U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman showed up at a gathering honoring the outstanding U.P. gold medalist Nick Baumgartner. Nick’s “sisu” and encouragement of Iron County kids are admirable. What Congressman Bergman has been up to lately is not.

Bergman voted against the Global Respect Act that would block visas for foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating human rights due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics. But Jack doesn’t confine his animus against human rights to the foreign front. On Feb. 7 he voted against Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. He’s all for making it more difficult for victims to get real justice. He’s all for making it more difficult for citizens to vote, as he voted against Protecting Our Democracy Act, which addressed issues involving election integrity and security.

While Bergman’s Bill HR1281, which names the VA Gaylord Clinic in honor of Navy Corpsman Steve Andrews, passed the Senate, it looks like window dressing when Bergman voted against the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021 that expands eligibility for Post-911 G.I. Bill educational assistance, and he voted against the Ensuring Veterans’ Smooth Transition Act that provides for automatic enrollment of veterans eligible for VA health care.

Congressman Bergman basks in Nick Baumgartner’s reflected glory but is himself inglorious in voting against human rights, sexual assault victims’ rights and veterans’ education and health care.