of sale. The seller could potentially be left with an expensive surprise by paying for any costs attributed to making the home more energy efficient.

"There's nothing in the legislation that says your home would need to be inspected," Kind said, to which many in the audience refuted.

According to the bill, federal inspectors would have to come to a home before it is sold to give it an energy rating, as McClary stated.

Many people began asking Kind if he even read the entire bill. He said he reads every bill before voting on it.

Chris Brown said he was scared at the speed of how quickly things were getting passed in Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. He also questioned if Kind had enough time to read every bill and review all the impending ramifications.

Brown said it was reported that members of Congress have publicly commented that they did not have enough time to read an entire bill before voting. Kind, however, remained adamant that he reads entire bills before voting and that anyone who says they haven't is not doing their job.

Residents in the audience weren't convinced Kind could have read everything in the bills, especially ones that expand by nearly 300 pages in the wee hours of the night.

"What's going on when it's three in the morning; what things are getting added (to the cap and trade bill)?" Brown asked. "I'm afraid of the speed in which the president is trying to pass this."

Carol Dittmer agreed. She said things are changing too fast for people to even know what's all going on."Ever since Obama's come in, it's off to the races," Dittmer said.

Healthcare

National healthcare, or socialized medicine, was another big concern residents voiced to Kind.

Brown continued to hammer Kind about the government's plan for healthcare. He said everything the government has been running recently has failed, including Medicare.

"I don't want the government to be running anything," he said.

Although public option was one of the hot topics being discussed right now, Kind said people would have the ability to remain on their current plan if they chose. After being asked by Robert Kaschel, who works in the medical field, Kind said he was not sure what the insurance and medical landscape would look like for sure since a system hasn't been finalized.

Dairy Agriculture

A few dairy farmers took time to speak with Kind about proposed legislation and current agricultural issues. Half serious and half joking, some dairy farmers said they couldn't stay long because they had cows to milk, but they wanted to share that times were tough for local producers.

John Kinsman asked why America is producing less and importing more and more dairy each year. Importing a product that can be produced in high volumes at home didn't make sense to him. Kinsman said everyone is losing because of things like this.

After thanking everyone for coming and encouraging them to continue their dialogue with him, Kind stuck around much longer than scheduled to help answer any lingering questions  in a more one-on-one environment. Kind and an aid took notes during the session and he was eager to address questions in more detail after most people had left.

Kind can be contacted at (888) 442-8040.