Dear Friends,

You may have heard Governor Evers highlighting our schools as the top 10 in the nation. That’s great news, and what he doesn’t mention is the data used for the record is from when Scott Walker was the governor.

Highlighting republican reforms seems to be the governor's go-to. Just like when the governor took credit for Wisconsin’s largest tax cuts in state history right after he attempted a $1 billion tax hike during a pandemic. I'm proud of the work my colleagues and I did for you to move Wisconsin forward. I'm glad the Governor agrees.

Good luck to the Menomonee Falls High School Boys' Tennis Team as they head to the WIAA State Tournament this weekend in Madison. Good luck!

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.wisconsin.gov.

On, Wisconsin!
Darling Urges Congress to Help Families
An important program for Wisconsin families is in jeopardy. This week, I authored a bipartisan letter to try to save it.
 
The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) is a federal grant program that supports evidence-based home visiting for families from pregnancy through kindergarten entry. Home visiting programs provide important support for low-income, high-risk families to improve the health and well-being of children and new parents. The MIECHV program is set to expire on September 30, 2022, unless Congress takes action to reauthorize the program. This program provides millions of dollars for Wisconsin to use for our successful, evidence-based home visiting programs.
 
I have drafted a bipartisan letter to Congress requesting the reauthorization of the MIECHV program, an increase in funds to meet current needs better, and the continuance of a policy to allow virtual home visits. Virtual visits were instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and both providers and participating families appreciated the added flexibility virtual visits provided.
 
It's my hope our letter will spur Congressional leaders to act and re-authorize this program quickly.
Education Reforms Still Needed
It’s great that the governor continues to highlight the successes of Republicans. He is taking credit for positive results from before he took office and before students were locked out of their schools.

I hope we can work together for what is best for Wisconsin families. Unfortunately, we lost some positive momentum over the last few years. The governor vetoed important reforms that provided families with more choice and more transparency in their child’s education. He also vetoed a bill that would make MPS more accountable to their communities and overhaul a system that has failed generations of kids.

It’s unfortunate but I won’t stop working on bold education reform until every student is provided the high-quality education they deserve.
Protecting Wisconsin's Elections
Whether you vote in Milwaukee or Manitowoc, the process should be the same in Wisconsin. And our elections should be run by Wisconsin’s clerks, not out-of-state groups like Facebook. Unfortunately, that’s not always happening in our state. 
 
In 2020, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg funneled $300 million into a third-party organization to influence our election in five left-leaning Wisconsin cities. Despite claims by Green Bay officials that the November 2020 election was “administered exclusively by City staff,” emails prove a former Democratic operative, funded by Zuckerburg's group, had similar access to election officials and significantly more access to the process than the public. The Green Bay clerk became so frustrated that she resigned.  
 
In this past session, I co-authored two bills that would prevent this kind of outside influence on our elections. Unfortunately, Governor Evers vetoed them both. You can be sure if an outside group was targeting Republican strongholds, he'd have a different opinion.
 
We are not giving up though. I also authored a resolution that will let the voters of Wisconsin decide the issue. The legislation passed both the Senate and Assembly. If we can pass it again next session, it will go to the people of the state, no matter who is governor. We can't allow our elections to be bought by the highest bidder.
Around the 8th...