Protesters come to Wis. Capitol for budget debate
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Protesters listen to Ellen Carlson of Madison speak during a rally at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2011.
MADISON — Wisconsin lawmakers will be able to solely focus on a $66 billion plan to fund state government since the state's highest court upheld a contentious law Tuesday that takes away most public workers' collective bargaining rights, Republican leaders said.
The budget bill, which slashes $800 million from public schools and half a billion dollars from Medicaid, was scheduled for debate Tuesday evening in the state Assembly. Democrats have vowed to try to change the GOP-backed proposal, which they say slams Wisconsin education, the poor and middle class.
Republicans had planned to add the collective bargaining provisions to the bill, but they said it was no longer necessary because of the Supreme Court's 5 p.m. ruling. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said the ruling allows the Assembly to strictly focus on the two-year budget, which the Senate planned to take up Thursday.
"This budget is an assault, an attack on all the values we share in Wisconsin," said Assistant Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Deb Seidel of Wausau. "This is not an honest budget. We are going to hold our Republican colleagues' feet to the fire."
The bill, pushed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, would cut spending on public schools by $800 million and reduce their ability to make up the difference through property tax increases. It also would cut $500 million from the state's Medicaid programs and cap enrollment for Family Care, a program designed to keep poor, elderly residents out of nursing homes.
The bill also would slash University of Wisconsin System funding by $250 million.
Several changes to the budget were expected, including allowing UW to receive about $40 million to pay for broadband Internet service in schools and libraries across the state. Other expected changes relate to the expansion of voucher schools to Green Bay and a new requirement that local governments use private contractors for certain public works projects.
Republicans have defended the budget as a responsible plan that does away with a $3 billion shortfall without raising taxes and holding property taxes essentially flat over the next two years.
Republicans control the Assembly 59-38-1 with one vacancy. They also control the Senate 19-14.
Protesters organized rallies at the Capitol all day Tuesday to demonstrate primarily against the budget but also the collective bargaining provision, which was expected to be debated again.
The first time the union legislation was considered, in February and March, tens of thousands of protesters converged on the Capitol. Far fewer protesters — several hundred — marched around outside and gathered in the rotunda throughout the day Tuesday.
No crowd estimates would be released by Capitol Police, said spokesman David Carlson. He said there had been no arrests as of midday Tuesday. A late-afternoon rally outside the Capitol was organized by a variety of groups, including the AFL-CIO and the state's largest teachers' union.
Several protesters said they wanted to speak out against the collective bargaining plan and the overall budget. They were also voicing support for recall elections targeting six Republican state senators who voted for the union bill. Three Democrats are also facing recall elections.
"I just want to make it very clear that people are not behind this budget," said Tanya Lohr, a 38-year-old high school teacher from West Bend.
Pat Onsager, a special-education teacher from Madison, said he wasn't sure whether his protesting would make a difference but he came out anyway because he couldn't be passive as an injustice developed in his state.
"It's power to the people," said Onsager, 44. "If I'm not here, how am I supposed to raise my kids and teach them to do the right thing?"
While the court's ruling negated the need for the Assembly to vote on the entire collective bargaining proposal again, it was still looking at a new exemption for transit workers.
The collective bargaining law requires all public employees to pay more for their health care and pension benefits, which on average amounts to an 8 percent pay cut. It also takes away all collective bargaining rights except for negotiating pay raises no greater than inflation, though police, firefighters and the state patrol retained their bargaining rights.
Under a change expected to be considered Tuesday, local transit workers — primarily bus drivers — would be exempt so the state wouldn't risk losing about $46 million in federal aid that's dependent on those employees retaining their bargaining rights.
In a surprise announcement just before lawmakers were to begin debate, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin announced she would leave her post this summer to become president of Amherst College in Massachusetts. Martin had closely aligned herself with Walker on a plan to break the Madison campus off from the rest of the UW system.
The proposal sharply divided both the Madison campus and the university system, with the other campuses and UW President Kevin Reilly coming out against it. Lawmakers never got behind it, and it was removed from the budget before it was advanced for debate.
Associated Press Writer Dinesh Ramde contributed to this report.
Jun 16, 2011 at 1 p.m.
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'If the Goverment is so sure of the bill why not let the people vote on it?'
there is no option for a statewide referendum in wisconsin. if it were possible, marijuana at least as far as medical use goes, would have been voted and passed long long ago. unfortunately we have to filter everything thru those who ALWAYS have an ulterior motive for their vote
Jun 16, 2011 at 12:26 p.m.
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username, you are wrong. Broke means you have no money. We're not broke. We have $66 BILLION dollars to work with. The subject is who gets how much of that pie and who doesn't.
Jun 16, 2011 at 6:12 a.m.
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Maynard: Well said!
Jun 15, 2011 at 8:58 p.m.
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BillyClydePuckett
Jun 15, 2011 at 12:21 p.m.-What a shame that they picked this bill to introducte the concept of a Representative Republic. That would be British. We are a Republic that uses Representative Democracy.
From the website wisegeek.com:
Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which the people allow others to represent them in the various forms of democratic process and are not necessarily directly involved in any of the processes of legislation or lawmaking. This form of democracy is found at the federal level of the United States (US) and has become especially popular in any region where the number of citizens is so great that direct representation would have the potential of becoming overly complicated or bogged down by so many different voices. While representative democracy is not necessarily a lesser form of democracy, there are some people who feel that the representatives can get in the way and may not properly serve the people they are meant to represent.
In the US, the agents of representative democracy are the members of Congress who serve in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. A direct democracy would have the general citizens themselves draft bills, debate them, and vote to pass them into law. Representative democracy instead allows the citizens to elect people who handle those responsibilities and tasks for them. While this may seem as though it creates unnecessary separation between the people and the laws being made, the intention is that the representatives receive the education and training necessary to better understand the complicated needs of the country.
Jun 15, 2011 at 8:19 p.m.
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Public unions have, IMHO and based on union classes I attended, come about mainly as a source of union members to replace the lost private sector members. I speak with some knowledge of this from my experience as a member of the T.O.P (technical, office, professional) segment of the U.A.W. Americans voted with their pocket books over the last 40 years to send good paying union manufacturing jobs overseas (electronics, textiles, steel, autos ... and the list goes on). Jealousy of highly paid union members seems to have blinded people to the fact that when those jobs are gone (new wage at GM & Chrysler = $14.50 per hour with no pension, retirement health care insurance, etc.), the new "fat chickens" to be plucked next would be the middle class professional workers. The public sector is one of the few places left for the union to try to organize higher paying jobs since we have chosen to let China, Mexico, and Korea do our manufacturing for us. I say we because we voted with our pocketbooks by not buying American and by insisting on gains as shareholders in our IRA's or 401K. You can not even buy a TV made in the United States or a coffeemaker. Internet now also allows highly educated people in India to do higher paying service jobs (accounting as an example)and hit the send button to transfer the info to the American company.
Jun 15, 2011 at 1:14 p.m.
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I agree, I just wanted to hear Sarah's reasoning because she is obviously a union expert.
Jun 15, 2011 at 12:21 p.m.
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"If the Goverment is so sure of the bill why not let the people vote on it?"
Great idea! By the way, how did you vote on health care reform at either the state or federal level? How about the decision to bomb Libya? Did you vote for or against that one? Statewide smoking ban? Was that a yes or no vote on your part? What a shame that they picked this bill to introducte the concept of a Representative Republic.
Jun 15, 2011 at 12:09 p.m.
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Sarah,
I know exactly why private unions were formed and I thank them for many of the protections that we have in place today.
****
Why were the public unions formed?
Jun 15, 2011 at 11:46 a.m.
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Do the protesters really think they are doing any good? The collective bargaining law was overruled in the supreme court despite the fact of them being there. I wish they would all take up their tents and go home. All the businesses located along the Capitol square are losing money with them being there. I know I will not go the Saturday Farmer's Market on the square until all the protesters are packed up and gone. They are ruining the Capitol.
Jun 15, 2011 at 10:56 a.m.
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And with the unions a little weaker today it feels a little more like America and a little less like "Russa" today!
Jun 15, 2011 at 9:56 a.m.
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If the Goverment is so sure of the bill why not let the people vote on it? Why treat the people like 5 year old chrildren and the goverment as big DADDY. And the chrildren with no rights to make up there own minds.If i am not mistaken i did not wake up in Russa this mornning but in America. There is a constution to protect us from privet Empires from being formed!!!
Jun 15, 2011 at 9:52 a.m.
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"What jobs has Walker created? Please enlighten me."
Based on this post enlightening you may be difficult. If you are under the impression that Walker or any other elected official "creates" jobs (other than ones that are paid for directly by the taxpayers) then you need to start your training with an econ 101 class. Private sector jobs will be created in places where those who put themselves and their companies on the line believe they will have the most chance of bringing about positive results to the bottom line. Recent surveys of those that do actually create jobs indicate that Wisconsin is improving rapidly as a place to do business in. Perhaps some view this as bad news as they view private sector business as evil and wish it would simply go away. Doyle tried to make that dream a reality and now we have the protesters in Madison doing the same. The simple fact is that for profit (and I don't view that as a negative term) companies do not need Wisconsin, the unemployed and under employed in Wisconsin need them. The Public Sector unions need them as well as someone need to foot the bill for their cost (this is not a bad thing as these are needed positions in many cases but when fewer people are working in the private sector there are simply fewer people being asked to pay the same fixed costs). As long a people believe it is the job of the govenor or any other elected official to somehow creat jobs in the private sector Wisconsin will continue to struggle to attract top notch companies.
Jun 15, 2011 at 9:44 a.m.
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Are we again rehashing the issue of the Democrats going to Illinois? That has been debated a trillion times now.
Thank you to all the brave Democrats who stand up for the REST OF THE CITIZENS IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN.
Excuse me, did I hear a party was held? That's a disgrace. I wonder how much it cost the taxpayers for this unneeded party.
Jun 15, 2011 at 9:41 a.m.
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Once again, the right wingers on this site who shoot off their loud mouths about loving the U.S. Constitution and loving America are totally opposed to the application of the 1st Amendment to that document. It sure must make life easier to be so ignorant. I prefer to use that word instead of "stupid." But I may be making the wrong choice!
Jun 15, 2011 at 8:09 a.m.
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At least they'll be back at work today after working yesterday...that's more than you can say about those who ran away to Illinois for how many days?
Jun 15, 2011 at 12:19 a.m.
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Some of you keep bashing others about having a decent living wage. I bet you are the same ones that would allow our representatives to take away from you and others to give more in tax-cuts to big corporations to "supposedly" bring jobs in (low paying). Why don't you read this post and look at the real numbers of how our middle class is going away..and the corporations are making record profits at our expense. Yep, we are repeating the Fall of the Roman Empire!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout...
Jun 14, 2011 at 11:19 p.m.
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....
both sides feel the need to instantly go to insulting each other.
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I reserve 0 respect for this reaction from either side. Sad day.
Jun 14, 2011 at 9:57 p.m.
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Does this mean Jesse Jackson and Michael Moore are coming back to Madison?
Jun 14, 2011 at 9:18 p.m.
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What jobs has Walker created? Please enlighten me.
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