By Doug Cunningham

At the Families USA Health conference in Washington, D.C. Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin told Workers Independent News she believes President Obama is truly committed to a progressive agenda.

[Sen. Tammy Baldwin 1]: “I think he’s very serious about it and very much a president who - with an election behind him - is looking toward addressing real problems that we have in our country. We’ll shortly hear the details of his propositions when he makes his State of the Union address. And I expect hear a continuation of the same themes that we saw at the Inaugural.”

Senator Baldwin supports worker rights to collectively bargain and says the rights taken from Wisconsin public workers should be restored.

[Baldwin 2]: “ The power to come together to speak collectively is incredibly important. And obviously in Wisconsin we have seen workers attacked for exercising just that basic right. And I truly believe it needs to be restored. BUt we have a lot of battles to fight along those lines, including a recent lower court case questioning the actions of the labor relations board.”

As far as Senator Baldwin is concerned cuts to Social Security and Medicare are off the fiscal negotiation table in Washington.

[Baldwin 3]: “With regard to Medicare and Social Security, you know when people have worked hard their whole lives, part of the dream of a middle class is to have a secure retirement. These should be off the table, I believe, in our discussions moving forward.”

On gun control Baldwin says she supports the second amendment but wants to see “common sense” changes to gun laws including greater use of background checks for gun buyers. And she days the political dynamic really does seem to have changed and shifted in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.

[Baldwin 4]: “I was very encouraged to see four Democratic senators and four Republican senators come out with an agreed upon set of principles for comprehensive immigration reform. Now this was not a bill, this was a set of principles. But I think that shows a recognition both that we need to do this because it’s long overdue - but also a political understanding that the parties need to work together to get this done. So I’m very encouraged that we will be able to make sincere and significant progress.”

Senator Baldwin was the keynote speaker at the Families USA health care conference in Washington.