Dear Friends,

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July. I was glad to see so many of you at the parades! Thank you!

I am encouraged Governor Evers put partisanship aside and supported the majority of the common-sense and fiscally responsible changes in the Wisconsin Budget.  

The Joint Committee on Finance and the Legislature did a great job of improving the budget we received from the governor. Even though we shared many of the same goals, his budget was too expensive and not sustainable in the future.

The Wisconsin Budget protects taxpayers and still delivers important investments for everyone in the state.  It provides historic investments in education, roads, and healthcare in a responsible and sustainable way. Our great state will continue to thrive and grow thanks to the changes we made in the budget. You can read more about it below.

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wi.gov .

On, Wisconsin!

Senator Darling makes her case in favor of the Wisconsin Budget approved by the Legislature.

Over the last eight years, Republicans made tough decisions to make sure our state is on solid fiscal footing. Because we were careful with the money provided by taxpayers, we are able to continue to make historic investments in the priorities of many Wisconsinites, including education, health care, and road repair. 

My job as the Senate Co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance is to make sure we invest in the people of Wisconsin, not bureaucrats or government programs. We must make sure our state continues in the right direction in a responsible and sustainable way. The budget plan approved by the committee and the Legislature did just that.

 

I am pleased today to see Governor Evers celebrate many of the record investments made by my Republican colleagues. In areas where the Governor's original budget lacked, like personal care workers, family care, nursing homes, workforce development, prison guards, Veterans, children and family aids, the agriculture industry, and rural healthcare, Republicans made sure those crucial areas were funded.

 

I hope the Democrats who stood behind the Governor today but voted 'no' on many of the items in this budget, will reflect on the many shared priorities the governor approved. Whether a Republican or a Democrat sits in the Governor's office, I will fight to protect taxpayers and make sure every budget is responsible and sustainable.  

Unfortunately, the governor used his veto pen to give bureaucrats the power to spend money instead of the people elected to do that job. Many of those vetoes will end up hurting taxpayers and mean important local projects that benefit the entire state are not completed.

 

I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done on this budget over the past several months. Thanks to our hard work, we started with a surplus. We were able to deliver on the priorities of many working families in our state and still reduce spending by $2 billion. We also provided real tax relief to working families - without raising taxes on job creators. The budget is responsible, sustainable, and affordable. It moves our state forward and continues the progress we have made over the last eight years.

 

On Wisconsin!

The Wisconsin Budget provides a $500 million increase for public schools. Our area schools do very well under the plan. Check out the chart above to see the increased investment in your school district.