MADISON – State Senator Dan Feyen (R- Fond du Lac), responded to the announcement from the Evers administration that the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) signed a contract to fix the Wisconsin unemployment system using the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and previously, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“This is precisely why Legislative Republicans asked the Governor to use federal funds almost a year ago and again in ACT 4 to fix the ongoing problems at DWD that resulted from his shutdown of the state economy,” said Feyen.
“While this is a step in the right direction, the overwhelming number of claims that still have not been processed is unacceptable. As of the September 18, there are still more than 12,500 claims that are still waiting for their appeal to be scheduled.”
According to a memo from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the Federal CARES Act, signed by the President in March 2020, provided $2 billon to the state with the administration having sole discretion over distribution of the funds. DWD submitted a request for proposal to upgrade the system in 2019 but those requests were never acted on.
“The governor has had the opportunity to fix this issue but the administration has proven time and time again they are only interested in playing political games. If the governor was really interested in fixing the problems at DWD he could have taken action months ago,” said Feyen.
“The governor and his administration should now focus on processing claims in a timely manner to help our residents who are still suffering the impact of his shutdown that cost so many their jobs.”
