Madison- On Wednesday, Governor Evers signed the Wisconsin budget put forward by the Republican Legislature. State Senator Alberta Darling, the Co-Chair of the budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance, issued the following statement.

"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!"