United States Congressman Ron Kind (WI-3) announced on Aug. 10 that he will not seek re-election in 2022. At a press conference in La Crosse, the long-time moderate Democrat congressman said he had run out of gas.
“I'm part of a dying breed in public service today, in Washington and certainly in Madison, someone who tried to be reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful, worked hard to try to find common ground with my colleagues, work in a bipartisan way," he said.
Kind had represented the 3rd Wisconsin Congressional District for 26 years, since 1997. He said he will continue to work hard to serve his constituents through the remaining 16 months of his current term.
Congressman Kind has served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and its Health Subcommittee since 2007. Over the years, WHA has forged a strong relationship with Kind, working with him on countless issues important to hospitals and health systems such as protecting 340B, expanding telehealth, growing the state’s health care workforce and cutting government red tape like the Stark Law. Kind was the lead author on two very recent health care policy issues that became law in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021:
fixing the rotator cap issue and creating a new rural emergency hospital designation. Congressman Kind also forged very close relationships with his local hospitals, holding regular check-ins with WHA and his constituent hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.