MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered the Democratic Radio Address on his call for a Special Session to expand BadgerCare and invest the $1 billion in cost savings realized under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into Wisconsin’s economic recovery, including more than 50 projects and economic development initiatives across the state.
Hello! Governor Tony Evers here.
A few weeks ago, Republicans drew a line in the sand by once again throwing BadgerCare expansion out of my Badger Bounceback agenda, ignoring the support of 70 percent of Wisconsinites and leaving billions of federal dollars on the table.
They’ve done that before, so it may not come as a surprise. But here’s the thing, folks, this time it’s different.
This time, if we don’t expand BadgerCare, then we’re not just missing out on the opportunity to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare, we’re also missing out on an additional $1 billion under the American Rescue Plan.
And that’s critical because we’ll also be getting $700 million less in federal funding through the American Rescue Plan, and we could use these funds now more than ever to ensure our state has the resources to bounce back and our economy can recover.
So, here’s the bottom line, we can’t let politics get in the way of doing what’s right and what’s best for our state.
It’s time to put people first and focus on making fiscally and morally responsible decisions that will improve not only the health of our people but help our state’s bottom line—because we can do both.
That’s why I am calling a Special Session of the Legislature on Tuesday, May 25th to take up BadgerCare expansion and reinvest these federal dollars in projects all across our state from Darlington to Black River Falls, to Stevens Point that will ensure our families, our communities, and our economy can bounce back.
Thank you.
