Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) speaks at a WisPolitics event. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) criticized much of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal on Tuesday, saying Republicans wouldn’t get behind the spending increases and taxation proposals. He said Republican lawmakers are starting the process of coming up with their own proposals, including for a broad tax cut plan.
Evers’ 2025-27 state budget proposal dedicates $4 billion to K-12 and higher education, cuts nearly $2 billion in taxes and raises income taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents. Evers said during a Wisconsin Counties Association conference on Tuesday that his proposal was “realistic” and that he hopes the Legislature will agree.
Vos said the plan was unrealistic, however, because it would increase state spending by about 20% and included plans to raise taxes. He also complained Evers presented his plans without speaking with lawmakers first.
Wisconsin has an estimated budget surplus of about $4 billion. Democrats are seeking greater investments in the state’s public services while Republicans want to limit state spending.
Vos told the audience at the WisPolitics event people are thinking about the budget surplus the wrong way.
“People believe we have this huge surplus, which is true on one-time money, but we have very little money for the government to be able to expand or increase funding for programs,” Vos said.
Wants broad tax cuts
Vos said the last state budget was “really disappointing” because Republicans met Evers’ goals by increasing spending on education, but Evers vetoed most of Republicans’ tax cut proposals. In the upcoming session, Republicans will seek to focus on using the budget surplus for cutting taxes.
Evers proposed an array of tax cuts in his budget including eliminating taxes on cash tips, sales taxes on electricity and gas for Wisconsin homes and on over-the-counter medications. Vos compared tax cuts to “chocolate cake,” saying they are all good. However, he said his caucus will likely look at doing broader tax cuts and that he wants cuts that “people can actually feel.”
“My preference is something that is ongoing and meaningful to families,” Vos said.
Vos said that lawmakers will work to pass a tax cut bill package before the end of the budget process.
“Hopefully that’ll get signed, but if not, unfortunately, the budget will probably have to wait until we can find consensus on that tax cut,” Vos told reporters after the event.
Evers also proposed a new tax bracket with a marginal rate of 9.8% for the state’s wealthiest residents — those making above $1 million for single filers and married joint filers. The current top tax bracket has a 7.65% rate and applies to single filers making $315,310 and joint filers making $420,420.
Vos said Republicans would not support increasing taxes.
Continued no on Medicaid expansion (even postpartum)
Evers for his fourth budget in a row proposed that Wisconsin join the 40 other states in the country that have taken the federal Medicaid expansion, which ensures coverage for people making up to 138% of the federal poverty line. One difference in this budget cycle, however, is that the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are seeking to cut Medicaid funding in order to help pay for tax cuts. The new reality, Vos said, appears to validate his ongoing opposition to accepting the federal Medicaid expansion.
“Thank goodness we never expanded Medicaid,” Vos said.
Vos said he would prefer block grants from the federal government, and that it would be better for Wisconsin to get 90% of the money from the federal government without “strings attached” than to get 100% of the money and have to follow federal guidelines for how to spend it.
Vos was also critical of expanding postpartum Medicaid to cover new mothers for the first year after giving birth, casting doubt on a Republican-backed bill that supports Wisconsin joining the 48 other states that have done this. Currently, Wisconsin only covers up to 60 days after birth for eligible mothers.
Evers included the extension in his budget proposal and a Republican-authored bill that would extend coverage has 23 Senate cosponsors and 67 Assembly cosponsors.
Despite the widespread bipartisan support for extending postpartum Medicaid, Vos said he was not the only person in his caucus who opposes expanding coverage. He said it doesn’t make sense to expand Medicaid coverage because those with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty line can still keep coverage after the 60 days and those who could lose coverage could seek coverage through Obamacare.
“I am not the only person in the Legislature who is opposed to it. Many Republicans are opposed to expanding welfare, it’s just they are more than happy to let me stand in front of the arrows,” Vos said.
Calls language changes ‘dystopian’
Vos also critiqued changes to the state budget proposed by Evers that would update language to be gender neutral.
The proposal would change certain words like “father” to “parent” and “husband” to “spouse.” Another section that is about artificial insemination would change “the husband of the mother” to “the spouse of the inseminated person.”
Republicans have locked on the latter phrase to claim that Evers is trying to erase mothers and fathers.
Evers told reporters Monday that the changes were made to ensure with “legal certainty that moms are able to get the care they need,” noting that same sex couples could have been excluded from coverage under the old language. He accused Republicans of lying about the issue.
“I didn’t know that Republicans were against IVF, but apparently they are because that is what it’s about,” Evers said.
Vos said the change was “dystopian” and said the changes don’t fix any issue and Evers was just coming up with an explanation. He later told reporters that the language made the state a “national embarrassment.”
Prison reform
Vos also complained about Evers’ process for coming up with a plan to reform the state’s prisons, saying he should have included lawmakers in developing it.
The proposed plan, which would cost over $500 million, would make wide changes to many of the state’s facilities including transitioning Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth correctional facilities into adult facilities, updating Waupun Correctional Institution, the state’s oldest prison, and eventually closing Green Bay Correctional Institution.
Vos said it’s known that lawmakers have had an interest in the issue and questioned why they weren’t consulted in developing the plan.
“He chose not to do that because he has one way of operating, which is his way or the highway. Those of us that have some interest in corrections reform will get together and come up with our own package and present it to the governor and say, ‘Here it is,’” Vos said.
DPI and Supreme Court elections
Vos also weighed in on Wisconsin’s upcoming spring elections.
State Superintendent Jill Underly, the Democratic-backed candidate, is running for a second term in office against education consultant Brittany Kinser, the Republican-backed candidate.
Vos said that Kinser is “the best candidate” because she supports school choice and appears willing to work with the Legislature. He added that he isn’t sure whether he has ever met with Underly. He also criticized Underly for changes to the evaluation of Wisconsin’s standardized test scores.
He described the recent February primary as “low profile” and said that with a “different electorate” at polls in April, Kinser likely has a chance to win.
The higher profile spring election is for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The technically nonpartisan race pits Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate against Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate.
Vos said he thinks that the race will be about the candidates, but it is “possible” that the race could be a referendum on Trump. He noted that Democrats are seeking to turn out voters who agree with them and billionaire Elon Musk and Trump are trying to bring out Republicans in the race. A group tied to Musk canceled a social media ad this week that featured a photo of the wrong Susan Crawford.
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