Since Trump Took Office, Wisconsin Has Lost More Than 1,900 Dairy Farms and Leads the Nation in Farm Bankruptcies

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/school-closed-1-s5.jpgRepublicans fail to restore education funding and ensure property tax relief.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/tony-evers-2-s5.jpgNational media casts it's eye on Ever's new approach to creating competitive districts.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/clean-drinking-water-faucet-s5.jpgProposed legislation a thinly veiled attempt by polluters to influence unbiased groundwater standards process.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/19th-amendment-s5.jpgOur local League of Women Voters will host a celebration of 'First Women' and the passing of the 19th Amendment 100 years ago on Friday afternoon at the Green Bay City Hall, 100 N Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor.

Representative Vos rejects bipartisan efforts on sexual assault kit testing.

MADISON – During Tuesday’s Assembly floor session, Republicans voted down a bipartisan proposal to address the issue of testing sexual assault kits. The amendment brought forward by Assembly Democrats mirrored Assembly Bill 214 which would prevent any future backlog of sexual assault kits by standardizing the processing and storage of kits.

This legislation was the product of months of stakeholder engagement and input from law enforcement and experts at the Department of Justice. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and has 56 co-sponsors in the Assembly. Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) released the following statement on today’s actions:

“How cynical do you have to be to politicize legislation about testing rape kits? During my time in office, I have never seen such a transparent attempt to insert ‘poison pill’ language into bipartisan legislation. Playing these political games does a disservice to victims and the law enforcement professionals who work on their cases. Attorney General Kaul and experts at the Department of Justice worked hard to assemble a strong coalition in an effort to gather consensus and get this done by the end of session. Unfortunately, these efforts were wasted due to the partisan actions of Republican leadership.

“Republicans rejected a bill that was the product of months of work and input from subject matter experts including sexual assault nurse examiners, victim advocates, law enforcement, and prosecutors. Because of this choice by Republicans, they are assuring that nothing will address the issue of sexual assault kit testing this legislative session. The people of Wisconsin deserve better than the hyper-partisan Republican leadership in the State Assembly.”

Trump breaks numerous promises to Wisconsinites to protect these programs.

MADISON, WI - As the Trump administration releases their FY2021 budget, we know that Trump is open to breaking the promise he made to Wisconsinites to protect vital earned benefits like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. As Trump's budget prioritizes extending massive tax-cuts for the richest Americans and corporations, he is counting on slashing the programs that working people rely upon in order to pay for these handouts.

“President Trump is intentionally shattering his promises to Wisconsinites to protect programs like Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP -- programs that are vital for seniors, children, and those with disabilities -- all so he can give his rich benefactors another handout at our expense,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wiker said. “Trump’s attacks on the most vulnerable Wisconsinites are disgraceful and clearly break his promises to protect our friends and neighbors. He’s made it clear over the past three years his priorities are giving handouts to his country club buddies, and voters will remember this betrayal at the ballot box in November.” 

In 2016, at a campaign rally in Appleton, Wisconsin, Trump said “They want to take your….Social Security, cut the hell out of it. I’m not going to do that...as sure as you're sitting there, you're keeping your Social Security. You've been paying in all your lives. You're going to keep your Social Security...” As of 2018, there are over 1.2 million Wisconsinites who rely on Social Security.

Trump’s attacks on Medicaid and SNAP also have far reaching implications. As of 2018, 43% of children with special health care needs are covered by Medicaid, and Medicaid covers 5 of 9 nursing home residents.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/car-repo-s5.jpgRecently, Senate Bill 613, legislation that could devastate the life of someone who relies on their vehicle to drive to work or take their children to school, was quietly introduced under the radar in Madison.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/erik-hoyer-7-s5.jpgBrown County Supervisor wants to bring non-partisan representative experience serving all constituents to Madison.

Large waves and shoreline flooding on Jan. 10-12 across southeastern Wisconsin badly damaged infrastructure.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers has submitted a request for a federal disaster declaration for three southeastern Wisconsin counties damaged by severe winter storms that occurred Jan. 10-12. The request, made in a letter Monday to President Donald Trump, could make Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties eligible for federal disaster assistance to repair damage to public infrastructure along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

“Large waves and shoreline flooding across southeastern Wisconsin badly damaged infrastructure that helps protect communities and enhances the valuable natural resource that is Lake Michigan,” Gov. Evers said. “Federal disaster assistance would help ensure those areas can be repaired quickly and restored to what they looked like before the storms.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) completed a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) in all three counties last week, verifying about $10 million in damages where repairs would be eligible for federal reimbursement.

Initial reports estimated about $30 million in damage was done to public infrastructure in the three affected counties. However, the PDA identified several areas that did not meet the threshold to qualify for possible federal assistance. As a result, those costs must be removed from any request for a federal declaration.

“While many of the affected communities suffered more damage to public infrastructure than would be eligible for federal assistance, any aid the federal government can provide will help with the recovery process,” said Dr. Darrell L. Williams, WEM administrator.

If approved, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program would help communities recover some of the eligible costs incurred including public infrastructure repair and debris cleanup from the storms. FEMA provides 75 percent of eligible costs. The state of Wisconsin and local communities impacted share the remaining 25 percent.

The program is not for businesses or homeowners as the level of damage in these areas, unfortunately, does not currently meet requirements for federal disaster relief. Residents and businesses that may have been impacted should check with their municipal, county and tribal government or emergency management offices for information on possible resources that may be available.