Governor Tony Evers signs down payment on the “Peoples Budget”

For the last several months, the state Legislature has been working on the 2019-21 state budget. In past years, this process has been the same old song and dance of massive cuts to education and health care by the Republican Party. However, with the election of Governor Tony Evers, this was the first time Republicans had to come to the negotiating table in over eight years. While legislative Republicans did attempt to scrap the governor’s budget, some compromise was made in the form of funding for our public schools and additional revenue for Wisconsin’s roads.

 On June 26, the state Senate voted on the state budget. My Democratic colleagues and I attempted to amend the budget to restore some of the key provisions of the governor’s budget, including Medicaid expansion and an additional $600 million for special education aid. Unfortunately, all our amendments were voted down by the Republicans on a party-line vote.

 On July 3, Governor Evers signed the state budget into law and used his veto power to issue 78 partial vetoes throughout the budget. I applaud the governor for using the partial veto to increase funding for K-12 education by $65 million and for forcing Republicans to work with his office and compromise in order to create a state budget for all of Wisconsin. As Governor Evers stated, this budget is only a down payment on the “People’s Budget.”

I will continue to fight alongside Governor Evers to appropriately fund education; to fund our roads; to create an economy that works for all, no matter who they are or where they come from; and to ensure that all Wisconsinites have access to affordable health care.