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MADISON – State Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement on the passage of Assembly Bill 56, the State Budget for the 2019-2020 biennium:

 

“Compared to the promise of Governor Evers’ ‘People’s Budget,’ I am disappointed in the Republican version of the budget passed last night. Governor Evers traveled the state and actually listened to everyday Wisconsinites, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, to find out what the citizens of our great State wanted. The answers were clear – the people wanted Medicaid expansion, the people wanted full funding for schools, the people wanted clean water, the people wanted investment in transportation and no more potholes. With this watered-down version of the budget, Republicans have made it clear that they think that they know better than the people who elected them. Last I checked, our job as Representatives is to listen and re-present what is shared, not dictate.”

 

While Governor Evers’ proposed “People’s Budget” would have expanded Medicaid, fully funded Wisconsin’s schools and higher education institutions, increased access to clean water across the state, put forth historic investments in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure sharing the burden with out of state, and included numerous other forward-thinking propositions, the Republican version of the budget passed last night either stripped or weakened many of the provisions included in Gov. Evers’ budget.

 

“To be clear, after years of austerity budgets balanced on the backs of local governments and school districts under former Governor Walker, it is finally nice to see Republicans recognizing that Governor Evers is right about the need for our state government to actually invest in our State. But at the end of the day, this Republican budget is full of missed Bi-Partisanship to respond fully to the needs of our citizens.”

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