THU PM Update: Assembly, Senate GOP leaders at odds over procedure to take up school safety bills

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — The top Republicans in the Assembly and Senate have staked out different procedural plans for the guv’s school safety proposals, leaving their fate up in the air. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the chamber will come back for a one-day special session next week to take up the bills. But Senate Majority Leader Scott… Please log in to access subscriber content. If you don’t have a subscription, click here for a WisPolitics free trial and to view the different subscription options. Username or E-mail Password * Remember Me     Forgot

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Sen. Carpenter: “Governor Walker, Wisconsin can do better than this”

Contact: Sen. Tim Carpenter (608) 266-8535 (MADISON) – State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement regarding Governor Walker’s School Safety Package. “Today the $100 million dollar school safety package that was released by the Governor did nothing to address the core issue of gun safety regulation in schools. This is nothing more than a Band-Aid on a bullet wound and it is simply not enough. Something as universally supported (over 90%) as universal background checks for all firearm purchases is conspicuously missing from this package. A more cynical person could conclude that the support Governor Walker enjoys from the National Rifle Association has

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Flynn campaign: Exposes the false numbers of the Foxconn fiasco

Contact: Bryan Kennedy – (414) 517-3864 (Milwaukee) – In the wake of the Walker Administration’s release of records on the corrupt Foxconn deal, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn today charged Walker with deliberately misleading the public about the deal’s costs and benefits. “I challenge Scott Walker to present Wisconsin taxpayers with an honest analysis of the Foxconn deal,” said Flynn. “Step up and provide Wisconsin taxpayers with an evaluation that is based on current costs, employs standard financial analytical techniques, and is written in clear language.” Perhaps most significantly, Walker’s analysis does not calculate the impact that Foxconn spending will have

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Roys campaign: Responds to Walkers school “safety” plan

Contact: Sonja Chojnacki, 414-526-8727 Madison, WI – Kelda Roys’ Responds to Walker’s School “Safety” Plan with Statement “Apparently Walker is more interested in getting re-election cash from the NRA than in stopping children from being murdered in school. Gov. Walker’s proposals will do virtually nothing to stop gun violence in our schools and communities. He’s taken over $3.5 million in campaign help from the NRA, and refuses to stand up to the gun manufacturers lobby to enact commonsense gun reform, like universal background checks, raising the age of purchase to 21, or even limiting high-capacity magazines. Putting more guns and guards

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One Wisconsin Now: Gov. Scott Walker Proposes Handing school safety checkbook to fellow NRA Lackey Brad Schimel

Mike Browne, Deputy Director mike@OneWisconsinNow.org (608) 444-3483 MADISON, Wis. — In a move sure to please the National Rifle Association (NRA), Gov. Scott Walker’s political stunt special session plan proposes giving Attorney General Brad Schimel authority over funding for school safety plans. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted that, in addition to spending $3.5 million to boost Walker’s political ambitions, the gun lobby was among the first special interest groups to meet with Schimel upon his taking office. “Brad Schimel opened his door to the NRA on his second day in office and now their $3.5 million man

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Dept. of Workforce Development: UI report shows dramatic decline in UI fraud, trust fund balance of nearly $1.5 billion

CONTACT: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722 MADISON – Today, the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the release of the 2017 report on Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program integrity efforts and state of the UI Trust Fund.  The report includes statistics on the efforts of the department to detect and prevent fraud as well as efforts to recover benefits obtained fraudulently and ensure an even playing field for Wisconsin employers by ensuring that workers are classified properly as employees or independent contractors.   “In Wisconsin, program integrity is of the utmost importance.  We have a duty to ensure that programs like the UI program are

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U.S. Rep. Kind: Announces gallery opening for 2018 Congressional Art Competition

Contact: Aaron White Phone: 202-225-5506 Aaron.White@mail.house.gov   La Crosse – La Crosse – Today, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind announced the UW-La Crosse Center for the Arts will showcase the 22nd Annual Congressional Art Competition exhibit from Thursday, March 22 to Sunday, April 8. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Organized by Rep. Ron Kind and his wife, Tawni, this event showcases art created by high school artists from throughout western and central Wisconsin. “Tawni and I look forward to the Congressional Art Competition every year,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “Our students in western and central Wisconsin have

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Gov. Walker: Weekly radio address: More funding for our K-12 schools

Contact: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839 MADISON – Governor Scott Walker released his Weekly Radio Address today titled, “More Funding for Our K-12 Schools.” Hi, Scott Walker here. Wisconsin has some of the best schools in the country. A special thank you to the many outstanding teachers and staff who are helping students succeed all over the state. We are proud to say that Wisconsin students have some of the highest ACT scores and some of the best graduation rates in the country. And the high school graduation rate for women is tied for the best in the country according to

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WARF head excited for relationships between Foxconn, higher ed

WARF Managing Director Erik Iverson says he’’s excited at the prospect of new relationships between Foxconn and the state’s top higher ed institutions. Iverson on Monday will address attendees of the Wisconsin Technology Summit, put on by the Wisconsin Technology Council. This event gets smaller companies in the same room with representatives of major firms including Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls, Northwestern Mutual, GE Healthcare, AT&T and new arrival Foxconn. According to Iverson, many big companies like these already have strong relationships with Wisconsin’s major universities. He describes it as a feedback loop, with businesses telling schools what they need for

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Rep. Crowley: School safety starts with expanding background checks

Contact: Rep. David Crowley, 608.266.5580; 920.915.0479 MILWAUKEE, WI – Rep. David Crowley (D-Milwaukee) issued the following statement in response to Governor Walker’s half-hearted school safety special session agenda: “Background checks are the single most effective way to save lives and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Yet today, when Governor Walker called for a special session on school safety, not one bill being proposed would close the loopholes in our current background check system. This is deeply troubling when you consider that an estimated 40 percent of gun transactions legally occur with no background check. “If the

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Wachs campaign: Responds to Gov. Walker’s school safety plan

Contact: Olivia Hwang, olivia@danawachs.com, 715.972.3262 EAU CLAIRE – Dana Wachs responded today to Gov. Scott Walker’s call for a special session to vote on a package of bills that fails to address access to weapons of war in Wisconsin: “Wisconsin public schools deserve every dollar we can invest in them for education, mental health services, and resources for teachers and staff. It does nothing to address the fact that a dangerous person can purchase a weapon of war designed to kill as many people as possible in a short amount of time without facing a background check or a waiting

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Sen. Carpenter: “Governor Walker, Wisconsin can do better than this”

Contact: Sen. Tim Carpenter (608) 266-8535 (MADISON) – State Senator Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement regarding Governor Walker’s School Safety Package. “Today the $100 million dollar school safety package that was released by the Governor did nothing to address the core issue of gun safety regulation in schools. This is nothing

Read More »

Flynn campaign: Exposes the false numbers of the Foxconn fiasco

Contact: Bryan Kennedy – (414) 517-3864 (Milwaukee) – In the wake of the Walker Administration’s release of records on the corrupt Foxconn deal, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn today charged Walker with deliberately misleading the public about the deal’s costs and benefits. “I challenge Scott Walker to present Wisconsin taxpayers with

Read More »

Roys campaign: Responds to Walkers school “safety” plan

Contact: Sonja Chojnacki, 414-526-8727 Madison, WI – Kelda Roys’ Responds to Walker’s School “Safety” Plan with Statement “Apparently Walker is more interested in getting re-election cash from the NRA than in stopping children from being murdered in school. Gov. Walker’s proposals will do virtually nothing to stop gun violence in our

Read More »

One Wisconsin Now: Gov. Scott Walker Proposes Handing school safety checkbook to fellow NRA Lackey Brad Schimel

Mike Browne, Deputy Director mike@OneWisconsinNow.org (608) 444-3483 MADISON, Wis. — In a move sure to please the National Rifle Association (NRA), Gov. Scott Walker’s political stunt special session plan proposes giving Attorney General Brad Schimel authority over funding for school safety plans. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross noted

Read More »

Dept. of Workforce Development: UI report shows dramatic decline in UI fraud, trust fund balance of nearly $1.5 billion

CONTACT: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722 MADISON – Today, the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced the release of the 2017 report on Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program integrity efforts and state of the UI Trust Fund.  The report includes statistics on the efforts of the department to detect and prevent fraud as well as

Read More »

WARF head excited for relationships between Foxconn, higher ed

WARF Managing Director Erik Iverson says he’’s excited at the prospect of new relationships between Foxconn and the state’s top higher ed institutions. Iverson on Monday will address attendees of the Wisconsin Technology Summit, put on by the Wisconsin Technology Council. This event gets smaller companies in the same room

Read More »

Rep. Crowley: School safety starts with expanding background checks

Contact: Rep. David Crowley, 608.266.5580; 920.915.0479 MILWAUKEE, WI – Rep. David Crowley (D-Milwaukee) issued the following statement in response to Governor Walker’s half-hearted school safety special session agenda: “Background checks are the single most effective way to save lives and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Yet

Read More »

Wachs campaign: Responds to Gov. Walker’s school safety plan

Contact: Olivia Hwang, olivia@danawachs.com, 715.972.3262 EAU CLAIRE – Dana Wachs responded today to Gov. Scott Walker’s call for a special session to vote on a package of bills that fails to address access to weapons of war in Wisconsin: “Wisconsin public schools deserve every dollar we can invest in them

Read More »