Wisconsin teacher seeks answers from Derrick Van Orden on rising costs

John Havlicek of La Crosse went to Washington, DC, to ask his congress member if he has a plan to lower costs.

John Havlicek has taught high school Spanish in La Crosse for about three decades, but he has often needed to hold down a second job.

He was a bartender for several years, which he said was a little uncomfortable when he’d run into his students’ parents. He estimated that about one-third of teachers he knows have some sort of side job, which matches a figure from a recent Gallup report. Some of Havlicek’s colleagues coach; another he knows runs a power washing company.

Lately, Havlicek has been teaching students whose parents were once in his classes. His second job these days has been offering training for unions.

“Don’t get me wrong. I am not picking vegetables in the farm in the heat of July,” Havlicek told the Wisconsin Independent. “I don’t want to sound like that. But it’s silly that I need that second job to get over the hump.”

Costs, be they at the grocery store or for medication, are top of Havlicek’s mind these days. He recently flew out to Washington to ask his representative in Congress, Republican Derrick Van Orden, what he plans to do to bring costs down.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund, which invited Havlicek to Washington, shared video of Havlicek trying to speak with Van Orden. In the video, Havlicek says students are coming to his high school’s food pantry because groceries are too expensive.

Referring to the tariffs on imported goods imposed by the Trump administration, Havlicek tells Van Orden, “You have to know that the tariffs are hurting western Wisconsin, hurting Wisconsin farmers.”

Van Orden repeatedly responds that Havlicek is being funded by wealthy liberal philanthropist George Soros and does not address his questions, finally walking away with a “God bless you.”

As the Wisconsin Independent noted in February, Van Orden told the news website NOTUS: “Our farmers understand that we have to level the playing field. And how do you do that? You do that with these tariffs.” He also acknowledged that tariffs were hurting some industries, but said the Trump administration would support those industries until better trade deals are in place.

The Democratic minority on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee shared that the average U.S. family paid roughly $1,745 in tariff costs between February 2025 and January 2026, according to U.S. Treasury Department data. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that Trump’s tariffs cost U.S. households an average of $1,000 in 2025.

Doug Rebout, the president of the Wisconsin Soybean Association, recently went to Washington as well to draw attention to how tariffs are hurting Wisconsin farmers. Rebout was a guest of Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24.

Wisconsinites are feeling pinched in other places, too. Some are managing higher health insurance costs without renewed Affordable Care Act subsidies. In the Midwest, consumers saw higher prices for various foods and beverages in September 2025 compared to a year prior, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Colin Seeberger, senior adviser for communications at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, replied to Van Orden on social media, saying: “No money from Soros or his foundation supports our work to reveal how you are betraying your constituents and jacking up their costs.”

Van Orden posted on March 3 about Havlicek’s video, saying the teacher “ambushed me in DC during the middle of a school day.”

Havlicek said calling him a paid protester allows Van Orden to refuse to engage with his questions. And despite Van Orden’s accusations, Havlicek said the Center for American Progress Action Fund only paid for his hotel and flight. He said with a laugh, “I am not getting paid on the side.”

He said he tries to save money when he goes to the grocery store, where he has seen prices rise over the last year.

As a diabetic, he eats pretty healthy, he said. He exercises. But he struggled to get his blood sugar to a desirable level, so his doctor suggested he try Mounjaro, an injectable medication. His blood sugar level then improved, and he lost some weight.

Originally, Havlicek’s health insurance covered the medication 100%. But with a change to the insurance company’s list of covered medications, starting at the end of April, he will have to pay $1,000 a month.

“I can’t afford $1,000 a month,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Havlicek said he was frustrated that Van Orden has been inaccessible to constituents at public events in Wisconsin. He said the opportunity to talk to his representative was part of why he accepted the offer to fly to Washington.

“He completely ignored me, and all he could do was accuse me of being a paid protester and trot out that nonsense and just keep repeating it and repeating it, when all he had to do was answer a simple question: What are you trying to do to make things better for people in western Wisconsin?” Havlicek says in the video. “And he couldn’t do it.”