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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                                        Senator Robert Cowles – (608) 266-0484

Radio Address on Financial Accountability

MADISON - Senator Robert Cowles delivered the following Republican radio address outlining several fiscal policy achievements under the 2023-2025 State Budget:

Hello, I’m State Senator Rob Cowles, and I represent the 2nd Senate District in Northeast Wisconsin.

Sound fiscal policy can seem like a dry subject, but the budgeting decisions we make today will impact your household budget for decades to come.

In the recent State Budget, the Legislature used a large chunk of the state’s one-time surplus on one-time expenses. This is the start of responsible budgeting, as we cannot commit a one-time windfall to ongoing expenses. Two one-time expenses we funded included using cash instead of borrowing for building projects and paying down over $400 million in Tobacco Settlement Debt early.

Paying down debt early and not issuing new debt means we avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments over the next few decades. It also avoids the need to dedicate a portion of each future budget for debt payments, meaning we can better utilize those funds for other needs, such as critical services or tax cuts.

The Legislature also decided that all new school property tax levy credits will be paid in the proper fiscal year. After these payments were delayed decades ago, they’ve left a stain on our balance sheet. As everyone knows, we should be paying our bills on time. This budgeting decision moves us in that direction.

With decisions like these to invest in our financial future, it’s no wonder that a report earlier this year from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum found that, “the state of Wisconsin’s finances are the strongest on record.” The report also found the lowest levels of debt held by the state in 25 years.

While we’re improving, we still have a ways to go, and it can be easy to backslide, which is why responsible budgeting has to be an ongoing focus. But right now, Wisconsin taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that your state government is in a strong fiscal position.

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An online audio version of Senator Cowles' radio address can be streamed below.