Assembly Democratic Budget Writers Silent on State Surplus

JFC Refuses to Comment on the State's Surplus

The Assembly Democrats who will help write Wisconsin’s next budget are not saying anything about the state’s $4 billion surplus.

Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer on Thursday named state Representatives Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, and Representative Deb Andraca, D-Whitefish Bay, to the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee.

“Next year, Assembly Democrats will fight for a visionary budget that moves our state forward, and I am confident that Rep. McGuire and Rep. Andraca are ready to advocate for what’s best for our state on the Joint Finance Committee,” Neubauer said in a statement.

McGuire and Andraca were on the same committee during the last session as well.

McGuire said his priorities for the next two years are the same as they were for the last two years.

“As always, my top priority will be ensuring working families in Wisconsin can thrive. That means fighting for affordability in housing and healthcare, quality public education, and a strong economy that grows the middle class and ensures hard-working people can get ahead,” McGuire said in a statement.

But that ignores the top priority for Assembly Republicans: returning Wisconsin’s surplus to the taxpayers.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has been clear for months that he wants to find a way to use the state budget to either cut taxes, or return the surplus to the people who paid it in the first place.

Vos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week that there are no bad tax cuts, and he is open to a number of ideas.

"We're not going to begin spending money until we know how much is in the till," Vos told the paper. "In my mind, all tax cuts are good. There's none that are bad. I think the one that would have the best, most positive impact would be that retiree income tax reduction."

Neubauer and McGuire’s focus mirrors Gov. Tony Evers.

The governor has said he wants to spend more on public schools and the University of Wisconsin. He’s said he fully supports the $855 million request from the UW.

He doubled down on his spending priorities, and his opposition to Vos’s tax cut proposals, during an appearance on UpFront earlier this month.

"If [the] idea is that we're going to send every dollar [of the surplus] back and run a deficit, that's obviously stupid," Evers said.

The governor has held a number of budget listening sessions this month. He’s said he is working on the new state budget, and will have something for lawmakers to consider early next year.