From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— GOP U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman says he believes the U.S. House would pass a bill to extend Obamacare subsidies if a vote came to the House floor.
“My guess is there are enough people who will vote yes on anything that if it is the Democratic plan, I think it’ll pass the House,” Grothman told WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “I shouldn’t say that, but, you know, you only need to add three or four Republicans to all the Democrats, and it’ll pass.
“I’m being a pessimist to say that because we don’t have the money at all,” Grothman added. He said he would vote against an extension.
“We need something a little bit more than that,” Grothman said. “We need something with it if there’s going to be any extension. It’s very expensive. You’ve got to remember the Democrat plan was another $34 billion a year, and already the government is borrowing 26% of our budget, so if they want to put more money in there, let’s have some cuts in some other places in the budget.”
Grothman also weighed in on some Republican pushback targeting House Speaker Mike Johnson, including from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik.
See more from the show.
— Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a GOP bill that would bar the use of public funds to cover health care costs for those in the country illegally, noting undocumented immigrants are already prohibited from enrolling in BadgerCare.
The Dem guv in a veto message Friday said he vetoed AB 308 in its entirety “because I object to Republican lawmakers passing legislation they acknowledge is unnecessary to prevent problems they admit do not exist, all for the sake of trying to push polarizing political rhetoric.”
He noted Republicans acknowledged only citizens are eligible for Medicaid and BadgerCare.
“These basic but important admissions by its own co-authors underscore that Republicans’ decision to pass this bill was more about being inflammatory, stoking fear, and sowing division than it was about accomplishing any significant policy outcome or being prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Evers wrote.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, who led the bill in the Senate, argued the only reason for vetoing the bill is if “you want illegal aliens to have taxpayer-funded health care.”
“This bill didn’t take health care away from anyone,” Wanggaard said in a written statement. “States like California, Illinois and Minnesota provided taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants. They realized it was an expensive mistake and suspended or repealed their programs in short order. I guess Evers has less sense and is more liberal than Tim Walz, JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom and that’s saying something.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, also knocked the veto in a statement to WisPolitics.
“At a time when so many Wisconsin Families are paying for their own health care, it’s unbelievable that Gov. Evers thinks it’s acceptable for taxpayers to foot the bill for illegal immigrants,” Vos said.
It was one of nine bills Evers vetoed, including AB 211, allowing for the establishment of new tobacco bars exempt from the state’s indoor smoking ban.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, which lobbied against the bill, praised Evers’ decision in a press release, writing the bill “would have moved Wisconsin in the wrong direction.”
See more from the WisPolitics Friday Report.
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