STATEMENT: WisDems Applaud Gov. Evers, Democrats, for Saving Republicans From Themselves on Budget Process
MADISON, Wis. — After months of negotiations where legislative Republicans, led by Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Sen. Howard Marklein, utterly failed to deliver a budget that helped Wisconsin’s working families, Governor Tony Evers was able to secure a deal that did just that. In working with Democratic Assembly and Senate Leaders Greta Neubauer and Dianne Hesselbein, Gov. Evers is now looking at a tentative budget with $330 million in child care funding, $110 million of which will go to Child Care Counts — a program that provides direct payments to providers, $1.4 billion for K-12 education, including the largest increase to the special education reimbursement rate in history, and an additional $256 million in funding for our coveted UW system.
In response to Gov. Evers’ securing a budget deal, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker released the following statement:
“Gov. Tony Evers once again defied the odds in the face of the GOP’s attacks on essential programs as he delivered funding for child care, K-12 education, including special ed, and additional funding for the UW system — all programs and services that Wisconsin’s working families deserve. Thanks to his leadership, and that of our Democratic Assembly and Senate leaders, Greta Neubauer and Dianne Hesselbein, far fewer parents will have to choose between going to work and staying at home with their kids, the next generation of workers will get the education they need, and our state’s economic future can shine a bit brighter.
“From where Republicans started this process — opposing funding for child care, K-12, and the UW system — to where it ended is a testament to Gov. Evers commitment to Wisconsin families and making our state a better place to live. He declared 2025 the ‘Year of the Kid,’ and the deal he secured makes that abundantly clear. Compromise is hard, governing is hard, and delivering results without the majority of either chamber is hard — but our governor, working closely with our Democratic leaders, found a way to get this done, and Wisconsin will be better off for it.”
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