MADISON – Tonight, the Wisconsin State Assembly took up the biennial state budget after the Republican controlled Joint Finance Committee submitted their changes to Governor Evers’ budget recommendation. Legislators debated a host of amendments before the final vote, where the bill was ultimately passed. Representative Alex Joers (D-Middleton) released the following statement:
“Tonight, Assembly Republicans passed a budget that tied necessary municipal funding to tax cuts aimed at the richest Wisconsinites, which come at the expense of both our higher education system and child care programs for families. Despite our opposition, they voted down every single amendment aimed at fixing the deep problems with this budget.
“The most devastating cut included in this budget is the complete elimination of funding for Child Care Counts, a necessary program to keep tuition for child care all throughout Wisconsin affordable and prevent our facilities from closing. Despite their concerns about workforce shortages, they are unwilling to support programs that allow parents to contribute to the labor force rather than being stuck at home. Each of the 63 Republican votes to slash this funding is a vote to be complicit as our state becomes less welcoming to parents.
“Additionally, the proposed budget cuts $32 million, eliminating 188 jobs at the UW System. These employees have been targeted on the simple basis that their job titles or description include keywords too closely associated with DEI initiatives, including crucial human resources and police administration positions. It is nothing more than a cheap political attack at funding for one of Wisconsin’s cornerstone institutions, our public education system.
“These budget cuts are a culmination of the increasingly ridiculous austerity politics that have defined the past decade of Republican legislative control. They have passed measures that fly in the face of all but the wealthy and run contrary to the Wisconsin Idea, which is why I voted against it on the floor this evening.”
