Contact:  Rep. Michael Schraa

(608) 267-7990    

 

(Madison, WI) Representative Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh) was pleased with the passage of the WISCONSIN budget today. The WISCONSIN budget focuses on the priorities of the people of Wisconsin, not on indiscriminate, wasteful spending for special interests.

 

A responsible parent doesn’t say “yes” to every request a child might ask for; a family has to stay within its means. It’s the same with state government.

 

My constituents told me that they wanted to prioritize tax cuts and K-12 education. We did that. Taxpayers get to keep more of their hard-earned money, yet we are putting more money into local schools than ever before in history.

 

The people of the 53rd Assembly District don’t want to expand welfare, but we do care about giving a helping hand to those in need. The WISCONSIN budget increases medical benefits without an expansion of expensive federal programs.

 

Every time I see orange construction barrels, I’m thankful that Governor Walker’s reform dividend made it possible for us to repay the transportation fund and make progress on repairing degraded infrastructure. My constituents told me they do not want a gas tax increase. They also don’t want a committee making final decisions on mileage-based fees. We amended the budget so that future decisions will be in the hands of the entire elected legislature. We are on the right path towards a carefully-considered, long-term transportation policy.

 

Two items at the top of my list for the 53rd Assembly District were funded.

 

Corrections officers and sergeants who serve to keep us all safe will be getting well-deserved raises. The WISCONSIN budget makes sure that those raises are larger and sooner than what the governor was going to give them.

 

UW–Oshkosh is back on track to complete updates to the Clow Hall where our future teachers and nurses are educated. It’s time to finish this project, which had been pushed to the bottom of the list of UW projects.

 

Of course, I didn’t get everything I wanted, but the WISCONSIN budget is a good compromise between the extravagant spending plan of the governor and the responsible government required by our citizens.

 

Governor Evers’ budget promised more than taxpayers could afford, but the Joint Finance Committee did a good job of focusing on appropriate spending priorities. After the Senate takes up the budget tomorrow, the WISCONSIN budget faces a powerful veto pen. We can only hope that the governor will do what is best for Wisconsin, and sign the budget in its entirety.

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