Senator Johnson Doubles Down on Hypocritical Opposition to COVID Relief for Wisconsin Families

MADISON, Wis.— Today Opportunity Wisconsin released the following statement after U.S. Senator Ron Johnson doubled down on his opposition to the COVID relief package, which passed the House early Saturday morning and is currently being considered by the Senate. In his comments, Senator Johnson bemoaned the amount of relief being provided to Wisconsin families and workers, saying, “This isn’t money we have.”

Meghan Roh, Program Director:
“It’s rich to hear Senator Johnson complain about cost when he had absolutely no issue voting for a massive tax giveaway just a few years ago. And speaking of rich, Senator Johnson’s wealthy corporate donors were some of the only people who benefitted from those tax breaks, while working Wisconsinites saw next-to-nothing. Now, when it comes to providing meaningful financial relief for Badger State residents devastated by COVID-19, Senator Johnson can’t seem to justify the expense. As the Senate considers critical relief legislation this week, we urge Senator Johnson to listen to Wisconsinites and support $1,400 direct checks, other urgent measures to help us get through this pandemic.”  

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 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.” Recently, Senator Johnson argued against additional COVID relief, claiming Wisconsinites have “excess savings.”

Last month, Opportunity Wisconsin launched a $1 million statewide TV ad campaign, featuring Wisconsin residents calling on Senator Johnson to support COVID relief checks. The campaign also included a full-page ad in Senator Johnson’s hometown newspaper, highlighting his hypocrisy.

The ad read, in part:
“Senator Johnson gave a boatload of tax breaks to his wealthy corporate donors. But he’s blocking badly needed COVID relief checks for the rest of us.”    

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.