MADISON, WI – Today, Senate Democrats announced their Affordable Wisconsin Legislative Packages. These collections of bills, named the “Health and Housing Legislative Package” and the “Families First Legislative Package”, are made up of pieces of legislation that democratic lawmakers have written and proposed but were killed by the Republican controlled legislature. The bills are solely focused on cutting the costs of healthcare, housing, childcare, utilities, and groceries across Wisconsin.

The data from voters and residents is clear: rising costs are impacting Wisconsinites in every corner of our state. Among registered voters, 96% are very or somewhat concerned with inflation and the cost of living, 90% are concerned with health insurance, 87% concerned with jobs and the economy, and 87% concerned with affording a home in Wisconsin. The Badger State is facing a crisis of rising costs that Republican lawmakers have ignored. Senate Democrats are facing these issues head-on and will be ready to get to work cutting costs on day one of the new Democratic majority.

During this morning’s event, Democratic leaders addressed the pillars of the ‘Health and Housing’ and the ‘Families First’ legislative packages:

Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein:  

“Republicans here in Madison have dropped the ball for far too long; they have failed to address the crisis of rising costs our families are facing. But these failures will end when Senate Democrats take over early next year.

Over the course of this past legislative session, my democratic colleagues and I said we were committed to making our state more affordable, and we followed through on this commitment by proposing over 160 pieces of legislation aimed at cutting costs and putting more money back into your pocket. 

The Republican majority responded to this commitment by making sure that these bills did not receive hearings, did not receive votes, and most certainly were never passed. However, we remain committed to this mission of making Wisconsin more affordable.” 

State Representative and candidate for the 17th Senate District, Jenna Jacobson:

“We are going to pass legislation that addresses the zoning concerns in our communities and makes it easier for cities and towns to build affordable and desirable housing of all kinds. 

We are going to ban algorithmic rent hikes and ban hedge funds from buying up Wisconsin’s housing stocks. These practices exist for one blatant reason: to make as much money as possible for landlords at the expense of our residents. The people who call Wisconsin home deserve better, and we are going to address these issues. 

And we’re going to expand the homestead tax credit to make it easier for families in every income bracket to own or rent a home.”

“We’re going to cap the prices of insulin and asthma medication to ensure no one in our state has to put their life in danger by skipping or taking smaller doses of these life-saving medications. 

We’re going to get rid of the state sales tax on over-the-counter medications to ease the burden on everyone. And we’re going to pass the Less for RX legislation to dramatically reduce the prices we all pay for the medications we need.”

Former Racine Alderman and candidate for the 21st Senate District, Trevor Jung: 

“We will save Wisconsin families nearly 2,000 dollars a year by making school meals free for our children. And we will end price gouging and hold the corporations responsible for charging us more while giving us less.

We will protect our land, our water, and your pocketbooks by regulating data centers and lowering the utility bills our hardworking families pay. 

We will create jobs and a stronger future for our state by incentivizing green energy — recommitting ourselves to our strong tradition of advanced manufacturing.” 

“And we will make Childcare more affordable and more accessible for our young families. It is absurd to expect working men and women to pay more for per-child care than it costs a person to attend college. 

We will invest in our childcare providers to create availability while lowering the cost. We will make the Child and Dependent Tax Credit refundable while raising the threshold for eligibility for the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program.”

Take a look at Senate Democrats’ Health and Housing Legislative Package HERE

Take a look at Senate Democrats’ Families First Legislative Package HERE