As COVID Relief Passes House, It’s Time for Senator Johnson to Put Wisconsin People Over Politics

MADISON, Wis.— Today Opportunity Wisconsin released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives approved the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a significant step in providing much-needed economic relief to the Badger State. The bill, which includes $1,400 COVID relief checks for Wisconsin workers and families, now heads to the Senate where Senator Ron Johnson has been a vocal opponent of providing direct relief to Wisconsin residents. Last week, Opportunity Wisconsin launched a $1 million statewide TV ad campaign featuring Wisconsin residents calling on Senator Ron Johnson to support COVID relief checks.

“This vote was a significant and promising step toward the $20 billion in relief that will go to support Wisconsin families, small businesses, and cities across the state,” said Meghan Roh, Opportunity Wisconsin program director. “Badger State residents are struggling and things like direct payments will play a significant role in helping folks get back on their feet. We’re calling on Senator Johnson to put the Wisconsin people over politics, and vote to support this critical piece of legislation.”

On Thursday night, Opportunity Wisconsin held a virtual roundtable with residents from across the state to discuss their struggles during the pandemic and the provisions in the COVID relief legislation that would help them most.

When asked how a COVID relief check would help him, Eau Claire bar manager Andrew Gehrke responded, “It would allow me to pay for things that I’ve had to put on credit, little things like gas and groceries that add up. We’re talking about a few thousand dollars that can make a huge difference in people’s lives, and people like Ron Johnson are denying it. I don’t think we can do enough in this situation. We’re not going to look back and say ‘oh, we did too much.’” [WATCH]

A provision in the American Rescue Plan to send $1,400 checks to American families who need it most would give $7.8 billion to Wisconsin families, helping 4 million adults and 1.5 million children in the state. In 2017, Senator Johnson eagerly supported a $1.9 trillion tax giveaway to America’s billionaires. Yet in December, he led the charge to stop a bipartisan effort to provide similar relief checks to Wisconsinites, with Politico writing that Johnson was “the guy who twice shut down…stimulus checks that would have gone to hundreds of thousands of his constituents.” Just earlier this month, Senator Johnson argued against additional COVID relief, claiming Wisconsinites have “excess savings.”

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.