MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on his plan to invest the $3.2 billion in federal funding Wisconsin received from the American Rescue Plan Funds into small businesses, families, and communities.

Audio file of Radio Address. 

Hello, Governor Tony Evers here.

I was excited to announce this week our plan to use $3.2 billion in federal funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan to help our state bounce back from this pandemic.

We know we have work to do to make sure our economy can recover from this pandemic. And that’s why we’re going to invest $2.5 billion into economic recovery and well-being, including $600 million to support our small businesses and $50 million to support our tourism industry.

Finally, we’re also going to invest $500 million into our state’s continued pandemic response and $200 million into building infrastructure, including a significant investment in broadband so families and communities can learn, work, and get connected.

Just like last year with our CARES dollars, we’re going to be working to get these funds out the door as quickly as we can. We know these American Rescue Plan funds will be critical to making sure our state can bounce back and better than we were before this pandemic hit. And time is of the essence to get support to folks who need it.

So, that’s why I vetoed Senate Bill 183 this week, which would have given Republicans in the Legislature approval over how we used these funds, potentially preventing us from getting this money out the door quickly to folks who need it.

At the end of the day, these funds don’t belong to me or any member of the Legislature—it’s your money, folks. We need to put people before politics and we can’t afford to waste time on all the political back-and-forth.

We’re going to keep working quickly to get these resources out the door to families, businesses, and farmers who need it so we can get through this pandemic and bounce back together.

Thank you.

The only place gun violence is a partisan issue is in the Capitol, say Democratic leaders. Common sense reforms have the power to save lives, and we need action now.

MADISON- On Thursday, Senators Melissa Agard (D-Madison), LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), and Attorney General Josh Kaul called on Republican leaders in our state to support universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders proposed in Governor Evers’ 2021-23 Budget. This call to action comes in the wake of several mass shootings across our country over the past two weeks. Senator Agard released the following statement:

“Today, I was proud to join Attorney General Kaul and Senator Johnson in calling on Republican leaders to support the crucial gun safety measures in Governor Evers’ biennial budget, including expanding universal background checks to all gun sales and Extreme Risk Protection Orders.”

“The fact is, the only place that addressing gun violence is a partisan issue is in the Capitol. The people of Wisconsin know that those who skirt our gun laws using loopholes do a disservice to responsible gun owners everywhere,” Senator Agard stated. “It's common sense to prevent domestic abusers and felons from purchasing weapons using the ‘gun show loophole.’ That’s why we need universal background checks for all firearm purchases like Governor Evers is proposing.”

There is a societal and fiscal impact to gun violence. Recent research revealed that the annual cost of gun violence in the United States exceeds $229 billion.

“I cannot, and will never, treat gun violence and mass shootings as inevitable. Inaction is an admission that this is our fate as a state and nation. We need a commitment from Republican leadership in both chambers that they will keep these provisions in the budget. These common sense reforms have the power to save lives. We can no longer ignore the pervasive threat of gun violence in communities across Wisconsin. We must pass these policies to keep people safe. We must be brave enough to take action.”