Last month, I announced my plan to use our state's $3.8 billion surplus to help address rising costs, reduce barriers to work, and invest in education at every level, and tonight, I'm announcing I'll be calling a Special Session of the Legislature to pass that plan. #WISOTS
I know others want to leave your money in Madison until next summer while inflation is the highest it's been in 40 years.
Well, that won't help Wisconsin families buy groceries or gas, pay for childcare, heat their homes, or put food on the table today. Wisconsinites can’t wait.
Don’t sit here in a white, marble building with state coffers that are full and tell working Wisconsinites we can’t afford to do more. That's baloney. We can pass my plan and still have more than $2 billion left over.
There’s no reason we can’t do this, and the rising costs folks are seeing every day are every reason that we should.
Let’s find common ground, pass this plan, and get this done.
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If legislators want to have real conversations about our kids’ achievement, they can start by fully funding our schools and making sure our kids can bring their full and best selves to the classroom. Our kids shouldn't just be getting by—they should be able to get ahead. #WISOTS
A kid in crisis isn’t going to be able to pay attention at school, finish their homework, or engage with their friends or teachers. That's why I'm announcing our #GetKidsAhead initiative to invest $15 million in additional mental health services to help support our kids.
Every school district can opt in to receive these funds—no matter how big or small. Whether it’s providing direct mental healthcare, hiring and supporting mental health navigators, or providing trauma-based care training, this investment will help with whatever our kids need.
BREAKING: Today, on Indigenous Peoples Day, I'm signing an executive order to formally recognize and apologize for the tragedies inflicted upon Native American families and communities at boarding schools in Wisconsin and across the U.S.
As a state, we share responsibility and have a moral obligation to pursue the truth and to bring these injustices to light in Wisconsin and our country because that understanding and acknowledgment is essential for accountability and healing.
This order supports Department of Interior @SecDebHaaland's Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and investigation into boarding schools that once operated in our state and requests these investigations be undertaken in consultation with Wisconsin's Native Nations.
About four years ago, Wisconsin announced an agreement with Foxconn and one of the largest subsidies for a foreign corporation in American history. In many ways, that deal has fallen short of the promises that were made. And I've been as critical of this agreement as anyone else.
Well, when I ran for governor, I promised I'd work with Foxconn to cut a better deal.
Wisconsin taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions on infrastructure investments, people were forced to leave their homes, and assurances were made to communities across our state.
Yesterday, we delivered on that promise—we fixed that agreement and found a better deal with Foxconn that will save Wisconsin taxpayers $2.77 billion while still bringing good, family-supporting jobs to Wisconsin.
Our state’s unemployment system is outdated and ineffective. Wisconsinites deserve better, but the Legislature has ignored my call for a special session to fix our broken UI system, once again kicking the can down the road. Here's why we desperately need to update our UI system⬇️
Our UI system isn't quite as old as I am, but it has been around since about when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. It’s 2021. We’ve got to update and modernize our system, and that will require a serious overhaul.
Our current unemployment benefits system also doesn't support basic, modern functions—things like email, document uploads, and even scrolling—that we need to ensure it’s easier and faster to process unemployment claims.
The ability to exercise First Amendment rights is a critically important part of our democracy and the pursuit of justice. But there remains a line between peaceful assembly and what we saw last night that put individuals, families, and businesses in danger.
We cannot forget the reason why these protests began, and what we have seen play out over the last two nights and many nights this year is the pain, anguish, and exhaustion of being Black in our state and country.
But as I said yesterday, and as I’ll reiterate today, everyone should be able to exercise their fundamental right—whether a protester or member of the press—peacefully and safely.
Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kathy and I join his family, friends, and neighbors in hoping earnestly that he will not succumb to his injuries.
While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.
We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country—lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith.