Contact: Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (608) 266-0610
MADISON – After 10 hours of debate extending late into the evening on Tuesday, Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) and the Wisconsin State Assembly approved the biennial budget along party lines.
“I’m proud to support a budget that takes care of our priorities while spending significantly less than the governor proposed in his budget request,” said Rodriguez. “This budget puts more funding into healthcare, education and transportation; all priorities that we agreed were important.”
“Starting last fall and going into the spring, I met with people from my district and asked constituents to contact my office to share their budget priorities,” said Rodriguez. “It was clear from the discussions I had that people wanted increased funding for education and healthcare, and solutions to fix the roads. This budget meets those priorities.”
As coined by the Assembly GOP, the WISCONSIN Budget includes $1.6 billion in total funding for healthcare including $94 million for personal care workers, nursing homes and direct caregivers.
The education portion of the budget includes an increase of $500 million more for K-12 education. That increase comes on top of the record increase for education in the last budget.
“This budget puts more money in the classroom with an increase of $604 per pupil, money that will help make sure our kids get a great education regardless of their zip code.”
Transportation, a pivotal component of the amended budget, includes a historic investment with millions more for local roads and state highways, paid for without raising the gas tax.
The final piece of the budget includes an income tax cut totaling nearly half a million dollars for middle class families.
“Responsible budgeting by Republicans over the last eight years has put our state in a position where we were able to dedicate more money to the things that matter most to our communities while also reducing taxes,” said Rodriguez. “With a strong economy, there is no reason to raise taxes on hard working families as some of our colleagues suggested.”
The final amended budget reduced spending by $2 billion compared to the governor’s budget proposal.
