Denounce committee Republicans for advancing 164, 165
MADISON, WI – Today, Assembly Bills 164 and 165 passed out of the Assembly Committee on Public Benefit Reform on 4-2 party-line votes. Ranking member Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) voted against both bills, which would add onerous paperwork to the unemployment insurance program and would attack local control by banning local governments from operating unrestricted cash transfer programs.
However, in a victory for the disability community and those working following over two hours of public testimony on Assembly Bill 163 last week, largely from individuals with disabilities and their allies, Republicans on the Assembly Committee on Public Benefit Reform chose not to bring the bill forward for a committee vote. That bill would double the amount of work for individuals accessing Medicaid and ban the use of necessary, assistive technology to do so.
Rep. Clancy released the following statement:
“It’s difficult to believe that anyone in Wisconsin is waking up thinking that we need to attack people getting Medicaid, people receiving a few hundred dollars to help them out between jobs or new mothers in Milwaukee trying to feed their babies and pay their rent. In 2025, when folks need safety nets more than ever because of disastrous Republican policy, to propose legislation kicking people when they’re down is appalling. I’m grateful that the community was able to sufficiently shame Assembly Republicans into giving up on AB163. They should follow their own lead and abandon these attacks as well.”
Rep. Phelps released the following statement:
“It is disturbing that, especially at a time of economic turmoil, Republicans would choose to author and advance bills attacking the safety nets in place for those who need them most: Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and unrestricted cash transfers from local governments. But the fact that they did not advance AB 163, the Medicaid attack, is proof that collective advocacy matters. Thanks to the dozens of disability advocates who shared their stories, Republicans were too ashamed to move further on the kind of harm AB 163 would cause. That is a victory for Wisconsin advocates who understand that the government is meant to work for them.”
