Madison – Today, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a number of bills that add additional barriers in order to receive unemployment insurance, food stamps, and Medicaid, while weakening other social benefit programs. Representative Dave Considine (D-Baraboo) released the following statement on the passage of these bills:
“The Wisconsin people are some of the hardest working people in the world. I believe that we must work to ensure that Wisconsinites have the tools they need to find and keep fulfilling employment. Instead, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to push legislation that weakens support for workers who need it most. They claim that these bills would help the workforce shortage, while ignoring the root causes of the shortage, during a time of historically low unemployment. The bills passed today seek to solve problems, but instead create new ones.
“Like many other states across the country, Wisconsin has an aging workforce and a low birth rate. In order to solve our workforce issues, it is essential that we attract individuals by strengthening child care, public transit, and our schools. Earlier this week, Governor Evers called for a special session to take up his plan using a portion of the state’s surplus. This plan includes $750 million for education at every level and $188 million in property tax relief. By passing this proposal, our state would be providing relief for the people while showing the nation that we care about investing in the next generation of professionals.”
