CONTACT:    Sen. Howard Marklein, 608-266-0703

Marklein supports job creation bill.
MADISON – State Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) voted for the Special Session Assembly Bill (SSAB) 1 and Special Session Senate Bill (SSSB) 1, also known as the Foxconn Bill, as a member of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) today.

SSAB1 and SSSB1 outline an incentive package to bring a major technology manufacturer called Foxconn to southeastern Wisconsin for a $10 billion manufacturing facility that has the potential to create 13,000 jobs. SSAB1 and SSSB1 includes a $3 billion incentive package for the company to entice them to locate in Wisconsin.

“I have spent the last several weeks thoroughly studying the incentives we have outlined for Foxconn and discussing the proposal with residents from all over the 17th Senate District,” Marklein said. “There have been many good questions and ideas shared with me throughout this process and after deep study of the package, I decided to vote ‘yes’.”

Senator Marklein outlined many of the questions he received and the answers from his research in acolumn on 8/25/17.

“The Foxconn plant will touch our entire state. Companies like Rockwell Automation in Richland Center will likely be in the supply chain,” Marklein said. “Other companies will be involved in construction and our universities and technical colleges will provide training. The potential economic impact of this deal is difficult to measure because it reaches so far.”

“One constituent I spoke with said, ‘we need to do this for our grandchildren’,” Marklein said. “He is right. Bringing Foxconn to Wisconsin will change our manufacturing landscape. Our grandchildren will have amazing professional opportunities at Foxconn and other companies that will follow and spin-off from a technological-manufacturing landscape. This type of company draws an entirely new universe of investment and innovation.”

“There comes a point at which we must decide whether we are willing to take a managed risk in order to grow as a state. There are several examples of smaller companies that have built and grown with the help of taxpayers such as Lands’s End, EPIC and Amazon,” Marklein said. “If we hadn’t invested in these companies or cleared the way for their investment in us, we would not have the benefits of their businesses in our state. “

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