Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said while he’s seen “some of the rhetoric from the other side,” he’s still hopeful the Foxconn bill will see bipartisan support once debate ends at 7 p.m.
Still, when Vos, R-Rochester, was asked during a news conference prior to the floor vote why no Dems were present, he responded: “You’d have to ask the Democrats that.”
“We have done everything that we possibly could to reach out, to listen to their ideas,” Vos said, adding that when drafting the substitute amendment, the Assembly Committee on Jobs and the Economy “went above and beyond trying to find ways that we could work together.”
As for the Assembly GOP caucus’ support of the bill, Vos said he’s “only talked to a single” Republican who’s likely to vote against the incentive package.
Vos also defended his caucus’ decision to move ahead with a floor vote on the Foxconn bill in the Assembly today, although the Senate has indicated it’s likely to make changes. He said the Assembly kicked off the process, allowing discussions to be “more open and transparent.”
“It’s fair to say if the Assembly hadn’t made the decision to have a hearing, many things being talked about wouldn’t be part of the public discussion,” he said.
Joint Finance Committee Co-chair Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, told WisPolitics.com this week she was “disappointed” the Senate and Assembly hadn’t worked together to move the Foxconn bill forward, and indicated her caucus was likely to propose changes to the bill, although she voiced support for parts of the Assembly version.
Vos today said if the Senate has more ideas, “of course” his caucus is open to them if the amendments are made for “real reasons” that would “make the deal better for the taxpayers.”
Debate on the Foxconn bill is expected to end around 7 p.m., with a floor vote to follow.
