Republican Opposition to Kimberly-Clark Bill Intensifies
Lack of Leadership from Roth Makes Senate Vote Unlikely
Roger Roth. Photo from the State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2015-16.
APPLETON, WI — After months of public grandstanding and campaign-year promises, Senate President Roger Roth (R-Appleton) appears unable to secure the Republican support needed to pass a series of new tax breaks for Kimberly-Clark. Roth, who previously cancelled a scheduled vote on his own bill, has shown little leadership in convincing his own Republican colleagues to support Kimberly-Clark and provide the same incentives for a Wisconsin company as they offered to Foxconn, who received the largest taxpayer handout to a foreign corporation in American history.
“The workers whose jobs are on the line deserve a Senator that will fight to protect local jobs rather than worry over their own political career,” said Courtney Beyer, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson. “Families are tired of Senator Roth’s excuses. The fact that he couldn’t even get one of his own Republican colleagues to read a twelve page proposal is proof that Senator Roth has completely failed the workers at Kimberly-Clark. This whole debacle begs the question: What has Senator Roth been doing for the last year other than campaigning to save his own job?”
While Roth voted to send billions of state taxpayer dollars to Foxconn, he has been unable to convince his fellow Republican colleagues to support hundreds of workers at Kimberly-Clark, a company with deep roots in the Fox Valley. At least three Republican Senators (Sens. Craig, Kapenga, & Nass) have publicly opposed a tax incentive package for Kimberly-Clark while Roth remains the only Republican who has gone on record in recent months saying he supports the bill.
Despite claims by Sen. Roth that he has been having “productive” conversations with his fellow caucus members, one of Roth’s own colleagues who serves as the Senate Republican Caucus Chair admitted that he hasn’t even bothered to read the twelve page Kimberly-Clark bill.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Kimberly-Clark Plant Closings
- Op Ed: Growing Wealth Gap Hurts Wage Earners - Tamarine Cornelius - Jan 20th, 2019
- This Isn’t an Economic Development Strategy, This is an Extortion. - State Sen. Chris Larson - Dec 14th, 2018
- Kimberly-Clark to Keep Cold Spring Facility Open in Wisconsin - Gov. Scott Walker - Dec 13th, 2018
- Governor-elect Tony Evers Statement on Kimberly-Clark Announcement - Gov. Tony Evers - Dec 13th, 2018
- Kimberly-Clark Subsidy Stalled in Senate - Laurel White - Nov 28th, 2018
- Kimberly-Clark, Unions, Push for Subsidy - Laurel White - Nov 15th, 2018
- AFP-Wisconsin to Legislators: Reject Corporate Welfare - AFP Wisconsin - Nov 14th, 2018
- MacIver Institute Reminds Wisconsin Why Kimberly-Clark Bailout Is a Bad Idea - MacIver Institute - Nov 14th, 2018
- GOP Pushes Tax Giveaway Plan That Pays More for Fewer Jobs - One Wisconsin Now - Nov 14th, 2018
- Republican Opposition to Kimberly-Clark Bill Intensifies - Democratic Party of Wisconsin - Oct 4th, 2018
Read more about Kimberly-Clark Plant Closings here
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