Dylan Brogan
Republican leaders who control the state Legislature appear in no hurry to act on Gov. Tony Ever's proposed $700 million state aid package in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And it's not clear why.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told Wisconsin Public Radio on March 26 that “it would be a mistake” for state lawmakers to act before the unprecedented $2.2 trillion federal aid package was passed.
“We'll sit down and continue our discussions with the other legislative leaders and see what holes we can fill in, if any,” Vos told public radio. “We’re not going to do that until we have all the facts.”
Vos didn’t have to wait long. President Donald Trump signed the federal CARES Act the next day, which the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates will bring $2.2 billion in financial aid to the state. But that did not spur the speaker to action.
Wisconsin GOP lawmakers still have no definitive timeline to pass legislation as the state prepares for a surge in positive cases of COVID-19 and the economy suffers while nonessential businesses are closed and travel is restricted under a “safer at home” order.
"We’re hopeful we can hit the floor with a bill that can address policy concerns in the next couple weeks through a virtual session of the Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) wrote in a March 30 statement to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Neither Vos nor Fitzgerald replied to Isthmus’ request for comment. In a media briefing March 30, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor was cordial to his GOP rivals but firm that lawmakers needed to meet “as soon as possible.”
“Swift action is needed to respond to this public health emergency,” Evers told reporters. “Let’s have a legislative session so we can talk about it. That hasn’t happened yet.”
Back on March 27, Department of Administrative Deputy Secretary Chris Patton told legislative leaders in a March 27 email that “time is of the essence.”
“We do not have the luxury of weeks or months to respond to this crisis. The public’s health and safety must be our top priority,” Patton wrote in the email, reported The Journal Times. “We must have the ability to adapt quickly to the changing circumstances that COVID-19 presents.”
Maggie Gau, Evers’ chief of staff, put it more bluntly.
“It seems you are more interested in having political squabbles that are not focusing on the actual fight—saving lives and working to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in our state,” Gau wrote in a March 28 email to Vos and Fitzgerald obtained by WisPolitics.
State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point) says legislative leaders have been in talks with the governor's office about a coronavirus relief package for “a couple of weeks now.” Evers has already released bill drafts focused on bolstering the health care system and the Department of Workforce Development. Republicans had a chance to review legislation as early as March 24. Evers is also planning on a second bill to assist with economic recovery efforts after the immediate crisis has passed.
Erpenbach tells Isthmus that Wisconsin lawmakers could have responded to a number of issues even before the federal aid package was approved, including making it easier to vote in the April 7 election and waiving a one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits.
“We are still collecting our paychecks. There's a lot of things we can do right now but the Republican leadership refuses to take this seriously,” says Erpenbach. “They are dragging their feet. The idea that we can maybe get together in a couple of weeks, that’s just not good enough.”
In a March 27 press release, Vos and Fitzgerald wrote “that now is not the time to demonstrate partisan differences.” The lawmakers also argued that “these new federal dollars do not appear to require any legislative oversight whatsoever.”
“[The federal money is] completely at the disposal of your administration to spend on a wide variety of items including ventilators, masks and [personal protective equipment],” wrote the lawmakers, who also scoffed at the price tag for Evers’ proposed aid package. “Our current general fund balance can’t support that request, so we are very concerned about the impact on other vital parts of state government if we are not careful in the use of state dollars.”
The governor says he “needs buy-in” from Vos and Fitzgerald, who hold solid Republican majorities in the Legislature.
“Even with these federal dollars, we will still need solutions at the state and local levels. Our state agencies have been hard at work to identify what’s needed to ensure public health and safety in the near term, and to aid our economic recovery in the weeks and months to come,” Evers told reporters. “Some of our most immediate needs include greater flexibility within the Department of Health Services so they can ensure people get the care they need.”
The governor’s 65-page proposal calls for an unspecified amount to the Department of Health Services during the declared public health emergency. It includes up to $500 million for the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Administration to aid in the state’s response to the coronavirus. Evers is asking lawmakers to approve $100 million in grants to health care providers and boost state aid to local governments by one percent.
Evers wants to temporarily ban evictions and prohibit insurers from canceling policies due to lack of payment. His legislation would also suspend the state’s voter ID requirement, extend online voter registration and allow the state to print absentee ballots for municipalities. The governor also wants lawmakers to prohibit school districts from cutting pay and laying off teachers while schools are closed.
Erpenbach says “history is watching us right now.”
“All [Republicans] need to do is take a drive down their main street to see what’s going on here. It is incumbent upon us to get our collective heads together, work for the greater good and not for any sort of partisan game here,” says Erpenbach. “I know there are plenty of things we actually agree on and can do right away. But for whatever reason, we haven't done them yet.”
