JFC Republicans cut 612 items from Evers’s budget

The legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance held its first budget session last week, and GOP lawmakers came ready to use their budget-peeling knives, as they pared 612 items from the governor’s budget proposal on day 1.

One of the co-chairmen of the Joint Finance Committee (JFC), Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), took to the radio to explain the committee’s action in the Republican Party’s radio address of the week. Marklein said the committee acted after months of meetings with constituents, holding public hearings across the state, talking with legislators on both sides of the aisle, and reading thousands of public comments.

Marklein said it wasn’t right to bury serious policy decisions deep within a big budget bill.

“In our first meeting we voted to remove over 600 non-fiscal and policy provisions from the governor’s proposed state budget,” Marklein said. “These policies, even if they are policies that we support, should be debated in the open and vetted through the legislative process. They should not be quietly snuck into the budget among hundreds of other provisions.”

Marklein said the committee also voted to return to the base budget for deliberations. 

“This is the responsible budget that was signed by the governor two years ago and has kept Wisconsin moving forward,” he said. “Using our base budget as a starting point, the legislature will decide where to make new investments and add new ideas to the budget based on what we heard from Wisconsinites during the public comment period.”

With its first votes, Marklein said the budget process had started in earnest.

“The Joint Finance Committee looks forward to writing a responsible and sustainable state budget that funds Wisconsin’s priorities and addresses our financial obligations,” he said.

Call it irresponsible

Democrats were seething after the votes and called the majority’s budget actions anything but responsible.

Among the axed proposals they pointed to were state funding they said was needed to keep the state’s child care industry intact, funding for PFAS remediation and lead removal in drinking water, various investments in public education, preventing property tax increases, and investments in mental health services for veterans.

State Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay) said the governor had put together a thoughtful, strategic budget aimed at lowering costs and strengthening communities with long-awaited investments in public schools, drinking water quality, and a child care network — investments she said were critically needed to keep and attract young families and a vital workforce to Wisconsin. 

“The governor’s budget priorities aligned with the priorities voiced by the hundreds of community members who testified before the Joint Finance Committee  in West Allis in April and those who attended the series of budget listening sessions I hosted across the 8th Senate District,” Habush Sinykin said. “Right now, Wisconsin communities and families are expecting support from their state government during these worrisome and tumultuous times. While families are struggling with rising costs and uncertainty over our nation’s economic outlook, it is more important than ever that Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee address the financial challenges facing Wisconsin families through strategic investments in child care, public education, health care, and targeted tax relief.” 

Habush Sinykin said she was committed to advocating for and passing a budget within an appropriate timeline that would lower costs for Wisconsin families and strengthen communities. 

State Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) said he was appalled but not surprised by what he called the Joint Finance Committee Republicans’ disregard for everyday Wisconsinites. 

“When I was knocking doors last year talking to voters, the message I heard most was that people want us to work together to lower costs, fully fund our public schools and UW system, and protect our rights,” Bare said. “Budgets are a reflection of values, and it is clear that Joint Finance Committee Republicans want to continue starving child care providers, public schools, and local governments, and harming the environment while cutting taxes for the wealthiest.”

State Rep. Alex Joers (D-Waunakee) said the JFC votes ended, slashed, and gutted many programs and services that are essential to Wisconsinites and their families. 

“Unfortunately, today was just the most recent incident in a long line of fiscally and morally irresponsible decisions made by my majority party colleagues,” Joers said.  “The Joint Finance Republicans’ motion removed many programs and services from the state budget, including supplements to the Crime Victim Services grant program, child care water safety grants, requirements to report lost or stolen firearms, lead service line replacement funding, tax exemptions for gun safety equipment, and essential funding to our child care centers.” 

Wisconsinites and their families deserve more than legislative Republicans are willing to recognize, Joers said: “ This is another sad day in Wisconsin, orchestrated by the whining Republican legislative majority.”

Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit) also observed that the GOP refused to expand BadgerCare or to legalize and tax marijuana.

“Today, rather than allowing for robust conversation and debate on the proposals put forward by Gov. Evers and Democrats, Republicans chose to slash hundreds of proposals and start the budget process from square one,” Spreitzer said. “In the midst of economic uncertainty, Republicans chose to remove proposals to fund the Child Care Counts program, expand BadgerCare, legalize and tax marijuana, provide meals for students at school, and provide critical property tax relief for Wisconsinites. These proposals would help everyday Wisconsinites keep more money in their pockets and provide important support to the next generation of Wisconsinites.”

Of great importance, Spreitzer said, the state is facing a child care crisis. 

“Without the Child Care Counts program, parents will face rising prices and fewer options as childcare providers close,” he said. “We must work together to address this crisis. If they are rejecting Child Care Counts, my Republican colleagues must bring forward a serious alternative that will not leave parents and children behind.”

As he held listening sessions throughout his Senate district, Joers said he heard loud and clear that the people want to see robust investments that support the state and help residents to thrive.

“ I will continue to use the clear feedback I received in those meetings to guide me as this process continues and as I fight for the best budget for our state,” he said. “As the budget process continues, I hope that my colleagues will recognize the importance of supporting working Wisconsinites and their families and will work with Democrats to pass a bipartisan budget that addresses their needs.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.