Progressive Thinking

The Legislature must reconvene to pass the Heroes Act, supporting frontline healthcare workers, and work to address the other pressing issues impacting Wisconsinites during this public health crisis.

EAU CLAIRE, WI - Back in April, I participated in a virtual roundtable discussion with Wisconsin’s frontline healthcare workers. Amidst the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wisconsin, this group of healthcare workers shared deeply unsettling safety concerns related to the scarcity of COVID-19 testing, the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and healthcare affordability.

Healthcare workers have gone above and beyond to serve their community throughout this global pandemic while putting their lives at risk. Yet, there’s very little our state has done to show its appreciation for these heroes. Today, our state’s healthcare workers are still sharing the very same concerns they expressed four months ago in April during the roundtable discussion. And they have every reason to do so.

As of August 10^th, there have been 124,813 cases among doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, and 600 American health care personnel have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tragically, many public health experts figure these statistics misrepresent the actual count and believe the number of cases and deaths of healthcare personnel to be higher. As of August 2^nd, data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reveal 767 nursing home staff alone have died, a shocking statistic upholding the point made by public health experts.

Our healthcare professionals have been at the forefront of this public health crisis since the beginning. We must do everything we can to show our support for their selfless work. As a legislature, this starts by passing the Healthcare Heroes Act.

In July, I proudly joined my Democratic colleagues to co-sponsor the Healthcare Heroes Act, a comprehensive bill aimed at protecting our state’s essential healthcare professionals. First, this legislation will provide hazard pay to healthcare workers during a public health emergency and provide paid medical leave for healthcare workers who contract a communicable disease. Second, this bill covers COVID-19 testing and treatment for Wisconsin’s frontline health care workers.

The Healthcare Heroes Act will also expand Medicaid in Wisconsin. The COVID-19 public health crisis has clearly identified how important affordable, accessible healthcare is in keeping people safe and healthy. Now, while we’re still experiencing the severe impact of COVID-19 in the state, is the time Wisconsin should join the 39 other states that have already expanded Medicaid. Medicaid expansion is a commonsense solution, supported by 70% of Wisconsinites, to provide critical relief during this tumultuous time.

Unfortunately, it’s now been over a month since we introduced the Healthcare Heroes Act and Republicans have shown no interest in passing this legislation to protect Wisconsin’s healthcare workers.

Instead, Republicans have expressed their eagerness to return for session to strike down Wisconsin’s face mask requirement, a simple, practical measure to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, keep our communities safe and protect our healthcare heroes.

We should return for session to pass the Healthcare Heroes Act and also work to address the biggest challenges people are facing throughout our state: the unemployment insurance crisis, rent and mortgage payments, a plan to ensure our children and teachers are safe as the next school year opens and more. Once again, the Majority Party is unwilling to meet to take action on these measures to keep Wisconsinites safe; they’re only interested in scoring political points.

COVID-19 has been a terrible disaster, causing great harm and even death. But there are things we’ve learned about ourselves and others that will be forever engrained in the way we approach things moving forward. Maybe the most valuable lesson has been recognizing the essential workers that keep our communities going.

Never have the words “essential worker” meant so much as it does now. Just as the first responders were recognized for the heroes that they always were after 9/11, every healthcare professional is recognized today. From doctors, nurses, and EMTs, to the dedicated workers performing essential services at our hospitals, we realize now how important they are to all of us.

We’ve made the call for the legislature to get back to work for 4 months now. It’s time for the legislature to pass the Healthcare Heroes Act and show our appreciation for the heroes among us.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us out of work and policy decisions made in more normal times have made it difficult for Wisconsinites to get the help they need now. The legislature must meet to get us through this difficult time.

MADISON - “I’ve been working my whole life, and was doing fine before COVID-19, and now suddenly, I can’t work, and can’t get unemployment. I’m scared of what life will be like in a few weeks when I run out of money for food, let alone bills,” said a man whose unemployment benefits were delayed 10 weeks.

He was one of the hundreds of constituents we’ve helped over the last 4 months. His Unemployment Insurance (UI) was held up because the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) needed to investigate his previous employment.

UI was created so anyone who lost their income would have something to fall back on. As a society, we’ve learned we’re better off if we have insurance programs to support families during tough times. Our economy and family lives are better when unemployment payments can prevent evictions, provide food and supplement lost wages.

We must always remember the intent of these essential programs. There will always be detractors, but also opportunities to improve. In the past 10 years, detractors got their way by changing the unemployment insurance to a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” philosophy. They claimed abuses of the system but forget about people who really need a smooth-running system to help them through what is normally a bump in the road.

For over a decade, Republicans knew DWD’s software and computer system wasn’t prepared for a flood of UI requests, but DWD’s warnings went unheeded by our Joint Committee on Finance. Wisconsin was left with a 40-year-old phone system and software that requires retired technicians to perform maintenance because it is so outdated.

My office, like many others, have become mediators for constituents who’ve had difficulty contacting DWD or have waited an inordinate amount of time for their case to be resolved. With the enormous surge of claims, people have waited up to 15 weeks to receive resolution and payments they desperately need to pay rent, buy food, pay for utilities and afford other vital needs.

One of the changes made by Republicans prevented people who received Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) from receiving unemployment. This resulted in one of my constituents, who is blind, unable to qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, even though she worked part-time to supplement the meager SSDI payment she receives due to her disability.

A young, fresh-out-of-high-school worker was let go by his previous employer and found a new job. Due to suitability determinations created by Republicans, his unemployment claim was stuck for weeks in adjudication.

DWD must verify workers’ job history to determine their benefits. Complex cases make the hurdles even greater for DWD to pay out UI. A woman from the district was undergoing cancer treatments. A week or two into the pandemic she was scheduled to go back to work. Her short term disability payments forced her UI claims to be held up in adjudication for verification, which resulted in all her payments being delayed months.

These are just a handful of examples of the hundreds of constituent cases my office has worked on in the past 4 months. Much of the delay and trauma in UI cases could be resolved if the legislature acted. We’ve been on hold for over 100 days because Majority Party leaders are unwilling to bring us together before the November election.

My colleagues and I introduced bills to motivate the Republican leaders to fix the delays in UI claims, but no response. They are more interested in running for reelection than helping unemployed workers.

Many people have never needed to navigate the UI system before but found themselves trying to figure it all out for the first time. Some may have wondered if UI was ever really needed. This pandemic has clearly shown UI matters and so do the details.

An old neglected system, additional hurdles imposed by Republicans in the last 10 years and their reluctance to address the unemployment crisis have left Wisconsin workers without answers. We can do better, but we have to work together to get the job done and help Wisconsin get through this difficult time.

934 people have lost their lives in Wisconsin and 96% of our state’s population lives in a place with a high level of COVID-19. Blocking real public health plans to keep us safe is reckless.

WEST POINT, WI - People have been struggling to navigate a UI System filled with barriers created by Senator Fitzgerald and his caucus. The pleas for social justice and safe elections have been ringing across the state for months. And yet, the only time we rush back to the floor is to restrict the Governor’s ability to respond to this pandemic.

And I’m not buying the ‘freedom’ argument or ‘it’s my body and my choice’ argument either. Voting rights have been eroded from people of color, and women have been losing their ability to make their own healthcare decisions for years now.

Almost 600 people have lost their lives in Wisconsin and 96% of our state’s population lives in a place with a high level of COVID-19. Saying no is an easy thing to do. But not having a plan to keep Wisconsinites safe during a pandemic is reckless.

As we’ve seen before, the GOP has NO PLAN for this pandemic, only to say ‘NO’ to the one thing we know will keep Wisconsinites safe.

Senate Republican move to overturn Governor’s order requiring people to wear masks in public is simply pandering for votes and power, ignores public health.

GREEN BAY, WI - In what is no surprise, Senate Republicans wasted no time announcing their intent to overturn Governor Ever’s Executive order requiring people to wear masks in public along with his earlier order that could result in the National Guard no longer being able to help with virus testing or assisting poll workers in providing safety at the polls for voters this fall.

Since the Republicans came to power under Scott Walker their only concern has been protecting their own hold on power. This has come to include attacking Governor Evers at all costs even if it costs the lives of their own constituents.

Since we met in March the Republicans ignored doing anything to protect the people from this deadly virus or to remove the barriers that have led to delays in processing unemployment claims. Apparently the only thing that can get them to bring the Senate back into session is an opportunity to take another partisan shot at Governor Evers.

This is just one in a continuing list of examples for why non-partisan redistricting is so badly needed.

MADISON - You might have thought I was being a bit on the hysterical side last week when I wrote to you about the risk of Donald Trump imposing martial law. But there he was this week tweeting about postponing the election!

Fortunately, this move backfired, as he was met with near universal condemnation, including from Republican elected officials (even in Wisconsin!).

We at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign signed on to a letter denouncing this reckless move, which you can read here.

Meanwhile, this week we kept doing what we do, day in and day out: Exposing money in Wisconsin politics.

Before I came to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, I didn’t even know what Legislative Campaign Committees are. But I soon found out: They’re the treasure chests that the Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader, and the two minority leaders have at their disposal for elections.

This year, these campaign committees raised record amounts, with the Republicans way ahead, as you’ll see here:

Legislative Fundraising Committees Raise Record Cash

In a related post, we discussed another record that was broken: fundraising by all the legislative candidates. Speaker Vos, for his personal campaign, led the way with $355,000 on hand. Add that to the $2,371,000 he controls as head of the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, and you can see why he’s so powerful. You can find all the details here:

Legislative Donors Undaunted by Pandemic

And here’s some good news! The Marathon County Board this week passed a resolution in favor of independent, nonpartisan redistricting. That makes 52 counties out of the 72 in Wisconsin that have passed board resolutions to ban gerrymandering. Also this week, the Bayfield County Board voted to let the citizenry weigh in on this issue on November 3 with an advisory referendum. That makes 10 county referendums coming up: Adams, Bayfield, Brown, Crawford, Door, Dunn, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, and Rusk.

Thanks to all the amazing grassroots activists who are making this happen!

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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