Welcome to our weekly DC Wrap, where we write about Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. Sign up here to receive the newsletter directly.
Quotes of the week
When Democrats expanded Medicaid to illegal aliens and able-bodied adults, they diverted resources from those who truly need them (the disabled, pregnant women, single mothers, and low-income children). Republicans should correct this wrong.
– U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in a post on X on Medicaid access.
To my Republican colleagues: one day Donald Trump will be gone, but when your descendants go to search you up, your legacy will be ripping away the safety net from those in our society who need a helping hand, all to enrich the richest among us.
– U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, on Republicans’ reconciliation bill.
This week’s news
— U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden voiced support for measures to overhaul food stamps under a House GOP reconciliation package to advance President Donald Trump’s policy priorities, saying: “We got this right.”
The Prairie du Chien Republican’s comments came after he had sounded the alarm about a previous GOP proposal to impose up to 25% of the costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program onto states. He urged lawmakers to tie each state’s cost-share responsibility to its SNAP overpayment rate, raising concerns about vulnerable Wisconsinites.
Dems have charged Republicans with gutting the program, arguing SNAP restrictions in the reconciliation package will hurt needy American families.
But Van Orden at a House Agriculture Committee markup this week said “states are going to have to accept the fact that if they are not administering this program efficiently, that they’re going to have to pay a portion of the program that is equitable, and it makes sense and it is scaled.”
Republicans have proposed to boost work requirements for SNAP recipients, increase states’ share of administrative costs and require each state to contribute at least 5% of the cost of SNAP allotments starting in the 2028 fiscal year, among other provisions.
Some states may have to cover more than 5% depending on the rate at which they improperly issue SNAP benefits, including: 15% for states with SNAP error rates between 6 and 8%, 20% for states with error rates between 8 and 10%, and 25% for states with error rates of 10% or more.
“So if they improve, they’re going to pay less and that’s going to encourage a responsible bureaucracy so every single dollar that is allocated to these programs goes to the hungry child, it goes to the senior, it goes to those most in need, and I’m very proud that we did that,” Van Orden said.
Wisconsin would cover 5% of costs based on the state’s error rate in 2023, according to an Agriculture Committee fact sheet.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Dems criticized Republicans’ plans for SNAP.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, knocked Van Orden in a statement to WisPolitics.
“Derrick Van Orden said he’d never cut SNAP, but this bill is a massive cut to SNAP,” Pocan said. “He must be lying. Not only is this a bad bill for hungry families, it’s also bad for farmers in our districts and across the country.”
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said: “No matter how my colleague frames it, Republicans are proposing more than $300 billion in cuts to SNAP, while at the same time, advancing a $5 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthy.”
She said the proposals would shift financial burdens to states, taking food from those in need. She noted states already cover 50% of administrative costs. She said existing law already gives USDA the authority to respond to high payment error rates, including financial penalties that don’t impact benefits.
“I tremble to think that under this reckless Republican scheme, eligible low-income SNAP households’ ability to receive a food benefit that supports an adequate diet will now depend on which state they live in,” Moore said.
— Gov. Tony Evers joined 22 of his fellow Dem governors in opposing options congressional Republicans are considering to cut Medicaid and food stamps.
GOP lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are considering a series of options as they look to reduce federal spending.
“The notion that states will respond to massive cuts to federally appropriated dollars by backfilling with state resources is simply inaccurate and impossible,” the Dem guvs said in a statement. “These proposals are not just a ‘cost shift’ to states, they are cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and the social safety net that supports millions of Americans.”
— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is criticizing Republicans for the current reconciliation package, arguing the proposed spending reductions won’t curb the federal debt but increase it.
“At a bare minimum, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” shouldn’t INCREASE the annual deficit. With the meager spending reductions being discussed, I’m afraid it actually will,” the Oshkosh Republican said on X.
The House and Senate are in the middle of the budget reconciliation process, which expedites the budget negotiations by allowing for a simple majority in the Senate to vote in favor of the budget package.
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said every scenario leads to the federal debt continuing to skyrocket.
Johnson also said he’s pushing for a multi-step reconciliation process so Congress can take time to consider more serious budget cuts.
“It would also give us the time to simplify and rationalize the tax code, and go line by line through the entire federal budget to uncover, expose, and eliminate the hundreds of billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse that the DOGE effort has shown exists,” Johnson said in his op-ed. “If we don’t, America is headed off a cliff.”
— CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju said Hill Republicans are hesitant to deviate from President Donald Trump during on-the-record conversations, and some will run away from him when he tries to do an interview.
He said this is especially true of those up for reelection in competitive primary districts.
“Especially a Republican in a tough race, they don’t want to look like they’re crossing Trump, upsetting him, but they also don’t want to look like they’re siding with some of his more controversial actions. So they’d rather just not talk at all,” Raju said at a WisPolitics Washington D.C. breakfast.
Raju added it’s possible Republicans will deviate from Trump following the primaries.
Raju said 3rd CD Rep. Derrick Van Orden is a Republican who is sticking pretty solidly to Trump’s agenda. He added the Prairie du Chien representative’s district may be at risk, depending on people’s view of the Republican Party by the midterms.
“Then perhaps that’s a flippable seat,” Raju said of the western Wisconsin district. “So that is definitely among the Democrats’ seats that they hope they can flip if the environment really goes south for the GOP.”
Raju said politicians and constituents are concerned about National Institutes of Health cuts to research in the states, but it’s a question of whether Democrats in the Senate will stand up to Trump, or if Republicans will push back on the cuts. Raju said without Congress’ interference, these cuts will continue.
“People are up in arms about some of these cuts, but they are still moving ahead with it, and there’s no indication that they’re pulling back in any way on any of this, this stuff,” Raju said.
Raju also at the breakfast:
- Said Democrats in Wisconsin have “real hope” heading into midterm elections following the Supreme Court race. He also commented on Wisconsin being a unique state for elections, which is reflected by the split Senate seats between Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, with only three other states split.
- Called Elon Musk “remarkable” for how he captivated the news cycle for weeks. He also said Musk is likely taking a step back from the administration for the sake of his business at Tesla, and cabinet members don’t want him interfering in their work.
— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate hearing after the agency laid off CDC lead contamination experts the city of Milwaukee had depended on to address lead in schools.
Baldwin at the Senate HELP Committee hearing this week asked Kennedy why he would effectively shut down a program that helped address lead poisoning in children if he considers lead poisoning a significant concern.
“Six schools have been closed, displacing more than 1,800 schoolchildren. The request for federal assistance was denied because of lack of staff,” Baldwin said. “The entire childhood lead poisoning branch has been fired. In the words of a Milwaukee mother, it really sends a message of ‘you don’t matter.’”
Baldwin also asked Kennedy if he intended to eliminate the branch. He said he did not.
“Okay, because you cannot tell us that you want ‘Make America Healthy Again’ when you are willfully destroying programs that keep children safe and healthy from lead poisoning,” Baldwin said.
Kennedy said if Milwaukee has been appropriated federal funding to address childhood lead prevention, that money will be spent in Milwaukee.
— Clean energy advocates and business leaders are arguing cutting clean energy tax credits will hurt the Wisconsin economy and take away jobs, including in Republican districts.
Forward Together Wisconsin President Mandela Barnes argued at a press conference Republicans in Congress are increasing energy costs and setting back energy development in the state.
“The people of Wisconsin deserve better,” the former lieutenant governor and Dem Senate candidate said. “The country deserves better. Clean energy, as we know, is the future, and we have to continue to invest in it.”
The House Ways and Means Committee on Monday proposed rolling back President Joe Biden-era clean energy policies, including phasing out electric vehicle subsidies and clean energy tax incentives.
Wisconsin Building Trades Council Executive Director Emily Pritzkow said businesses have developed strategies and developers have planned projects counting on the clean energy tax credit incentive.
“Make no mistake, these credits are not just numbers on a balance sheet out in Washington, D.C.,” Pritzkow said. “They are representing real jobs, real economic growth and real progress towards Wisconsin sustainable energy infrastructure.”
U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, said in a statement to WisPolitics Republicans want to lower costs for Wisconsinites, and accused Democrats of pushing for tax hikes.
“The House GOP budget provides significant tax relief for working-class Americans,” Wied said in the statement. “We’re committed to reversing the costly Green New Scam policies of the Biden Administration, which led to massive inflation and made life unaffordable for Wisconsinites.”
Posts of the week
ICYMI
Politico: Ron Johnson is threatening to tank the GOP megabill. He’s been here before.
Spectrum News 1: Congresswoman Gwen Moore says GOP cuts to Medicaid will ‘have an impact on everybody’
WKBT: Sen. Tammy Baldwin criticizes DOGE VA cuts at roundtable
Politico: Duffy defends moving wife’s flight from Newark to another airport
WPR: ‘Credible threat’ made against family of US Rep. Derrick Van Orden
WFRV: Northeast Wisconsin residents rally to protect Medicaid, Congressman Wied pledges support
