We need to approach the state’s budget the way our families approach our own personal budgets – spending within our means and focusing our resources on what matter most.
Governor Doyle did just last week in announcing a budget that creates additional opportunities for our families by keeping schools strong, ensuring health care become more affordable and making job creation job one.
Middle class families, families like yours and mine, are the big winners in the Governor’s budget.
Our children will have additional resources for education and lower class sizes, expanded four-year-old kindergarten, nutrition programs and all while once again controlling the rise of property taxes by fully meeting the state’s commitment to two-thirds funding of our public schools.
The Governor’s budget will give the middle class much-earned tax relief. There are more than a dozen tax cuts contained in the budget, including and end to Social Security tax. All in all, the budget will provide families with four years of tax breaks totaling $1.7 billion.
Health care reform is critical and as the Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, I am particularly supportive of reform that makes health care affordable and makes costs more transparent. We will be working closely to enact reform which make sense and which will deliver for Wisconsin families.
Most importantly, we will meet the challenge and ensure health care is available to people in every corner of Wisconsin.
Getting the budget passed is going to take the work of legislators on both sides of the aisle – Democrats and Republicans – and I am looking forward to a healthy debate about keeping Wisconsin on strong financial ground and keeping our state a great place to live, work and raise a family.
As we continue talking about the budget over the next several months, watch for additional updates from my office and if you have any questions about this or other important issues, feel free to contact me at 266-6670 or by e-mail at Sen.Erpenbach@legis.state.wi.us.
