Contact:
Brandon Weathersby
608-260-2409
[email protected]
MADISON — A new audit from the Legislative Audit Bureau shows Gov. Scott Walker’s Economic Disaster Corporation (WEDC) is still fraught with chaos and disorder even as Republican Joint Finance Committee members shockingly recently voted to reinstate the WEDC’s lending authority.
Gov. Scott Walker’s flagship job creation agency is better known for a string of scandals since it’s inception than creating good-paying jobs for Wisconsinites. Instead of creating jobs and helping new businesses thrive, WEDC has lost funds and failed to follow basic practices to track and recoup taxpayer funds.
According to the audit released today, WEDC still cannot accurately measure how many jobs it has created. This is the first WEDC audit since the agency regained its lending authority weeks ago, while Wisconsinites would have hoped that the agency had gotten its act together, today’s audit paints a very different picture. It isn’t the first time Gov. Walker’s flagship job creation agency has shown an inability to do its duties on behalf of the taxpayers. Past audits have shown WEDC’s internal chaos and disarray, which begs the question why would Republicans give the agency lending authority when WEDC has a history of not doing its job and hadn’t shown any signs of progress.
“A job creation agency is a fantastic idea, but after three consecutive disturbing audits over 6 years, clearly the Republicans have shown they need help getting the job done. Governor Walkers flagship job agency isn’t even tracking whether their loans are creating jobs, enough is enough,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning said on Wednesday. “Today’s audit shows that Republicans haven’t been responsible with taxpayers money and reinstating WEDC’s lending authority without fixing the problem is just plain stupid. It’s time for Republicans to partner with Democrats on a real plan to clean up the WEDC mess they created and start putting Wisconsinites first by using tax dollars to spur innovation through our universities, encourage entrepreneurial activity, and thereby create good-paying jobs for hard-working Wisconsinites.”
