Bills finally receive votes after years of organizing, procedural pressure from Democrats and public outrage
Madison, WI – Today, Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-19) celebrate securing votes on two critical pieces of legislation:
- Gail’s law (AB 263), expanding early breast cancer screenings
- An extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year (AB 97)
During yesterday’s floor session, Democrats repeatedly put forward amendments to force the majority leadership to grant a vote today. Today, Republicans brought these items to a long-awaited vote.
Rep. Ryan Clancy released the following statement:
“Today, we applaud the advocates and organizations who persisted in getting Gail’s law and a postpartum Medicaid expansion the votes they both deserve. This absolutely would not have happened without the consistent pressure they’ve put on Republican leadership.
It shouldn’t have to be this hard, though. These bills are supported by healthcare workers, patients, and survivors. They would be supported by babies, if babies could weigh in.
It’s been clear all session that many if not most of my Republican colleagues support these proposals too. A majority are already signed on to Gail’s law – but Republican leadership regularly refused to give these bills a chance, with Speaker Robin Vos famously calling a postpartum Medicaid expansion ‘welfare.’
I applaud my colleagues for forcing the issue and changing the status quo of inaction and indifference in Wisconsin’s legislature. I hope we can keep up this momentum, because there’s so much more work to do.“
