Republicans Failed to Address the Needs of Wisconsinites Before Going Home Early
Madison – Today, the Wisconsin State Senate held its last general-business session day before adjourning for the 2025-26 legislative session. Senator Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) released the following statement in response:
“The Senate met for the final time today, and despite having over 100 bills on our calendar, Senate Republicans failed to bring bills to the floor that would meaningfully address the major issues facing Wisconsinites. This is egregious. There is so much more work to be done for our constituents, and we absolutely should not be adjourning our general session today.
“We are facing an affordability crisis. Costs are ever on the rise, making it difficult for hardworking everyday Wisconsinites to just get by. That’s simply unacceptable. Your elected officials should be prioritizing passing bills to lower costs and improve the lives of all Wisconsinites. This means ensuring everyone can afford basic necessities like groceries, childcare, healthcare, and housing.
“Since the start of the session in January 2025, Democrats have been introducing a variety of bills to lower costs and address other truly urgent concerns facing our state, but Republican leaders have obstructed these bills’ progress by failing to schedule them for public hearings, committee votes, and floor votes.
“For example, Democrats put forward the following affordability bills that never made it to the Senate floor:
“Senate Bill 50 would make lifesaving prescription drugs affordable at a time when Wisconsinites are struggling to keep up with rising healthcare costs. Senate Bill 60 would expand the Homestead Tax Credit, which provides direct property tax relief for those who need it most, thus lowering housing costs for folks like our seniors. Senate Bill 322 would make direct investments in our childcare industry to help keep desperately needed childcare centers open and ensure families can afford childcare. Senate Bill 436 would save our state’s beloved Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program which protects our natural spaces and grows our economy. Senate Bill 491 would help support our local public schools by providing them with the funds needed to keep their lights on and provide high-quality educational experiences to all children. These are just a small sample of bills Democrats introduced this session to help all Wisconsinites thrive.
“As a freshman Senator in the minority party, I have been immensely disappointed that Republicans chose not to move these bills forward. We should be working together to improve the cost of living for Wisconsinites. Instead, Republicans chose to focus their efforts this session on niche bills that are politically expedient.
“In addition to not addressing affordability issues for our working families, Republicans also failed to address other important and time-sensitive issues we have heard from constituents about all session. This includes regulating data centers and protecting our hemp industry. By not bringing either the Democratic or Republican bills addressing these issues to the Senate floor for a vote, Republican leaders are responsible for killing their progress.
“It is disgraceful that we have failed to address these key issues – not just on our final session day, but throughout this entire session. The people of Wisconsin deserved better than the limited work the Wisconsin State Legislature did this session under Republican leadership. It saddens me that my Democratic colleagues and I did not have the power to advance the legislation that could help us solve Wisconsin’s most pressing problems. However, I am hopeful that next session, Democrats will have the majority, and therefore the ability to do the work Wisconsinites elected us to do.”
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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