Jeff Smith, Ben Wikler, and Legislative Democrats Call Out Republicans for Failing to Address Rising Costs
MADISON, WI – Today, State Senator Jeff Smith hosted a press conference spotlighting Senate Democrats’ legislation to lower costs and underscoring Wisconsin Republicans’ failure to act on the rising cost of living, public education, and reproductive rights. Joining Smith were Representatives Jodi Emerson and Christian Phelps, 92nd Assembly District candidate Jeremiah Fredrickson, former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler, and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson.
Speakers highlighted how a Democratic trifecta could deliver tangible relief for Wisconsin families, including capping the cost of insulin, fully funding public schools, and keeping politicians out of your doctor’s office.
State Senator Jeff Smith on Madison Republicans’ Refusal to Act on Legislation to Lower Health Care Costs:
“One reason our hospitals closed, maybe the most critical piece, was that the Republicans who controlled our legislature have refused, for 13 years, to take the $1.6 billion in Medicaid expansion that was so important to these hospitals, like Sacred Heart Hospital, where I was born, my wife was born, my children were born, and where I spent all of my childhood at Sacred Heart church, hospital, and school.”
State Representative Jodi Emerson on the Need for Affordable Child Care in Wisconsin:
“I know that soon-to-be Governor Crowley and legislative Democrats have plans to make this (childcare) more affordable. We’re doing it not as a handout, but so we can keep people in the workforce, kids getting the care that they need, the decent care they need so that we can raise up the next generation.”
State Representative Christian Phelps on Madison Republicans Broken Promises to Wisconsinites on Public Education:
“For many budgets in a row, including the current one, the Republicans who’ve written it and passed it have broken their promises to kids with disabilities, they’ve broken their promises to school districts trying to write responsible budgets, and they’ve broken their promises to property taxpayers here in the Chippewa Valley, who have to go to repeated referendums and watch their property tax bills climb year after year to fill these massive gaps in crucial areas.”
92nd Assembly District candidate Jeremiah Fredrickson on the Importance of Protecting Wisconsin’s Natural Beauty and Resources:
“I want to make sure we bring back Knowles-Nelson as far as funding and taking care of our parks, and on top of that, our natural resources in general. One of the big concerns in my district has been data centers and what they’re going to do to our environment. One of the things I’m passionate about and want to make sure are in place are safeguards that protect our water, protect our land, and protect our ratepayers to make sure the Wisconsin I grew up in is there for my kids.”
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson on Why Electing Wisconsin Democrats Is Critical to Protecting Reproductive Health Care and Family Planning:
“The decisions we make in this election will shape reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin for generations to come. It all comes down to simply this: you should be able to make your own decisions about your own body, your own health, and your own lives. You should not have your own futures decided by politicians.”
Former DPW Chair Ben Wikler on Voters’ Opportunity to End 16 Years of Republican Control:
“We have twelve more days in Wisconsin to undo the damage of sixteen years of Republican domination of the state legislature. Everything Wisconsinites are frustrated about, every law that they wish weren’t on the books, every cut, every attack that has come out of Madison for the last sixteen years has had to come through the Republican controlled state legislature, and this is the first chance that voters have to end the Republican domination of the legislature and usher in a new day for Wisconsin.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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