Madison – Today, the Wisconsin State Senate took up the 2025-27 state biennial budget bill, Senate Bill 45, and voted on its passage. Senator Keyeski (D-Lodi) released the following statement following her vote against the budget bill:
“Today’s vote was a difficult one. In the end, a state budget is a statement of our values and priorities, and I did not feel this budget did enough to help and protect my constituents based on the priorities they shared with me. Therefore, my vote was no.
“To be clear, there were many parts of the sprawling final state budget that I advocated for and supported. At the same time, many of the issues that matter most to my constituents did not get adequately addressed or were fully ignored and will not minimize enough of the pain our kids and families and small communities are facing.
“In the end, I am glad that Senate Democrats worked to help get a bipartisan bill passed that was an improvement to the Republicans’ initial abysmal offer. In the end, however, this bill is not sufficient to meet the ongoing challenges we face as a state atop the frightening future we will confront following the passage of the Big Bad Bill at the federal level. I do not believe this budget did enough to protect and uplift my constituents in today’s difficult climate. Therefore, it received my help so when it passed it was better, but did not get my full endorsement with an affirmative vote.”
