Volume 7
Your Cup of Joe
Hello and welcome back to my bi-weekly newsletter! It has been a busy two weeks, and I have a lot to update you on.
Thank you again to everyone who came out to our recent set of in-district events! One thing that became clear was a need for some more specialized events where we can do a deeper dive on specific topics. Please take my survey and help determine the topic of our next town hall. Help me continue to serve you.
The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) met on June 5th and took its first actions on the budget. The committee unanimously approved an increase in bonding authority by $732.3 million to provide more revolving loans for safe drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects. This is a huge step in the right direction for helping improve our state’s water quality. I hope we can continue to see solutions to big issues like this solved in a bipartisan manner as the committee continues to deliberate on the state budget. I was saddened to see JFC reduce the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC) base funding by $2,270,000 in 2025-26 and $1,570,000 in 2026-27. This passed 12-4 along party lines, and I agree with my Democrat colleagues who voted against this reduction, as WEDC is a critical tool in sustaining an economically strong Wisconsin.
Watch the JFC Democrats' Budget News Conference
On Wednesday, Republicans indicated that they are walking away from budget discussions with Governor Evers. This is a crushing blow to the months of bipartisan work that has happened towards passing a budget that supports all Wisconsinites. Governor Evers said it best, “The concept of compromise is simple—everyone gets something they want, and no one gets everything they want.” I hope Republicans will come back to the table ready to exchange the tax plans the governor has indicated he would sign on to for meaningful investments in K-12 education and the Childcare Counts program. We cannot pass a budget that supports the whole of Wisconsin unless both sides of the aisle can come to a compromise.
Read Governor Evers' Statement
That’s all for now! Please reach out to my office if we can ever help you in any way. I will be in touch again soon
Yours in Service,
Joe Sheehan
State Representative
26th Assembly District