Madison – Representative John Spiros (R-Marshfield) issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s Budget Address before a joint session of the Wisconsin State Legislature:
“Tonight, we heard another liberal wish list from the Governor that does not reflect the needs and priorities of Wisconsin. The Governor would rather spend money like it grows on tress than come to the table to discuss the issues that matter most to hard-working Wisconsinites.
I consistently hear from constituents who want to see bipartisanship in politics, and believe me, I do too. Sadly, the Governor chooses to focus on far-left polices instead of coming to the table to capitalize on the unique opportunity we have to provide relief from inflation, invest in public safety, and bolster our workforce.
We heard a lot tonight from our so-called education governor about increasing education funding, but what we didn’t hear was that in the last Republican-authored budget we provided 2/3 state funding, and that state education funding has increased by 1/3 since 2011. With 8th grade proficiency in reading and math at the lowest rate in 25 years, throwing more money at education is not the solution- we need to fundamentally change our broken system.
Despite all this, I am excited to get to work this session to write another fiscally responsible budget that will keep our state on the right track. Over the past ten years, Republican-authored tax cuts have saved taxpayers over $22 billion, grown our rainy day fund to a record high, and of course led us to our historic budget surplus. This session will be no different, and we will continue to work towards making Wisconsin a great place to live, work, and play.”
The Joint Committee on Finance, the state’s budget-writing committee, will soon hold listening sessions around the state to gather citizen input. Constituents can also submit input directly to Rep. Spiros by emailing rep.spiros@legis.wi.gov.
