MADISON, Wis. — Today, Gov. Evers called on the Legislature to act on the priorities that matter to Wisconsin families, including providing for paid family leave, investing in our public universities, bolstering our workforce and preventing a looming collapse of our child care system. By calling the Legislature into special session, Gov. Evers gave Republican politicians yet another opportunity to do the right thing.
- Providing Paid Family & Medical Leave. Gov. Evers’ proposal would provide Wisconsin workers with 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave. An estimated 77% of Wisconsin workers lack access to paid family leave and 73% of Wisconsin voters favor creating such a program.
- Investing In Our Public Universities. Gov. Evers’ proposal would undo damage done to the University of Wisconsin by Republicans in the Legislature, such as withholding more than $31 million in funding in protest of UW diversity efforts and blocking funding for new engineering facilities at UW Madison—which would enable UW to graduate at least 1,000 more engineering students each year. This special session call comes as UW Oshkosh is facing an $18 million structural deficit and the prospect of employee layoffs.
- Bolstering Our Workforce. Gov. Evers’ proposal would invest $100 million to continue the Workforce Innovation Grant Program, as well as an additional $60 million to address health care workforce shortage solutions—such as nursing education.
- Preventing A Collapse Of Child Care In Wisconsin. Gov. Evers’ proposal would prevent a collapse of Wisconsin’s child care system by providing more than $365 million to continue the successful Child Care Counts and Partner Up! programs. It is estimated that without the necessary investments to stabilize child care in Wisconsin, more than 2,000 programs are projected to close, leaving more than 87,000 kids without care.
“Republican politicians in Madison are being given a second chance to do what’s right: ensure that parents can get to work and provide for their families without worrying about child care, and that our economy can continue to grow by making smart investments in our workforce,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Oslund. “Gov. Evers is leading on the issues working families care about, and it is time for Republicans in the Legislature to do their part and correct the mistakes made in the last state budget.”
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