Progressive Thinking

Sen. Smith writes about how Wisconsinites can celebrate Dairy Month in June. Dairy breakfasts are just one way to show your appreciation for our farmers and members of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry.

MADISON - There has always been an attachment to agriculture for Wisconsinites. From the earliest days, the hilly landscape and fertile soils of the Driftless region provided perfect conditions for producing food. It helps, too, that Wisconsin has so much fresh water nearby.

Thanks to this ideal landscape and generations of hard work, Wisconsin built a reputation over time as a top agricultural producer and a state that will never deny a love for food.

While our state is a national leader in cranberry and potato production, dairy is still king in Wisconsin. Despite the loss of many farms in our state, we’ve still held on to the title of America’s Dairyland – and for good reason. We have 1.28 million cows and almost 7,000 dairy farms in Wisconsin, which is more than any other state. Dairy alone accounts for $45.6 billion to our economy in Wisconsin. If these numbers didn’t convince you, the fact that Packer fans wear a foam cheese hat to games is evidence enough that we take our title of America’s Dairyland very seriously.

Wisconsinites will never shy away from the chance to eat a squeaky cheese curd, order a scoop of fresh ice cream or go head-to-head in a milk chug challenge. And that’s why we proudly celebrate June as Dairy Month. It all starts with fresh milk from healthy cows, but there are so many hardworking professionals that go to work every day so you can enjoy the best dairy products in the country. From our dedicated farmers and milk haulers to the technicians and cheesemakers of Wisconsin – we celebrate them and their work during Dairy Month!

Year after year, Wisconsin cheesemakers prove their products are incomparable. From Colby to cheddar; from Gouda to asiago; from string cheese to cheese curds, we’re spoiled here with the best tasting cheeses in the world. With over 1,200 licensed cheesemakers producing over 600 types of cheeses, we have almost twice as many cheese choices than any other state. Our cheesemakers produce 26% of the cheese consumed in America, which amounted to 3.39 billion pounds in 2020.

Our cheesemakers export their products around the world with the leading importers of our dairy products being Canada, China and Japan. Okay, maybe the deep-fried cheese curds aren’t the healthiest food, but you can’t beat that very special treat to share with friends.

Don’t just take it from me; athletes can also vouch for Wisconsin dairy. Fun fact: chocolate milk is a proven best source for sport recovery. In fact, studies conducted in high school sports camps found that athletes drinking chocolate milk saw greater improvement in their performance over those who drank a sugary sports drink. It appears chocolate milk is not just for fun and flavor.

For almost 50 years, Wisconsin has celebrated June Dairy Month with dairy breakfasts in nearly every county. Each year a different farm will host a dairy breakfast in their county, making it even more fun and interesting. Anyone can attend and they do by the thousands. You’ll find hundreds of people in line for delicious pancakes, waffles, milk, cheese curds and ice cream served by the host family and volunteers from the area.

Dairy breakfasts are more than just about the food, though. It’s about learning where our milk comes from. As visitors tromp around the grounds, they’re able to take hay rides, examine the latest equipment and even watch demonstrations. Of course, the animals are often the main attraction for young kids.

Dairy breakfasts have proven to be extremely successful over the years. Host families put in a lot of work to make it a memorable experience for every visitor. Show your appreciation for our farmers and members of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry by visiting a dairy breakfast this June. Find your nearest dairy breakfast at WisconsinDairy.org and bring the family out this month to enjoy some live music, farm activities and the best breakfast you could ask for.

Statistics in this column come from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Sen. Smith writes about recent legislative efforts to prematurely end unemployment insurance benefits for unemployed Wisconsinites.

MADISON - When a friend or neighbor is struggling, what’s your first instinct? Most of us would likely ask if there’s any way to help. The alternative would be to ignore them or suggest they try harder and buck up. Some would say that others’ troubles are their own tough luck or made from their own bad choices.

It may be true that a small number of people bring their troubles on themselves, but sometimes it just comes down to bad luck. For that reason, insurance is available to assist individuals in difficult times like these. People pay into a fund in case misfortune arises. We pay, hoping we’ll never need to make a claim, but it’s reassuring to know this support is available just in case. We accept this is the way insurance works.

Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance fund works the same way. Unemployment insurance (UI) is not welfare. UI is an insurance policy similar to what we have to protect our belongings, home, health and even our lives.

At the beginning of the pandemic, many Wisconsinites who never needed unemployment insurance assistance suddenly found themselves laid off and struggling to cover their bills. The UI system was overwhelmed almost overnight with claims.

With nearly unanimous bipartisan support, Congress passed the CARES Act around this time creating additional unemployment insurance benefits to support Wisconsinites. These additional benefits proved to be invaluable for many unemployed workers who couldn’t access regular UI benefits or lost unrecoverable wages.

The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) specifically made $300 payments available for working families to spend in their local communities at grocery stores, restaurants and other local small businesses. That extra $300 kept families from suffering more while the pandemic created chaos in our economy.

Now, in May 2021, as the economy is slowly beginning to roll again, legislative Republicans want to prematurely end the $300 FPUC payments and repeal three other UI federal programs that are still supporting working families in our state.

Republican leaders are using the workforce shortage as an excuse to deny unemployed workers the UI benefits they’ve earned. UI benefits are not to blame for the labor shortage. Just look at the recent unemployment numbers that have returned to pre-pandemic levels: in the last two months, the rate was below 4% (3.8% in March and 3.9% in April). A year ago in April of 2020, the rate had hit a high of 13.6%. Additionally, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate of 3.8% in February was far below the national average of 6.2%. Wisconsin workers are back to work despite the Republican rhetoric!

It’s important to point out many of the challenges related to workforce retention existed long before the pandemic, and again can’t be attributed to UI. Before the pandemic, parents struggled to find reliable, affordable childcare near their workplaces; this problem has only worsened now that 25% of all daycare centers in our state have permanently closed. Wisconsin still has a caregiver crisis with many employees in that field transferring to different industries that deliver better wages. The lack of broadband access and affordable housing can limit someone’s ability to move or change vocations. And some workers may have made the decision to go back to school and re-train for the next work challenge with the loss of their previous job.

Keep in mind that the politicians who gave themselves a 300 day vacation in 2020 – without losing any pay – are the same politicians who are taking away workers’ UI compensation.

UI payments are the low-hanging fruit Republicans are grasping for to justify their inaction on long-term workforce development solutions. We need to think smarter about ways we can strategically improve issues, like childcare access or broadband expansion, in our communities. It will take time and effort, but Wisconsin’s future is worth it.

Sen. Jeff Smith and Rep. Deb Andraca write about the Fair Maps Bill they are introducing on May 17th to create a nonpartisan redistricting reform process in Wisconsin.

MADISON - There seems to be only one thing people of both political parties can agree on -- our legislative process is broken. Compromise is rare, most elections have pre-ordained winners, and incumbents feel free to ignore constituents who disagree with them. Fortunately, we have an opportunity to fix the problem once and for all.  We can restore Wisconsin’s reputation as a state that works by and for the people, and we have introduced legislation that can do just that.

We are two elected officials who unequivocally believe that politicians should not draw political maps, which is why we are introducing the Fair Maps Bill. This legislation would establish an independent, non-partisan commission to create legislative districts based on commonsense principles including compactness, following municipal boundaries, and keeping communities together whenever possible.

To understand why these reforms are needed, just look at what happened last time the maps were created. Ten years ago legislative districts were drawn in secret, by private attorneys working for Republican politicians, with zero input from the public and one partisan objective: to take decision-making away from the voters and give it to a political party. With the help of secrecy oaths and computer algorithms unavailable to past mapmakers, Republicans drew crazy political boundaries that locked in their party’s advantage for a decade.

And it worked! Wisconsin is known as a “purple” state because every statewide election is decided by extremely thin margins, yet in the Wisconsin legislature one party has an overwhelming majority in both the Senate and the Assembly.  This majority is far beyond anything that can be explained by political geography.

Unfortunately, gerrymandering has been a bipartisan issue nationally. For instance, Maryland has a Democratic gerrymander that is just as skewed as Wisconsin’s because, let’s be honest, who wouldn’t be tempted to lock in job security for a decade?

But one politician’s gain is a collective loss to our state and our democracy. When Democrats and Republicans run in “safe” seats we get candidates loyal to the party, not the people in their district. Moderate Republican or Democratic candidates cannot win in highly partisan districts. This leaves a gap where bipartisanship is usually able to grow and thrive. Gerrymandered maps produce candidates who are comfortable, serving year after year with no incentive to innovate or do better. Competition is good for business, and competition is good for candidates too.

For those who say we can never remove partisanship from the process, we need look no further than our own Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB). Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to pioneer a state-level, non-partisan, professional legislative support staff. LRB works with both Republicans and Democrats to ensure our laws are crafted to the best of our abilities without unintended legal consequences. These men and women aren’t political appointees and are trained to help each member based solely on the substance of the issue at hand.

The Fair Maps Bill would utilize the expertise of the existing LRB staff, with input from a citizen-led Redistricting Advisory Commission, to create maps that are fair, compact, and as free from political favoritism as possible.

We need the Fair Maps Bill to prevent Wisconsin maps from ever being gerrymandered again, by any political party, for partisan gain. We don’t want our kids facing this crisis ten years from now. We want to join Iowa, Michigan, and the eleven other states that have a nonpartisan redistricting commission instead of waging expensive, taxpayer-funded legal battles.

We want politicians, like us, to stay out of the map making process. But most of all we want to fix this problem once and for all to restore Wisconsin’s tradition of open government. Contact your elected representatives at 1-800-362-9472 and tell them to support the Fair Maps Bill because if there is one more thing we should all agree on, it is that the will of the people -- not political parties -- should be the law of the land.

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Senator Jeff Smith (D – Brunswick) represents the 31^st Senate District including Buffalo and Pepin counties and portions of Trempealeau, Pierce, Dunn, Eau Claire and Jackson counties and very small portions of Chippewa and St. Croix counties.

Representative Deb Andraca (D – Whitefish Bay) represents the 23^rd Assembly District including communities of Bayside, Fox Point, Grafton, Mequon, Thiensville and Whitefish Bay.

Sen. Smith writes about the prevalence of mental illness in the U.S. so we can better support those who may be struggling and help them understand it’s okay to not be okay.

MADISON - You are not alone – you may hear this often, but especially during May and Mental Health Awareness Month. Historically, there have been stigmas attached to mental illness, preventing people from talking about it or even considering what it really is. As a society we can make tremendous differences if only we accept that the brain is like any other organ in our body. We need to take care of our mental health just as much as our physical health.

Over the last year, more Americans struggled with their mental health as a result of the pandemic. People experienced greater isolation and stress, which contributed to increased anxiety and depression. During Mental Health Awareness Month and beyond, it’s important that we have conversations about our mental health needs and fully understand it’s okay to not be okay. Many Americans struggle with mental health, but there are people and resources available to help and provide support.

Mental health is prevalent within the United States and disproportionately impacts certain populations. NAMI reports that one in five adults each year will experience some form of mental illness each year while less than half will seek treatment.

It’s worth noting that 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% by age 24. This statistic certainly illuminates the need to treat symptoms as early as possible. Sadly, the average length of time between the onset of mental illness symptoms and treatment is 11 years. This gives some indication as to how difficult it can be to diagnose mental illness at such a young age and work with affected parties on early intervention strategies.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the 10 to 34 year age group, and the tenth leading cause overall. This is a tragedy families should never have to endure; we can reduce those numbers dramatically with greater mental health awareness and support.

Members of the LGBTQ community experience societal prejudice and discrimination, which contribute to higher rates of mental illness. Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth. Even more shocking is the fact that transgender adults are twelve times more likely to attempt suicide. With those statistics on our conscience, it would be wise for politicians to stop ostracizing the LGBTQ community and develop policies inclusive of all identities.

Additional statistics show just how prevalent mental health illness is in our communities. More than 20% of citizens experiencing homelessness, 37% of incarcerated adults and 70.4% of youth in the juvenile justice system suffer from a diagnosed mental illness. Forty-one percent of Veterans Health Administration patients suffer from a mental health disorder or drug addiction.

There is often a connection between a drug abuse disorder and mental illness, with stigmas attached to both. For too long, our society has blamed the victims of drug addiction and mental illness for their disease. With this mindset, there was rarely any compassion or services for people who needed help.

Mental health diagnosis and treatment continue to be inaccessible for many Americans. Today 55% of U.S. counties still don’t have a single practicing psychiatrist. Even if mental health treatment is nearby, affordability of care is a major concern. Fortunately, laws have been in place and amended over time to ensure that patients with mental illness are not discriminated against. But, there’s still more we can do to improve accessibility and affordability and remove barriers for Americans seeking support.

Much has been learned about mental health illness and treatment needs, but we still have a lot to learn. We risk paying a high cost if we don’t accept that mental health illness exists. Though May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the weight of a mental illness impacts those who suffer all year long. Be understanding and compassionate as you would with anyone who suffers any other illness. And for those who suffer: you are not alone.

Sen. Smith writes about the importance of getting vaccinated to protect our neighbors and families. Like other past health crises, COVID-19 vaccines will get us closer to reaching herd immunity and putting the pandemic behind us.

MADISON - At every stage of the pandemic, we’ve done what’s best to keep our communities safe. We stayed home, socially-distanced and started wearing masks all to protect our neighbors and families. The pandemic isn’t over just yet – we still need to work together to put the pandemic behind us. Everyone will need to pitch in by getting vaccinated so we can reach herd immunity.

From the very beginning of the pandemic we heard the goal was to reach herd immunity. I don’t ever recall knowing anything about herd immunity before, but then again we never faced anything like this in our lifetime. So, what is herd immunity?

An easy way to think of herd immunity is “community immunity.” Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person-to-person less likely. We can reach herd immunity when a proportion of the population that is immune is greater than the population susceptible to contracting the disease. Herd immunity is reached when enough people have developed protective antibodies to the disease. There are two ways this can happen, either through infection or inoculation.

Scientists and healthcare professionals developed and delivered the COVID-19 vaccine at a rapid pace without risking an individual’s health and safety. Like during wartimes, the urgency of the moment brought out the best in our scientists and medical minds. In just a matter of months we had multiple vaccines available and distributed to every state. Wisconsin remains a national leader in getting shots in arms, thanks to the diligent work of Governor Tony Evers’ Administration.

The pace at which scientists developed a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, compared to that of other well-documented vaccines is mind blowing. In the late 1940s polio outbreaks were frequent, disabling more than 35,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It took years of research and trials before the polio vaccine was widely distributed. After the polio vaccines were introduced in 1955 and 1963, cases fell to less than 100 per year in the 1960s and less than 10 in the 1970s. Since 1979, no cases of polio have originated in the United States. But it takes just one traveler with polio to bring it into the U.S. if we aren’t vigilant and our communities aren’t immunized.

There have been more than 31 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. since the beginning of 2020. At the time this column was published, approximately 103 million Americans were fully vaccinated, or 31% of the population. In Wisconsin nearly 2 million people have been fully vaccinated, which accounts for almost 35% of our population.

It’s a good start, but not where we need to be. Like most major achievements, it only gets harder as we get closer to the finish line. But, if we work together we can improve our chances of stopping the spread and eradicating COVID-19.

If you or someone you know is hesitant, please consider the community around you. Professionals are available to answer your questions and share the facts about the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you’re still doing your research, it’s important to know that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC have detailed the vaccines’ safety and efficacy.

Additionally, the COVID-19 vaccines cannot give you the virus. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. This may cause you to have some side effects, but that’s normal.

You should also know that COVID-19 vaccines are FREE. There are many options where you can get vaccinated, including your local health department, pharmacies, community-based vaccination clinics, on-site vaccination clinics and your doctor or healthcare provider.

You can find a vaccine provider by visiting vaccinefinder.org and inserting your zip code. It is free, simple and safe. Getting vaccinated is the right thing to do for yourself, your family and your neighbors to reach community immunity.

TUCSON, AZ - Hello All! Buzz Davis here in sunny Tucson.

I hope each of you and your families have been safe from COVID!

It is good that there is much discussion of war and peace.

Discussions are one thing - actions to create peace are another and very hard to do for the leaders of all nations.

The psychological damages of war live on in the minds of all in war.

Those psychological damages are transferred to future generations by the actions of the parents and those other adults who interact with the children born after the wars.

The image is: Both veterans and civilians who are fighting the wars in their heads for decades can intentionally, or unintentionally, take out frustrations, fears or hatreds on their sons and daughters.

Through this, the kids may be psychologically damaged. And during their lives they may or may not recover.

The impacts of a person's physical damages from wars can be transferred to the children.

The impacts of the person's physical injuries, such as loss of limbs, mobility, internal organs, parts of the brain, etc. can lead to constant physical pain or emotional pain and that person's resultant actions, or inability to take actions, or emotional coldness can damage the children.

Environmental chemicals or nuclear radiation or depleted uranium may damage both the persons living during the wars, the children living after the wars and the environment for decades or longer.

From our collective actions in Vietnam and SE Asia, all of the "damages" of war are being transferred from generation to generation in Asia and in the homes of all the "outsiders" who lived or fought in SE Asia.

To save our democracy and way of life for our children and all children we must: o Educate! o Agitate! o And Activate Ourselves and Others!

Below is a very good essay by a Vietnamese person who is trying to help Americans understand what we and our government have done and must now do.

After reading her essay please consider ACTIVATING YOURSELF!

Step 1: To contact your US House member go to this site: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Step 2: Then type in your ZIP code and hit enter.

Step 3: Then you will see a picture of your House rep. Click on that picture

Step 4. On your Reps site, you will have to type in your ZIP code with the 4 number extension.

If you do not know that, you will have to click on the link to get the extension. Then go back to your Reps site and insert ZIP and extension. Follow the prompts until you get to the blank message you wish to send.

Step 5: Then copy and past the below essay into the message area.

Step 6: You may wish to type in your message at the top something like this:

Dear Representative:

I would like you and Congress to work harder to create peace than you do to create wars. Etc. etc.

Sen. Smith writes about the steps our country has taken to protect workers and create safe workplaces. We observe Workers’ Memorial Day annually on April 28th to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job.

MADISON - It has always fascinated me that American workers accomplished so much even when the technology and machinery that we take for granted now wasn’t yet available back then. Consider the New York skyscrapers, for instance. We’ve seen photos of workers walking on narrow beams hundreds of feet above the ground or the iconic photos of workers eating their lunch sitting on a steel beam overlooking the city. It’s hard to imagine the risks these workers took to construct those enormous structures.

We only see pictures of these moments when things were going right. The unfortunate reality is, it’s likely that you would’ve known someone who died or got seriously injured on this type of job if you lived a century ago. All it might take is a gust of wind or a momentary loss of balance. Indoor workplaces had their own risks with dangerous chemicals in enclosed spaces or crowded, fire-hazard warehouses.

We observe Workers’ Memorial Day annually on April 28^th to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Fifty years ago, on April 28, 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) went into effect. OSHA provides protections for workers guaranteeing safe and healthy workplaces.  On this historic anniversary of OSHA, we reflect on how far we’ve come to protect workers, and we remain committed to supporting future generations of American workers.

There have many workplace tragedies documented in our country’s history. When officials first began documenting workplace incidents, the National Council for Industrial Safety estimated that between 18,000 and 21,000 people lost their lives to workplace injuries in 1912 alone.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 killed 146 workers. In Lawrence, Massachusetts, the Pemberton Mill collapsed in 1860, killing 145 workers. The Monongah mining explosion killed 362 in Virginia in 1907. A molasses tank ruptured in Boston in 1919, releasing a rush of molasses down the street at 35 mph killing twenty-one and injuring another 150 people.

Terrible disasters like these compelled changes in the workplace, making it less likely to occur in the future. Workers and government leaders worked together to establish many of the workplace safety measures we have today. Some businesses aren’t always ready to invest in safety measures until they absolutely have to. Much like citizens rising up against monarchies or dictators for their freedom and self-governance, workers had to organize and demand safe conditions. Unions representing various workplaces negotiated changes that eventually saved lives.

There were instances when employers recognized the need to protect their workers, including the inspiring story of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s. At the time, many expected such an undertaking to have a cost of one death per one million dollars spent. But the chief engineer of the Golden Gate project would not stand for that. He commissioned a rope safety net under the floor of the bridge, which saved 19 lives during construction. He also required workers to wear hard hats, safety lines and respirators, which was considered revolutionary at the time.

We can always improve what we know and do. That’s why Governor Evers’ budget proposal includes provisions to support Wisconsin workers in a number of ways. If passed, the budget makes the unemployment insurance system less burdensome for unemployed workers.

The budget would allow state and local front-line workers to negotiate together. The budget also enhances worker compensation by requiring state and local public works projects to pay workers the hourly wage and benefits paid to the majority of workers in the project's area. The Governor also proposed repealing certain prohibitions that limit worker freedoms. The Republican-led Joint Finance Committee has the ability to keep these proposals in the budget – in the interest of Wisconsin’s current and future workforce, let’s hope they do.

As we pass through each day without fear of terrible workplace disasters, remember those who were not so fortunate. We can support every worker in every workplace to earn a living wage in a safe environment.

Sen. Smith reflects on the budget listening session he hosted last week. The conversation was a reminder of how the budget connects us to one another and will help us build stronger communities.

MADISON - I had an amazing conversation with a number of constituents who attended my budget listening session last week. The attendees, who were strangers to each other, shared personal and heartfelt stories. They made it clear that the decisions made by their legislators truly do affect them and their communities.

We discussed the importance of mental health treatment and appropriate intervention for those experiencing a mental health crisis. Community members shared their support for investing in our public schools and our rural roads. We also hit on ways to strengthen our economy, create jobs and expand broadband access. When community members come together, we open up about our shared values and the ways public policies impact our everyday life.

Governor Tony Evers encourages us to think of the budget as connecting the dots – how one investment can connect and address more than one issue. The budget also shows how we’re all connected and rely on one another. If you succeed, the community succeeds. When the community succeeds, everyone is better off. When the tide rises, all ships are raised. We all do better when we all do better.

It starts with our children and investing in opportunities for them to succeed. Even before the pandemic struck, Wisconsin faced a childcare crisis. Parents need affordable, reliable and convenient childcare. Children need a safe environment that provides developmental support. Most business leaders agree and support initiatives to keep local childcare centers open and staffed by professional providers. Employees are more likely to be productive and stay in their roles knowing their children are in good hands and close by.

When children have early support and a healthy start, they’re better prepared for the educational experience in front of them. But we must invest in our public schools so every student has the same opportunities to succeed.

Governor Evers often says that every dollar invested in our kids is an investment in our state’s future. The Governor backs this up by restoring the state’s two-thirds funding commitment for public schools and proposing significant investments in mental health support, special education funding and sparsity aid for our rural schools. Education prepares the next generation of innovators and workers.

Education investments today prepare children for life’s future challenges and saves our state from an overly expensive correctional system down the road. When we invest in education, we’re investing in safer communities and a reduced incarceration rate. That’s why I’m glad to see the Governor’s budget invest more dollars in the UW System than the Department of Corrections. We need less prisons when we provide more educational opportunities for all Wisconsinites.

The opportunity to learn is easier in today’s world when every household has access to fast, reliable broadband. We must make bold investments in broadband infrastructure now, just like our leaders did with electricity generations before us. The Governor’s broadband plan would invest up to $200 million from the American Rescue Plan Act in addition to the $200 million he proposed in his budget.

When we invest in broadband infrastructure and affordability we open up a world of possibilities. We create more opportunities to learn, improve healthcare access and encourage local economic development. Broadband access will be a catalyst for Wisconsin’s future growth and success.

Healthcare access is critical to the success of any family, community and state. That is why the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was important for so many when enacted eleven years ago. Unfortunately, the Republican Majority has stubbornly allowed political ideology to get in the way of expanding Medicaid – a key component of the ACA. For the overall health and wellbeing of our families and communities, Wisconsin must expand Medicaid. In doing so, we could save $2.1 billion in taxpayer funding and offer healthcare coverage to more Wisconsinites.

It’s so clear how the budget is not only a document where one issue is connected to another – it’s necessary that we tie all these proposals together for our individual success and the social fabric of our communities.

MADISON - This week, we filed an amicus brief in the case against Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu for misappropriating your tax dollars to defend their plan to gerrymander our voting districts once again later this fall.

You can read our posting, with a link to the brief, here:

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Files Amicus Brief in Case Against Vos and LeMahieu

Earlier this week, we submitted three testimonies on some of the anti-voter bills that Republicans in the Legislature have introduced. You can read these here:

Don't Make It Harder to Vote Absentee

Don't Legalize Harassment of Election Officials

Don’t Turn Away Poll Workers

And speaking of these bills, I’d like to thank you if you’ve already contacted your legislators and urged them to oppose them.

>> If you haven’t done so yet, you can still take action to protect the freedom to vote in Wisconsin by opening our action alert email from yesterday. <<

I hope you have a nice weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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P.S. If you like the work we’re doing, please send us a tax-deductible gift by clicking here. Thanks!

Sen. Smith writes about the critical investments for our schools that Governor Evers proposed in his 2021-23 biennial budget.

MADISON - You may have heard politicians and the media use the line that schools should “open” or schools have a plan to “re-open.” This has caused a lot of confusion because schools never stopped providing support and instruction to their students. Teachers never stopped teaching. Yes, to protect students and families, many districts had to adjust their methods of instruction, but the work never stopped.

Like everyone, schools were appropriately cautious when the pandemic began last year, keeping students home to protect our communities. That didn’t stop teachers from finding ways to reach their students. In many of our rural communities, teachers found themselves educating from their car in a parking lot where they could access reliable internet. Students and parents also had to adapt if their home internet wouldn’t connect them to the classroom. Throughout everything, school districts faced extraordinary challenges to provide the educational experience we all expect for our children despite inadequate funding.

Governor Tony Evers’ 2021-23 biennial budget addresses many of the inequities that existed before the pandemic and puts schools in a better position to prepare our kids for the future. The investments we make today will help Wisconsin bounce back stronger than before. After all, as Governor Evers often says, “what’s best for our kids, is what’s best for our state.”

The Governor’s budget includes a K-12 general aid increase of $600 million over the next two years – this is the largest increase in over a decade. This badly needed funding will help modernize classrooms, retain quality teachers and reduce the need for local property tax increases. School districts would also see an additional $709 million in state aid for special education funding. This would raise our current state reimbursement rate for special education from 31% to 50% to better support students who need the most help.

This pandemic has strained all of us mentally and we all know children who’ve faced these challenges. School districts across the state reported spending upwards of $270 million on pupil services staff over the last year with only $6 million, or 2% of that total funding, coming from the state. This should concern us all – mental health services are critical.

Thankfully, Gov. Evers recognizes these needs and recommends directing $46 million toward school mental health services and increasing the reimbursement rate for local districts. This would allow schools to bring in more social workers, counselors, psychologists and nurses to address health needs and improve education outcomes.

In Wisconsin, school districts must provide transportation to all eligible pupils whether they attend a public or private school. Oftentimes, rural transportation costs cut into what school districts can spend in a classroom. It’s great to see Gov. Evers target $4 million over the biennium to fully fund high-cost transportation aid for school districts with relatively high transportation costs. This increased funding is estimated to reimburse 100% of costs and help alleviate the financial strain many of our school districts are experiencing.

Gov. Evers does more to support our rural schools by investing $20 million in sparsity aid. The budget increases sparsity aid to fully fund per pupil payments of $400 for sparse districts with 745 or fewer pupils. In addition, the governor recommends providing $100 per pupil for those districts with 10 or fewer pupils per square mile with more than 746 or more pupils.

These investments are critical for western Wisconsin and all school districts throughout Wisconsin to provide the best educational opportunities for our children. Our teachers, staff and school administrators have gone above and beyond to connect kids to the classroom, despite the unprecedented circumstance. It’s time we show our schools support by passing Governor Evers’ budget.

Sen. Jeff Smith writes about Governor Tony Evers’ efforts to expand broadband access with historic investments and innovative policies in his biennial budget.

MADISON - What year is this? You might quickly answer that it’s 2021 and you’d be right. But Governor Tony Evers also declared this as the Year of Broadband Access in Wisconsin. This declaration is exciting and important in more ways than one.

For starters, Governor Evers’ budget includes a historic $200 million investment to improve Wisconsin’s broadband infrastructure – this is five times the amount invested in the 2013, 2015, and 2017 budgets combined. The Governor is also directing a significant portion of infrastructure funding from the federal American Rescue Plan toward expanding broadband access.

The Year of Broadband Access highlights the opportunity to bring legislators and constituents together around one issue that will make a big difference. I’ve heard from colleagues on both sides of the aisle that this must get done. I’ve heard from my Republican colleagues that they like the ideas I proposed last session. Now, this is something to build on. We may find that we can actually get things done if we work together on this important project.

Governor Evers’ recent budget listening session on bolstering Wisconsin’s infrastructure reminded so many of us why we must focus our efforts on expanding broadband. The Federal Communications Commission reports that there are more than 430,000 people in rural Wisconsin who lack access to high-speed internet; this is about 25% of our rural population. I’d even say it’s much higher than that if they’re relying on what Internet Service Providers (ISP) are reporting. One of the biggest problems is the questionable mapping based on census blocks. If an ISP reports that one house or business in a census block has access, then the entire census block is counted as having access. This is why I’ve been pushing for honest mapping and greater accountability.

We also need the Legislature to remove roadblocks for municipalities to expand broadband. Current law prohibits municipalities from offering internet access without having an ISP providing it. This is problematic because private services need to show a profit and they’re not interested in rural areas with low population density. The Governor borrowed an idea from my Better Broadband legislative package by removing this restriction, so municipalities who aren’t currently served could make the investment to provide broadband to their residents. As I’ve suggested over and over, municipal governments don’t want to get in the business of managing this service, but they could own the fiber that an ISP leases to become that provider.

Wisconsin currently has a broadband expansion grant program, which provides funding for projects in underserved and unserved areas. It’s woefully underfunded though, and provides just enough to expand access at a snail’s pace. In the last budget cycle the Legislature invested $54 million for this program. In his budget, Governor Evers proposes directing nearly $150 million into the grant program.

Internet affordability is a challenge that is often overlooked. For too many families, the cost is just not within their budget after rent, food and other basic necessities. Governor Evers’ budget includes $40 million to create an Internet Assistance Program just for that reason. This program would reduce costs and make internet services affordable for tens of thousands of low-income families throughout Wisconsin. The budget also creates a Broadband Line Extension grant program, which will reduce the cost of expensive line extensions from residences to existing broadband infrastructure.

It’s become more obvious over the last year that internet access isn’t just a luxury – it’s a necessity. Broadband expansion efforts go beyond our kids logging on for class, shopping online and streaming movies. Now we use the internet to access health care, pay bills and do our jobs. High-speed internet is a must if we want the next generation to have the option of living in the splendor of rural Wisconsin.

I’m just as excited at the possibility of legislators coming together to work on this critical issue, which will improve our way of life and strengthen our economy. Imagine where this might lead us. We may discover the political process of working together that citizens have been asking for.

MADISON - Yesterday, we joined with other pro-democracy groups in filing a brief at the Wisconsin Supreme Court to oppose the latest push to curtail the right of Wisconsinites to vote. Here’s what I posted on this:

Our Brief to Defend Voting Rights at the Wisconsin Supreme Court

The person asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to interfere with our voting rights is the same Jere Fabick who prevailed earlier this week on Evers’s mask mandate. And it just so happens that Justice Rebecca Bradley got a big check from Fabick when she was running for a seat on the bench, as we explain here:

Conservative Justice Sides with Major Campaign Contributor Over Pandemic Health Orders

Also this week, my colleague Cely Flores posted a strong piece praising Gov. Evers for proposing to give undocumented students in-state tuition:

Governor’s Budget Offers Undocumented Students A Brighter Future

Cely’s articles, by the way, are now being reprinted by La Communidad and by Madison Vibra, which we’re thrilled about!

Other staff members have been busy tracking the money in the State Superintendent’s race. Here’s what they put together:

Jill Underly Raises $1.3M+ Mostly From State Dem Party

Please remember to vote on April 6. If you are voting absentee, you can go here to track your absentee ballot and find your local options for returning your ballot before Election Day.

And I hope you’ll be able to enjoy the warm weather this weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you like the work we’re doing, please send us a tax-deductible donation by clicking here. Or snail mail it to us at 203 S. Paterson St., Suite 100, Madison, WI 53703, and make your check out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Thanks!

Sen. Smith writes about Gov. Evers’ budget proposal to expand BadgerCare in our state. BadgerCare expansion ensures we’re being smart by covering more people while returning our tax dollars back to Wisconsin.

MADISON - On March 23^rd, we commemorated the eleventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being signed into law. Since its passage, 2.6 million Wisconsinites with preexisting conditions have benefited from enhanced healthcare protections. This certainly is an anniversary to celebrate, but it also reminds us that we still have work to do to get more Wisconsinites covered.

Thanks to the ACA, the federal government has offered to return our own tax dollars back to Wisconsin if we expand BadgerCare, Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. Unfortunately, it’s been eleven years and we still haven’t expanded BadgerCare. If Wisconsin expanded BadgerCare when the ACA first passed, Wisconsin taxpayers would have saved $2.1 billion. These savings could’ve been used to lower prescription drug costs, expand mental health services, improve pregnancy outcomes and more. Wisconsin is still being held back by leaders playing politics with people’s healthcare.

If our own tax dollars can be returned right back to us, I suspect most people would consider it a no-brainer to accept. After all, why should we pay to expand health care access in other states– which is what we’re doing now–before addressing our challenges here at home?

Governor Tony Evers’ 2021-23 budget includes a proposal to expand BadgerCare in Wisconsin. In doing so, we’d be able to expand healthcare coverage to 90,900 more Wisconsinites while also saving our state $634 million. We know Wisconsin could draw in an additional $2 billion from the federal government since President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, according to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. These savings could be reinvested back into new and existing healthcare programs serving residents across the state.

Medicaid ensures that Wisconsin residents have access to preventive and lifesaving healthcare. Current Medicaid programs–including IRIS, Family Care and SeniorCare–are available to help individuals living in poverty, people with disabilities and those who may be ineligible for Medicare. Medicaid provides prescription drug subsidies through SeniorCare. Medicaid helps cover screenings and treatment for breast and cervical cancer for women under the age of sixty-five. BadgerCare expansion would help more Wisconsinites by increasing reimbursements and building greater capacity of existing Medicaid programs.

We have an opportunity right in front of us to cover more Wisconsinites while also saving our state money. This would seem like an easy decision, right? After all, this is about bringing back our federal tax dollars to Wisconsin. The Republican Majority has a different idea. Speaker Robin Vos (R – Rochester) called Medicaid Expansion a “nonstarter” doubling down on Republicans’ opposition.

Many politicians seem to believe healthcare is a privilege – as if the quality of care you receive should depend on how wealthy you are. Whether you believe healthcare is a right or a privilege, our federal tax dollars are still being sent to other states to pay for their programs when it should be coming back here.

Wisconsin is one of only twelve states that have refused to expand Medicaid. Recent reports suggest Wyoming, Alabama and Texas are stepping closer to final passage. We’re paying for these states to expand Medicaid without taking care of residents here in Wisconsin.

We need Medicaid because of our current healthcare system that predicates profit over public health. With a broken healthcare system driven by insurance companies and big pharmaceutical corporations, the most humane thing we can do as a society is ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, high-quality health care. BadgerCare expansion ensures we’re being smart by returning our dollars to lower the cost of Medicaid programs overall.

We can get this done, right here in Wisconsin, by expanding BadgerCare.

MADISON - Automatic voter registration is in this year’s Executive Budget! THANK Governor Tony Evers for prioritizing democracy!

Gov. Tony Evers’s budget proposal, released in February, includes funding for automatic voter registration (AVR). By prioritizing AVR, he acknowledges that Wisconsin has the chance to be a national leader in election security, accuracy, and accessibility. Take action along with member organizations of the Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition by thanking Gov. Evers for supporting democracy >>>

Here is a sample message you can send to Gov. Evers to thank him:

Dear Governor Evers,

Thank you so much for including automatic voter registration and other important pro-voter policies in your budget. We know how important voter access is to Wisconsinites across the state. We appreciate your commitment to voter access and making sure every Wisconsinite has the freedom to vote.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

AVR is the best option for secure and fair election registration that will benefit voters statewide. From rural areas to urban city centers, voter information will be automatically updated and new voters will be automatically registered when people interact with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This funding will help implement new systems that allow the DMV to transmit secure voter information to the Wisconsin Elections Commission daily. As election officials work to improve the security and integrity of our voting systems, it’s time for them to adopt proven policies like automatic voter registration. These updates will make registering to vote easier and more accessible for all voters, particularly those who are frequent movers, live in rural areas, or have disabilities.

Everyone who is eligible should have the freedom to vote.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign commends Gov. Evers for making democracy a priority in 2021. By including automatic voter registration in his budget, Wisconsin is one step closer to building a stronger, safer, and more inclusive democracy.

Contact Governor Evers, and thank him for breaking down barriers to the polls. Let’s make AVR happen!

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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MADISON - With the April 6 elections fast approaching, we’ve tallied some of the money flowing into two big races.

In the race for state superintendent, we found a huge money advantage for Jill Underly from outside groups:

Liberal Groups Outspending DeVos group 13 to 1 in Superintendent Race

In the appellate court race in southeastern Wisconsin, we noticed that a Republican outside group is pouring money in. This shows that big money groups are trying to buy even lower levels of the judiciary:

GOP Electioneering Group Drops $56K+ in Appeals Court Contest

And if you want to look back at any of the legislative races from the fall, our Data Analyst David Julseth has provided campaign finance updates through December 2020. Just click on this link, and whichever race interests you:

Online individual contributor database updated -- Fall 2020 legislative elections

For commentary, we published two pieces this week.

Our Racial Equity and Economic Justice Advocate, Cely Flores, wrote this eye-opening piece on a new bill in Wisconsin that would lift up the wage of restaurant servers. The minimum is a shocking $2.23 an hour here:

Servers Should Not Have to Depend on the Goodwill of Strangers

And I gave talk on Monday night to the Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign on the nasty voter suppression bills that are circulating in Wisconsin, and the national anti-democracy movement that they are part and parcel of. Here’s the text of my talk:

The Battle for Democracy

I hope you like this week’s offerings.

Have a nice weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. Please send us a tax-deductible donation so we can keep doing this urgent work. Just click here. Or you can mail your check in the old-fashioned way to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison WI 53703. Thanks!

In honor of Women’s History Month, Sen. Smith writes about five inspiring women from west-central Wisconsin.

MADISON - March is Women’s History Month, an opportunity to remind ourselves of the contributions of women that history books may often overlook. From my own experiences, the women in my life, including my wife, daughters, friends and relatives are almost always the most reliable, determined, innovative and trustworthy.

Some women stick out in Wisconsin history such as Ada Deer, Vel Phillips, Shirley Abrahamson or even Laura Ingalls Wilder, who was born in Pepin. But I’d like to focus on women from west-central Wisconsin who may not be as familiar, but who have significantly impacted the lives of others.

Betsy Thunder was born near Black River Falls in the 1850s. She was a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe, also called the Winnebago Sky Clan. Known for her skills in medicinal remedies from roots and plants, Betsy treated both Ho-Chunk and white patients. She was credited with saving the life of a child of businessman and politician, Hugh Mills, who in turn built her a small cabin as a sign of appreciation. In the early 1900s, the US government ordered Thunder’s tribe to be moved from Wisconsin to Nebraska. Betsy, however, refused to leave and hid in the hills of Jackson County until her death in 1912.

Mountain Wolf Woman also resided on the land we recognize as Jackson County. She was born in 1884 into the Thunder Clan of the Ho-Chunk tribe. In 1958, she shared her life story as a Native American woman to a University of Wisconsin anthropologist. This autobiography was seen as an important point in Native American history as it was one of the earliest first-hand accounts of the experiences documented of a Native American woman. Her story detailed seventy-five years of Native American life and the role of women in native cultures.

Sarah Harder was born in 1937 in Chicago. She moved to La Crosse and started teaching later at UW-Eau Claire. She revolutionized the maternity leave program for the UW System and founded the women’s studies program at UW-Eau Claire. She is a strong activist for women’s rights and has been involved with many women’s organizations, serving as a founding member of the Wisconsin Women’s Network and President for the American Association of University Women.

Carol Bartz was born in 1948 in Minnesota and moved to Alma, Wisconsin at a young age. She earned a degree in computer science from UW-Madison in 1971. She worked at multiple companies and faced frequent gender discrimination. She persevered and was named CEO of Autodesk, Inc. Despite being diagnosed with breast cancer while at Autodesk, she increased the company’s revenue by hundreds of millions. She then became the CEO of Yahoo!, a Fortune 500 company, restructuring the organization to address discrimination in the workplace.

Ellen Kort was born in Glenwood City and lived in Menomonie. She wrote poetry throughout her whole life and was appointed as the state’s first poet laureate in 2000 by Governor Tommy Thompson. She shared her poetry widely; her words are inscribed in multiple buildings throughout Wisconsin. She received multiple awards for her poetry as well, including the Pablo Neruda Literary Prize for Poetry. She also helped survivors of AIDS, cancer, and domestic abuse heal through her writing workshops.

The women I’ve spotlighted should serve as inspiration for all of us. They came from humble beginnings but were determined to achieve great success, despite facing adversity.

We can all learn and be inspired by the women who accomplished so much and are remembered in our history. Even more so, we can be inspired and motivated by the dedicated women we’re with day-to-day. Too often, women have to work twice as hard as men to earn the recognition they deserve. If more people recognize women’s contributions, I think we can reach a day when this is no longer the case; I look forward to this day.

Thank you to all the women I’ve had the pleasure to work with throughout my life for they have always inspired me and made me a better person.

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Note: Information about the women mentioned in this column is attributed to the Wisconsin Women Making History partnership.

MADISON - This week, we were once again confronted with one of the fundamental problems facing our democracy: racism.

We saw it blurt out of the mouth of Senator Ron Johnson, when he said, on rightwing radio, that he wasn’t concerned on Jan. 6 by the Trump supporters but would have been by Black Lives Matter protesters. I wrote an editorial on this, demanding that Ron Johnson resign, which you can read here:

Ron Johnson, Resign!

And we saw it horrifically spill blood in Atlanta and take the lives of eight people, and notably six Asian Americans. Our Racial Equity and Economic Justice Advocate, Cely Flores, wrote about it here:

We Know a Hate Crime When We See One

We need to call racism out wherever we see it. It is a huge moral wrong, and it prevents democracy from functioning properly. No one has an equal voice when they are discriminated against. No one has an equal voice when they are denied life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness just because of who they are.

Of course, our democracy does not function properly because of big money in politics, too. If you want to find out which outside groups are spending the most in the spring elections, click on this link and then click on the groups that interest you:

Hijacking Campaign 2021 - Independent Expenditures

I hope you’re able to get out and enjoy the warm weather this weekend.

Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you appreciate the work we’re doing here, please send us a tax-deductible gift by clicking here. Thanks!

Sen. Smith writes about the policies developed by the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change included in the budget, such as innovative flood mitigation strategies and proposals to help our farmers.

MADISON - We’re all familiar with Isaac Newton’s well-known law of physics that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Although specific to the science of physics, we can still apply the law’s same concept to many other aspects of our lives. We know our daily actions impact others. One person’s bad behavior has repercussions that can affect many others.

Climate change is a perfect example of Newton’s law playing out. Extreme weather events – caused by climate change – are a result of irresponsible decisions made by wealthy fossil fuel energy corporations. Today, these weather events are causing farmers to lose their livelihoods, displacing families from their homes and posing greater risks to all Wisconsinites’ health and public safety.

Despite the problems caused by some bad actors, I believe there are more citizens motivated to react to the climate change crisis and be a part of a solution to make our communities cleaner and safer. Following the logic of Newton’s law, we know the environmental sustainability efforts we take today will have far-reaching benefits for generations to come.

As a member of the Governor’s Climate Change Task Force, I’m proud to see the initiatives developed by the Task Force and included in Governor Tony Evers’ budget to respond to the climate crisis. We must act immediately and make the bold investments necessary to build more resilient communities. It’s our responsibility to ensure our state is livable for our children and grandchildren.

Governor Tony Evers established the Climate Change Task Force because he understands the importance of taking action on the climate crisis. Like so many other Wisconsinites, he knows that ignoring the problem will only make matters worse.

The Climate Change Task Force released the Task Force Report in December 2020. Task Force members developed the report after months of public hearings with a diverse group of stakeholders. The report includes fifty-five climate action solutions across nine different sectors, including agriculture, transportation, energy and education.

Governor Evers doubled down on his commitment to address the climate crisis by including thirty-five solutions from the Task Force report in his 2021-23 budget. His budget makes critical investments to mitigate the effects of climate change while also strengthening our rural communities.

The Governor includes numerous policies in his budget aimed at preventing more extreme floods, which have become a growing problem here in western Wisconsin. He proposed creating a flood resilience plan, which would help restore historical wetlands in flood zones and regulate development on existing wetlands. Governor Evers’ budget invests more than $30 million to help build more resilient roads and infrastructure to prevent flooding disasters. The budget also includes an innovative first-of-its-kind program to help Wisconsinites purchase flood insurance.

Floods and other natural disasters caused by climate change have made it a lot harder for farmers to run their businesses. The Governor’s budget will help protect farmers from extreme weather events and give farmers tools to be a part of the solution. The budget establishes several grant programs to make it easier for farmers to transition to more environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. The Value-Added Agricultural Grant Program, specifically, provides education and technical assistance to produce value-added agricultural products, such as organic farming and best grazing practices.

The Task Force Report includes policies grounded in climate justice and equity. Climate change disproportionately impacts low-income families and communities of color. Governor Evers’ budget creates the Office of Environmental Justice to help design climate policies that reduce emissions and pollutants that typically target these marginalized groups. The budget also establishes a technical assistance grant program to assist municipalities and tribal nations in developing a plan to be carbon-free by 2050.

Despite the irresponsible mistakes of some bad actors, we have opportunities right here in Governor Evers’ budget to begin responding to the climate crisis. Our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are depending on us to act ambitiously today. The steps we take now will ensure they have a safer and healthier world to live in.

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This is the second column in a two-part series about the climate change impact in Wisconsin.

Expanding BadgerCare, as proposed in the budget, would net a $1 billion dollar incentive payment, and a recent Marquette Law Poll shows that 70% of Wisconsin residents approve.

MADISON - Who doesn’t love a good deal? It’s common for folks in Wisconsin to want to make sure they are getting the best bang for their buck.

So why shouldn’t the Wisconsin legislature do the same? For years, Democrats have been pushing to expand BadgerCare because it ensures greater access to affordable, quality coverage, lower premiums and generates millions to be re-invested in programs that benefit all Wisconsinites. More coverage for less, that’s a great deal.

It’s a deal that just got better under the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Under this plan, if Wisconsin were to expand BadgerCare – as proposed in the Governor’s budget – Wisconsin would receive an additional billion dollar incentive payment.

Yes, you read that correctly. ONE BILLION DOLLARS. That’s in addition to the $634 million dollars of general purpose revenue Wisconsin would save and the 1.3 billion federal dollars we would leverage.

For those of you concerned about those big numbers and what that means for Wisconsin’s bottom line, it’s important to remember that Wisconsin would not save any money by choosing not to participate. Instead our tax dollars would go to other states that DO choose to participate. We are only one of twelve states that don’t.

If we have learned anything from the last year it’s the importance of access to affordable and quality healthcare. And once again, Gov. Evers is prioritizing healthcare for Wisconsinites by introducing a budget that makes critical investments in health services while also expanding BadgerCare.

We’re now a full year into the COVID-19 pandemic and the stakes couldn’t be higher for our state’s ability to bounce back. The only thing standing between our state and over a billion dollars are legislative Republicans dead set on sticking it to the Governor.

During the last budget Republicans foolishly rejected BadgerCare expansion and there is absolutely no reason to make the same mistake again. Especially when there is even more money on the line.

There is no way to refute the fact that BadgerCare expansion is good for our state. States that have expanded their own programs saw positive impacts on their economies including: lower premiums, an increase in providers in rural areas, reductions in medical debt, reductions in infant mortality rates, and better reimbursements rates that helps attract and retain medical professionals.

More importantly it’s what you, the people of Wisconsin, want! The most recent Marquette Law Poll shows that 70% of Wisconsin residents approve of expanding BadgerCare.

It is the fiscally smart thing to do and the best deal for Wisconsin. To reject it would be a costly missed opportunity. Republicans have their second chance, and we should all be putting pressure on them to do what is right.

Jon Erpenbach represents the 27^th Senate District which covers Sauk, Dane, Iowa, Columbia and Green County.

Sen. Smith writes about the impact climate change is having on Wisconsin and, more specifically, our rural communities. This is the first in a two-part series about climate change.

MADISON - Cynicism runs rampant in our society and has very dangerous consequences. There are some indisputable facts that we all live with; for instance, we age every day, the earth revolves around the sun and we have 365 days in a year. We all experience this, so there shouldn’t be a debate.

So, why are there doubts about climate change? We experience more extreme weather events more often than ever before. We see it and we feel it. These changes affect our lives in many ways and raise questions about our future.

Governor Tony Evers recently appointed me to the Climate Change Task Force to replace recently-retired Sen. Mark Miller (D – Monona). The Task Force is made up of farmers, business leaders, conservationists, tribal leaders and a bipartisan group of state legislators. Since 2019, the Task Force learned how climate change is impacting Wisconsin. From personal experience and what I’ve learned so far from the Task Force, it’s clear we’re heading further down a dangerous road if we don’t act quickly and boldly enough on the impending climate crisis.

Many can point to the news of the California wildfires or the freezing temperatures in Texas as examples of climate change. But, there is an accelerating pattern of extreme weather events happening here in Wisconsin that calls on us to realize how serious we should be taking climate change.

Flooding, for example, has become much more frequent and destructive in western Wisconsin in recent years. Higher groundwater levels are a result of our climate’s rising temperatures. Rising temperatures in addition to increased rainfall contribute to these flooding disasters. Scientists expect temperatures to get warmer and rainfall events to increase, which will only make flooding more common and more severe in our rural communities.

Extreme weather events caused by climate change have significant economic and public health implications. In the last twenty years, weather disasters cost Wisconsin $100 billion in damages. According to the Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation, there is an estimated $40 billion worth of Wisconsin homes and businesses within a 100-year floodplain. Floods are known to ruin farmers’ livelihoods, displace families and create significant public safety hazards.

Floods are the deadliest natural disaster in the United States. Floods also pose dangerous long-term health repercussions. Floods carry contaminated groundwater from nearby CAFOs and expose households to mold contamination, which can lead to upper respiratory infections.

We’re seeing climate change in our own backyard, and yet many refuse to believe this reality. I believe those who perpetuate the “climate change is a hoax” myth are motivated by profit, especially the very wealthy fossil fuel energy corporations. They fear losing billions if we move toward making responsible, sustainable energy decisions.

It reminds me of the way the tobacco industry paid their own researchers to lie about the fact that their products were killing people. It took decades for scientists and doctors to finally convince enough people that tobacco companies were lying about purposely adding addictive, carcinogenic ingredients just so they could get rich.

What could be the possible motive of climate research scientists who warn us about climate change? It isn’t profit. Our public universities, like the University of Wisconsin, house the foremost research facilities and experts in the world. Their motivations are purely professional and driven by science in their discipline. Whether they prove or disprove a theory doesn’t change their wealth or status in society. They’re motivated to make our world a better place.

According to NASA there’s consensus among scientists that climate change is the result of human behavior. Humans are responsible for deforestation and burning fossil fuels at an alarming rate, which have increased CO2 levels and made our planet warmer.

Humans have caused much of the problem, but we’re able to find solutions. It starts with admitting our problem and being accountable. Then it’s up to us to do our part. We must set aside the short-term need for profit and embrace the long-term need for survival.