FORT MCCOY, Wis. – Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin led a contingent of lawmakers to the Fort McCoy resettlement camp for Afghan refugees and came away impressed. Baldwin said her contingent learned in briefings that refugees are being tested regularly for Covid. Only a handful of the 8,800 refugees tested positive, she said, and were quarantined. Refugees also are also being offered vaccinations against other diseases like measles and nearly 100% have accepted, she said. Senator Baldwin also said any claims that refugees have not been properly vetted are false.
Baldwin on vetting
Senator Baldwin noted that evacuees went through several vetting steps before even reaching the United States and again have been checked at Fort McCoy. Hers was a slap at a U.S. Senate colleague, Republican Ron Johnson, also of Wisconsin. Johnson used a visit to Fort McCoy two weeks ago as a platform to raise doubts about vetting. In Baldwin’s contingent, all Democrats: U.S. House members Ron Kind and Mark Pocan, State Senators Brad Pfaff and Jeff Smith, and State Representatives Katrina Shankland, Jodi Emerson and Samba Baldeh.
Baldwin. Sees Fort McCoy vetting going well.