June 7, 2019

Working for you!

Delivering the Roads We Deserve

In addition to approving the largest increase in revenues dedicated to transportation in a generation, the Republican led Joint Finance Committee adopted a major highway program budget that includes the necessary expansion of I-41 that I have been pushing for. You can read my full statement about I-41 here.

I'm also glad to see that funds were allocated to Highway 15, recognizing how critical the safety of this route is to our community.

I’m proud that we are taking the important first step in addressing the significant safety and economically stifling road conditions in the Fox Valley and I’m calling on Governor Evers to support what should be a bipartisan issue.

Improving Health Care without Expanding Welfare

This week, Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee voted to invest more in health care than the governor proposed, without expanding our reliance on federal welfare by accepting Medicaid expansion funds (and all the strings attached).

Here’s a summary of what is included in the legislature’s health care budget:

• Provides over $1.6 billion to expand access to care and increase affordability.

• Increases funding for personal care workers by $37 million.

• Increases funding for direct caregivers in Family Care by $27 million.

• Increases funding for nursing homes by $30 million.

• Increases Children and Family Aids by $30.5 million.

News About Our Schools

This morning I had the honor of presenting a Legislative Citation to Isaiah Solberg, a 6th grader at Huntley Elementary School in Appleton who was selected by AAA as the School Safety Patroller of the Year for Wisconsin.  This annual award recognizes a student patroller who demonstrates a commitment to safety and peer leadership at school, as well as involvement in the community.  In addition to being a patroller, this impressive young man plays multiple sports, is a Boy Scout, belongs to the ukulele club, and volunteers with the Salvation Army. 

I also recently met with leaders of local school districts, who have been extremely positive about the record amount of funding we’ve authorized for K-12 in the legislature’s version of the budget. Appleton Area School District could see up to $3.3 million in additional funding in 2019-20 and $7.6 million in 2020-21, which includes a significant increase for special education.

Recovering Wisconsin's Veterans

On Wednesday, Rep. Ken Skowronski introduced me to a group he’s working on legislation for that helps research, identify, and recover missing U.S. veterans across the globe. The University of Wisconsin Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project involves students and staff from across UW System in a federally funded effort to “educate students and communities, bring closure to families, and build the next generation of servant leaders who will effect positive change in the world.” While currently focused on recovery assignments that often fall outside of Wisconsin, they hope to expand their work to include a greater number of missing Wisconsin veterans in the future. I’m looking forward to seeing them accomplish this meaningful work.

Upcoming Events

Check out upcoming events near us by visiting the Wisconsin Tourism website or  https://appletondowntown.org/upcoming-events/ and if you run into me while you’re out and about be sure to stop and say hi!

"Like" Representative Murphy's Facebook Page

I use Facebook to update constituents more frequently on my work in Madison and the 56th Assembly District. I look forward to using this as another way to connect with constituents and encourage you to follow it and watch for regular updates.