MADISON– Today, the Joint Finance Committee deleted hundreds of provisions from Governor Evers’ proposed 2023-25 state budget. Medicaid Expansion, PFAS funding, cannabis legalization were all removed by Republicans from the budget in one fell swoop.
Senator Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) released the following statement upon conclusion of the JFC’s executive session:
“This is the third time in a row Republicans have disregarded the public’s priorities. Republicans are just asking for the Governor to veto their plan if they choose to go down this road. The Governor was reelected last fall to get the people’s job done, and Republicans need to stop playing politics.
“We have a $7 billion surplus to work with for this budget. The Governor’s leadership when Republicans quit doing their jobs during the pandemic turned adversity to prosperity for Wisconsin – the least they could do is try a couple of his ideas to continue us on that path. Instead, they’ve proposed massive tax cuts for millionaires in their flat tax proposal, a special interest stuffed shared revenue plan and they are poised to push for more voucher school expansion for the rich – all while doing nothing to fix Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban law.
“It’s shameful, and it’s hard to believe these people are still in control of the Legislature. But, with gerrymandered legislative district maps, we’ve become accustomed to unresponsive and out-of-touch legislative leaders in Wisconsin.”
