Robin Vos And Republican Politicians Continue To Play Games With Wisconsin’s COVID Response

(MADISON) — Republican politicians in the Legislature continue to play games with Wisconsin’s COVID recovery, with the Assembly today taking up legislation to spend $2 billion in relief funding in ways that may not be permitted under the American Rescue Plan Act. Rather than steer billions in relief to our struggling small businesses and fund Wisconsin’s ongoing pandemic response, the Republican proposal would give a $1.1 billion to property owners, to the benefit of wealthy landlords — like Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

Last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported that GOP plans for federal COVID relief may not be allowed, or could even leave the state liable to repay $1 billion or more in relief funds. This came on top of recent Republican actions that have caused the state to miss out on millions of dollars in federal funding for unemployment assistance and food assistance for Wisconsin families.

“Rather than wasting time on political games that would put federal COVID funding in jeopardy, Republican politicians in the Legislature should have focused on recovering the millions they’ve already cost Wisconsin,” said DPW Spokesperson Joe Oslund. “The legislation taken up today is a brazen power grab that would not only block relief for the Wisconsin families who need it most, but likely violate federal law as well. Robin Vos and his fellow Republicans need to listen to what the Fiscal Bureau is telling them and get to work on practical solutions that will actually move our state forward.”

In contrast to the clownery we witnessed from Assembly Republicans this afternoon, Gov. Evers is demonstrating the same strong leadership that has made Wisconsin’s vaccine rollout one of the nation’s best, with the announcement that Wisconsin has reached an agreement with the US Department of Agriculture to preserve the federal food aid lost as a result of reckless Republican litigation.