Wisconsin GOP goes AWOL when it comes to going beyond lip service for veterans.

MADISON - Senate Republicans voted against giving veterans who work in the private sector a paid day off to observe Veterans Day. The amendment to Senate Bill 113, introduced by State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay), would have made sure that every veteran who goes to a job in Wisconsin would receive a paid day off for Veterans Day.

“It’s important that Wisconsin recognize Veterans Day, but it should be about more than closing state offices and giving state workers the day off,” said Hansen. “If we truly want to honor our veterans we should give them the day off with pay so they can participate in Veterans Day events or use it as a day of personal reflection. They are the ones who sacrificed for us. It’s the least we can do for them on their day.”

Hansen said he believes Wisconsin employers would support such a change in the law.

“I don’t know why Senate Republicans would oppose giving veterans the day off. I certainly can’t imagine any patriotic business owner objecting to honoring our veterans who have done so much to protect our way of life in this way.”

Health care industry experts are already anticipating Wisconsin getting the short-end of the stick if Trumpcare becomes law.

MADISON - There are good reasons Trumpcare is widely unpopular among Americans. Trumpcare stands to kick millions off their health care insurance while forking over billions in tax giveaways for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations. So while he's rubbing elbows with the President today, will Gov. Scott Walker stand up for vulnerable Wisconsinites and urge President Trump to protect coverage? And will the potential Republican U.S. Senate candidates stand up to Trump and Walker or choose politics over what is right for Wisconsin?

It's been widely reported that Senate Republicans are drafting their version of Trumpcare behind closed doors and have no plans to release it to the public before a vote.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the process has been so secretive that even Senator Ron Johnson, who serves on the Senate committee writing the bill, hasn't yet seen what is in it. 

Despite the cloak and dagger routine from Senate Republicans, health care industry experts are already anticipating Wisconsin getting the short-end of the stick if Trumpcare becomes law. A new report by the Missouri Hospital Association shows states like Wisconsin that didn't fully expand their healthcare programs under Obamacare stand to still lose billions under Trumpcare. Gov. Walker has already cost taxpayers $679 million by refusing to accept the federal Medicaid expansion. According to the report, "by 2025 states that didn't expand Medicaid would lose out on $684 billion in additional federal money - an amount that would translate into $37 billion for Wisconsin alone."

Meanwhile, the ever-growing field of potential Republican U.S. Senate candidates like Leah Vukmir, Dale Kooyenga, Scott Fitzgerald, Nicole Schneider, Eric Hovde, and Kevin Nicholson have yet to embrace the bill that has the leaders of their party so excited and have remained uncomfortably silent.

"By not accepting the federal Medicaid expansion, Gov. Scott Walker already priced Wisconsinites out of health care while costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Now, years later, Trumpcare stands to cost our state even more while putting the most vulnerable people at risk," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Brandon Weathersby. "Today, Gov. Walker has a chance to prove he isn't guided by political convenience and protect vulnerable Wisconsinites by urging the President to not repeal, but build upon, the Affordable Care Act."

Trump’s budget proposal stands to replicate Gov. Walker’s poor choices at the federal level.

MADISON - On Tuesday, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca and Rep. Katrina Shankland joined the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 212 President Mike Rosen for a press call to discuss President Donald Trump’s visit to Waukesha County Technical College.

Democrats and AFT leadership discussed how Scott Walker’s cuts to technical colleges have rattled Wisconsin’s economy and made it increasingly difficult for Wisconsin to train skilled workers. They also discussed how eliminating Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law for municipal projects has made it possible for state tax dollars to be spent on contractors and workers from out of state.

Barca, Shankland and Rosen also examined how President Trump’s budget proposal stands to replicate Gov. Walker’s poor choices at the federal level. They also talked about needed investments in Wisconsin’s technical colleges and initiatives to expand economic opportunities for everyone.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/school-bus-kids-s5.jpgSen. Kathleen Vinehout argues the current budget stalemate is due in part to competing education funding proposals that do not address the needs facing school districts across the state. Legislative leaders know the school funding formula is broken, but they choose to ignore State Superintendent Tony Evers’ plan to change that way Wisconsin funds schools.