The Foxconn deal is hitting taxpayers with more and more hidden fees beyond the $3 billion price tag initially advertised.

MADISON – After the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee again prioritized Foxconn-related projects over other communities across Wisconsin, Senator LaTonya Johnson released the following statement:

“Credit cards are advertised with ‘no hidden fees.’ Why? Because consumers really hate signing up for something and then finding out there are all kinds of hidden fees added in the fine print.

“Likewise, the Foxconn deal – which is already way too rich in my opinion – is hitting taxpayers with more and more hidden fees beyond the $3 billion price tag initially advertised.

“The transportation funding plan approved by Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee today is yet another example of taxpayers getting hit with the hidden costs of this bad deal. To add insult to injury, the I-94 north-south project should have been completed in 2016, but it’s not. This is because, for the past couple of budget cycles, the majority party has continued to delay projects, has failed to come up with a long-term transportation funding solution and has left Wisconsin roads with some of the worst rankings in the nation.

“Today, Republicans chose to funnel more funding to Foxconn projects rather than using federal highway funds to fix local highways across the state. This move comes even after up to $90 million from the State Highway Rehabilitation Fund has already been raided for Foxconn-related roads.

“The Foxconn deal keeps looking worse for taxpayers as our crumbling highways across the state continue to be neglected, costing every motorist who will pay more for car repairs caused by poor road condition.

“We need to stop putting all of our chips on Foxconn and make sure we maintain our economic infrastructure statewide, so all of our Wisconsin communities can prosper.”