Contact: Amy Hasenberg, (608) 266-2839

MADISON – Governor Scott Walker traveled to job centers in La Crosse, Green Bay, and Milwaukee with Governor Tommy Thompson today to highlight Wisconsin’s unemployment numbers and welfare reform proposal.
“Today, more people are working in our state than ever before because of our reforms,” said Governor Walker. “As part of our Wisconsin Works for Everyone welfare reform plan, we are removing barriers to work, investing in job and skills training for the unemployed and underemployed, and expanding programs that incentivize work. We are making it easier for people to get a job and ensuring that everyone who wants a job can find one.”

The Wisconsin Works for Everyone welfare reform plan proposed by Governor Walker comprehensively addresses welfare reform. Several key initiatives include reforms to Wisconsin’s FoodShare system and the FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) program, which provides hands-on job training and job search resources and has helped more than 25,000 FoodShare recipients learn an employable skillset and reenter the workforce.

“Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is down to 3.0 percent,” said Governor Walker. “The only other time that it was this low was in 1999 when Tommy Thompson was our Governor. Things were good then, and they are still good now. We are moving people from government dependence to true independence.”

To promote a healthy workforce, Governor Walker has proposed welfare reform statewide to ensure that everyone getting public assistance can pass a drug screen. If someone fails, the state would have resources set aside to get them into rehabilitation and to receive the help they need in order to re-enter the workforce.

“As Governor, I was told nearly 25 years ago that ending Aid to Families with Dependent Children and replacing it with W-2, a program that provided the support necessary for people to enter the workforce, wouldn’t work. W-2 not only worked, but it also provided a blueprint for state and federal efforts,” said Governor Thompson. “Today, I am proud to join Governor Walker as he again puts Wisconsin at the forefront of welfare reforms. He is placing the focus on personal responsibility and work, not handouts.”

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