MADISON, Wis. — On Friday, as the House wraps up its first week back in session, Alderman Mark Neumann, Wisconsin Farmer Dylan Bruce and County Board Supervisor Kelly Leibold held a press conference in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District to highlight Derrick Van Orden’s dangerous incompetence in Congress. Speakers discussed Van Orden’s refusal to address the health care crisis in his district, support of Big Ag over local family farms, and his erratic behavior and poor temperament.

Farmer Dylan Bruce spoke about Van Orden’s failure to deliver a Farm Bill that works for small farmers in the district, and described a recent meeting in Washington D.C. in which Van Orden cursed and shouted at Bruce and a group of Wisconsin farmers who were visiting the Capitol to advocate for Wisconsin’s small farmers. 

Watch the press conference here, and see what speakers had to say, in part, below: 

La Crosse Alderman Dr. Mark Neumann: “Here in Wisconsin, we have to realize that [health care] is a really big issue, particularly accented by the loss of our facilities up in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. […] We need representatives in Congress who are digging into these problems so they can […] understand why we could lose these health facilities, and how we need to correct [this problem]. […] I’m concerned that our representative in Congress right now, spends a lot of time making noise, spends a lot of time getting in front of the media any way he can, and then not doing anything really that’s of importance to us.”

Farmer Dylan Bruce: “As a farmer, I know that it’s critical for us to work with any of our elected officials to have policy that supports our farms and our rural communities, and in particular, our small farms and our small businesses. […] This week, I had the most disappointing meeting I have ever had with one of our representatives when I went to meet with Derrick Van Orden. […] [Derrick Van Orden] abandoned small family dairies in his district with his dairy plan, which only further encourages consolidation and prioritizes bigger and bigger herds feeding into the feedback loop that we already have that has forced many small dairy farms out in the last five years. […] The Farm Bill that he put forward and supports and claims supports farms in his district also encourages consolidation and promotes bigger farm size. […] This is all while promoting cuts to conservation programs and the IRA funding that has actually benefited small farms in our rural communities. He’s not working for small farms, he’s working for big farms. As soon as I brought up projections from the Congressional Budget Office, he started shouting me down, shouting out lies […] From there our meeting just evolved into the Congressman and his staff member literally cussing at our group, disparaging us. […] I don’t see family farm-friendly policies ever coming out of his office. We need a change, to see a candidate who will actually listen to us and not just talk at us.”

La Crosse County Supervisor Kelly Leibold: “Derek Van Orden supported cuts to SNAP benefits in the Farm Bill. […] Derek Van Orden has a troubling history of sexist, homophobic and anti-semitic remarks. […] Derek Van Orden has proven time and time again that he lacks the temperament and judgment to serve Wisconsin in Congress.”