Assembly Passage of the Budget Repair Bill

    After what has been a trying time for the State of Wisconsin, the Assembly finally passed Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill. The bill received unprecedented examination with 17 hours of public hearings and the longest debate in Assembly history lasting over 60 hours. Although the highly publicized protests loudly attempted to derail the legislation, democracy was served and the voice of the Wisconsin electorate was heard.

    As Assembly action on the bill has come to a close, the attention once again turns to the Senate and the fourteen missing Democratic Senators. It is now time for the Senators to return to Madison to do their job for the taxpayers of Wisconsin and engage in the democratic process. In the meantime, I urge you to provide your support to Senator Sheila Harsdorf as she prepares to debate and vote on the bill.

A Difficult but Necessary Decision

    The gravity and implications of Governor Walker's Budget Repair Bill were considered by all members of the Assembly prior to arriving at a difficult but necessary decision on Friday. As a former Mayor, no one could be more appreciative and understanding of the value of our public employees than I am. These are the people that perform the services that make the great State of Wisconsin work and that cannot be forgotten. At this time; however, Wisconsin finds itself in the midst of an economic crisis requiring immediate action to save the state from a $137 budget shortfall and a $3.6 billion deficit looming in the next biennium. The payment by public employees of 5.8% of pension contributions and 12.6% of health care premiums is estimated to save our local governments and school districts approximately $700 million annually.

    Along with my fellow freshman representatives, it is clear that we were elected to take on the difficult problems and to create policy to get state spending and taxation under control. The mistakes of the past have resulted in a budget crisis that cannot be passed on to be dealt with another day. An immediate solution is needed. Unfortunately, passage of the Budget Repair Bill is presently being blocked by the absence of the Democratic Senators.

    While I understand the frustration of many who view the contributions concession by the unions as an adequate solution, it would only be a band-aid fix to a much larger problem. The collective bargaining system is broken. The process has created a situation that is impossible for Wisconsin to sustain. No longer can the state fund the entire Wisconsin Retirement System pension for each participating employee and such a high percentage of health care premiums. Local elected officials and administrators cannot continue to be handcuffed in negotiations in efforts to make simple cost effective reforms. To institute benefit reforms without altering the collective bargaining process would not provide the long term solution needed to effectively manage the state budget in the future.

    The increased contribution by our public employees is a painful, but overdue adjustment for the fiscal solvency of the state. I, along with my staff, will be sharing in the increased contributions and understand the impact that this change will have. As difficult as this adjustment may be for some, it is much better than the alternative, which would be tax increases, severe layoffs, and reductions in services.

    A difficult, but necessary decision needed to be made. The decision was to bring public employee benefits more in line with the private sector and to provide the state, local governments, and school districts the ability to effectively manage their budgets to continue to provide the best possible public service.

Rep. Knudson Media Links on the Budget Repair Bill

Rep. Knudson debates the Budget Repair Bill with Sen. Risser and Ed Rendell live at the state capitol on CNBC's Kudlow Report, hosted by Trish Regan:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=3000007412&play=1

Rep. Knudson discusses the Budget Repair Bill on WPR's Joy Cardin show. Monday, 2/21/2011, 7:00am, #110221B in the archives:

http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca&StartRow=1&Repeats=yes

Rep. Knudson's visits the Hudson Star-Observer to explain his position on the Budget Repair Bill:

http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/event/article/id/41805/publisher_ID/9/

A Note to Constituents Contacting My Office

    Thank you to all who have recently contacted my office. Due to the thousands of emails and phone calls, both in support and in opposition to the Budget Repair Bill, it has been nearly impossible to respond to each message individually. Many of you that contacted me are receiving this newsletter, but efforts to provide additional information and to address specific concerns will be made in the coming week.

    Your input continues to be a valuable resource for my office and I urge you to stay in communication with any concerns you may have about the legislative session or if I can be of assistance to you in any way.

    If you wish to stop receiving my eUpdate, simply send an email to Rep.Knudson@legis.wi.gov with the subject "unsubscribe."