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Official Government
Communication
Week of Jan. 15th - Jan. 19th
Dear
Friend,
There is a lot
happening at the State Capitol and it is my hope that this email will
help you stay in touch with your government. As your Senator, I truly
believe in public service. If there is anything my office can do to
assist you, please feel free to contact us.
Here to
serve,
Sen. Lena
Taylor
4th
District
Trump
Approves Walker's Work Requirements for Medicaid
 This
week, Governor Walker got Trump’s approval to continue his assault on the
state’s Medicaid program. The president gave approval to the ten states,
Wisconsin included, which have requested work requirements on eligibility
for Medicaid benefits. This move, along with the legislation Walker
passed at the end of last year that will impose drug testing as a
pre-requisite for Medicaid benefits, will only serve to kick more
low-income people in the state out of state subsidized health insurance.
An early report from the Center for American Progress found that of
Wisconsin’s 303,000 non-elderly adults currently enrolled in Medicaid but
not Social Security in Wisconsin and not working for reasons other than
illness or disability, 66,000, or 22%, could lose their health insurance.
The most affected demographic will likely be low-income students unable
to be on their parents’ plans, adults who serve as primary caregivers to
elderly family members, and childless adults with incomes below the
federal poverty level. Yet, Governor Walker continues to push the false
conservative narrative that welfare recipients are those who lack
ambition and live off the hard work of those who do not receive benefits.
In reality, what this policy will do is put yet another barrier to health
care in front of those living paycheck to paycheck.
Senate
Judiciary Committee Meets on First Bills of the Year
 The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety held an
executive session and public hearing on Jan. 16th to move
forward with some of the first bills of 2018. Three bills that I authored
or co-authored were before the Committee: Senate Bills 403, 446, and 615.
SB 403 would make it the responsibility of the Law Enforcement
Replacement Board to regulate the training standards of jail and juvenile
detention officers. In light of the issues at Lincoln Hills, it is
important that we protect both our young people and prison staff by
ensuring they are equipped to handle potentially dangerous situations
with best-practice training standards that respect both parties. SB 446
would help facilitate the re-integration of people who have been found to
be sexually violent if the court deems a supervised release appropriate
for them. The bill is the first step in bringing the community closer to
a fair process for deciding where these individuals can re-integrate into
society. Finally, SB 615 works to lower barriers to employment for people
recently released from prison by creating a Council on Offender
Employment within the Department of Corrections that can issue a
certificate of qualification for employment to individuals who have
completed appropriate vocational training programs while in prison.
Senator
Taylor Gives Speech on MLK Day
 On
Sunday, Jan. 14th, I gave the opening remarks at the St.
Mark’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Milwaukee in honor of Martin Luther
King Jr. Day. I spoke of the importance of role models and the uplifting
power to be found in finding them in each other. It was a true honor to
have the opportunity to speak on the importance of Dr. King’s message, in
the first African American Church founded in Milwaukee by another amazing
role model of civic engagement and giving back, Ezekiel Gillespie. I
sincerely hope that we all take a moment, not just on holidays that
commemorate exemplary individuals like Dr. King and Ezekiel Gillespie, to
recognize the profound and lasting impact of the individuals who put
service to their communities above all else.
Walker
Calls Special Session to Further Limit Access to Medicaid Services
 On
Thursday, Governor Scott Walker ordered a special session to address
“welfare reform.” The session will include ten bills, some of which place
needless burden on individuals' access to Medicaid services based on
enrollment in FoodShare and use of public
housing. The announcement follows Governor Walker’s repeated actions to
make it harder for vulnerable populations to access key services, which
now include adding work requirements and drug-testing for Medicaid
eligibility. The announcement comes after Walker failed to hold a special
session for Lincoln Hills. For more than six years the Governor has
side-stepped his executive duty to address the problems plaguing Lincoln
Hills by passing it off to legislature. I have previously called for
Walker to hold a special session to address Lincoln Hills twice, and did
even receive a response. Apparently, our own youth and corrections staff
are not worthy of a special session to end the unsafe conditions, but
Foxconn and opioids are. The Governor’s priorities are becoming
increasingly clear.
President
Trump's Haitian Comments
 One
of the principal duties as President of the United States is to represent
our nation in a dignified manner that reflects the best our nation has to
offer. Yet time-and-time again the 45th President has shown he
is incapable of doing so. Last week, during a meeting on immigration
policy regarding DACA, Donald Trump questioned why he should accept
immigrants from “sh**hole countries,” referring
to a number of African countries, El Salvador, and Haiti. Instead of
aiding people from impoverished countries – countries that have
experienced natural disasters and political upheaval – Trump furthered
his crass remark by expressing his wish for the United States to have
more immigrants come from countries like Norway. This sort of juvenile
language is disgusting, insensitive, ignorant, and down-right racist. But
at this point we cannot truly be surprised, as this is the same man whose
presidential campaign was run off of a xenophobic platform – labeling
Mexicans as “murderers and rapists”- and was also reluctant to disavow
the support of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) and
former Grand Wizard, David Duke. In each instance, the 45th
President continues to show that he is inept in performing the very basic
role as Commander-and-Chief.
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