In the News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg of Michigan have reintroduced legislation which requires Veterans Affairs hospital to provide reports on infection rates, surgical cancellations and other quality of care matters.

Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Walberg, R-Tipton, had previously proposed the legislation last year after concerns were raised about surgical cancellations due to particulate matter being found on surgical equipment trays at a VA center in Ann Arbor.

WASHINGTON D.C. - After being sworn in on Tuesday it was off to work for the 115th Congress.

Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced the first piece of legislation the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act on Tuesday. The legislation was then passed unanimously on Wednesday.

The legislation H.R. 71, will provide the American people with a better understanding of how their tax dollars are spent. It requires each federal agency to annually report online and inventory of its federal programs and provide a description and cost of each program.

Two members of Congress wrote to the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs on Monday demanding answers about why the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit has fallen to a one-star facility out of five stars based on an internal rating by the VA.

Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, said they were "disturbed" by the news and asked Secretary Robert McDonald how his agency intends to swiftly improve the performance and quality of care.

A USA TODAY/Free Press report last week revealing a low quality rating at Detroit's John D. Dingell Veterans Affairs Medical Center led two members of Congress today to ask the agency for assurances that veterans are "being properly cared for and are not in danger."

U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, wrote VA Secretary Robert McDonald today asking for copies of the agency's secret star-ratings of hospitals going back five years as well as for plans for improvements at the Detroit center and when they will be implemented.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) isn't waiting for the next Congressional session to push for regulatory reform.

Walberg announced the introduction of three bills Thursday, each targeting the Labor Department, as the House was taking its last votes before the Thanksgiving recess.

The Regulatory Review Act calls for the creation of an independent regulatory review commission to remove a third of the regulatory obligations created by the agency.

After many years following his service and subsequent death from Korean War-inflicted disease, U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Leander Rohr was awarded the prestigious Purple Heart Medal – received in his name by his sister Josephine "Nelie" Denny – last week in a veterans ceremony at the Onsted American Legion post. Denny was said to have been very close to her brother.

"After all these years to be going through this is heartbreaking," said Denny holding back tears. "He deserves it."

JACKSON, MI – The Lofts on Louis downtown Jackson development emerged after an unassuming meal at the Grand River Brewery.

Ryan Henry, co-founder of development and construction group Kincaid Henry, came to the brewery with a friend for a meal and casual conversation about development in the area.

When John Burtka asked about their conversation, he told Henry he wanted to talk.

There's always been some import competition for U.S. steel — but what the industry faced in 2014-15 was considered unprecedented.

As Chief Executive Officer for AK Steel Corp. Roger K. Newport explained, suddenly an import ratio that historically hovered just under 20 percent spiked as Chinese steel flooded the market and drew down prices. At its peak in 2015, finished imports took up a record 29 percent of the U.S. steel market.