Conservatively Speaking

“Child-care scams rake in thousands”

That was the blaring headline the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel used to begin its series of investigative reports on Wisconsin Shares, a state taxpayer supported child care system. The $340-million program, when successful, provides assistance to low-income parents to help them get and retain jobs.

During a four month period, reporter Raquel Rutledge pored over 2,500 records and documents and uncovered, what it called, ““a trail of phony companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight,” a system that could be scammed without difficulty or accountability by parents and child-care providers, “capitalizing on children for public cash.” With limited access to child care cases, the Journal Sentinel still pinpointed $750,000 in suspicious child-care disbursements.

The current conditions outlined by the Journal Sentinel are unacceptable. I’m appalled that rampant fraud and waste is occurring, especially at a time the state is suffering a huge deficit.

This legislative session, I serve as a member of the Joint Committee on Audit. I formally asked in a letter to the committee co-chairpersons that they request the highly regarded, nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau conduct a full review of the Wisconsin Shares child-care program. Three days later, the committee co-chairpersons announced the committee will hold a public hearing to decide if the Legislative Audit Bureau should conduct an audit. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 411 South of the State Capitol in Madison. The public is invited.

The taxpayers funding this program demand answers and accountability concerning the serious allegations made as a result of the Journal Sentinel’s investigation and subsequent reporting. My fear is that the problems associated with Wisconsin Shares are even more serious than the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discovered. The state and local governments investigated refused to turn a great deal of information to the newspaper indicating the true scope of the problem could be even more serious and widespread.

I liken this to the welfare fraud allegations that led to major reform in Wisconsin that served as a model for the rest of the nation.

The newspaper articles along with a thorough review could lead to a much-needed overhaul of the program. Like the welfare scandals years ago, the taxpaying public will not tolerate waste and fraud. We have to protect the taxpayers and we must also ensure that the truly needy, the truly deserving are receiving program services. Measures to prevent cash-grabbing scams can be put in place only after a full audit.

The Legislative Audit Bureau will have far greater access and cooperation than the newspaper received and I trust will do an excellent job determining just how serious the fraud is in Wisconsin Shares. The last full audit of Wisconsin Shares was during 2001. It is time we have another.

Earlier this week, I wrote a letter to the co-chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Audit that I serve on, formally asking for a full audit of the Wisconsin Shares program.

I am very pleased that a hearing about an audit will be held.

Here are more details from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I am thrilled to hear the wonderful news that United Heartland will build a new national headquarters in New Berlin and create 300 new jobs.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has details. 

Congratulations to United Heartland and New Berlin!

I will discuss Governor Doyle’s State of the State address Thursday morning at 6:40 on Newstalk 1130 WISN with Jay Weber.

It is officially called the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” You know it better as the economic stimulus package.

Washingtonwatch.com reports, “The bill’s reported tally of $825 billion in spending works out to about $8,800 per U.S. family, or $2,800 per person in the United States.”

Just what is all in the spending package? Here is the entire proposal.  

The latest news reports indicate Congress is poised to approve the $825 billion stimulus package. Some see the package as the savior for state governments suffering from massive deficits.  That won’t be the case.

CNNMoney.com reports that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this month forecast the cumulative deficits in all 50 states totaling $131 billion for 2009 with an additional cumulative deficit of $181 billion for 2010 for a total $312 billion. 

The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities paints an even grimmer picture reporting, “State deficits are projected to equal $350 billion over the next 30 months.” The same Washington D.C. group says a stimulus package would fail to come close to resolving the budget woes of the states.

“The amount of funding that would go to states to help them maintain current activities is approximately $150 billion to $155 billion — or roughly 40 percent to 45 percent of projected state deficits.  Most of this money is in the form of increased Medicaid funding plus portions of a ‘Fiscal Stabilization Fund.’  This funding would likely be sufficient to deter many states from making the most severe spending cuts and to moderate state tax and fee increases.  But states would still have very large gaps to close on their own,” says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

About half of any stimulus money sent to a state, Wisconsin for example, could not be used to fix a large budget hole. If the current projections are correct, that the cumulative deficit of the states ranges between $312 and $350 billion, the stimulus package approved by Congress would still leave the states with total deficits between $162 and $200 billion to fill on their own.

Wisconsin Governor Doyle is one of three Democrat governors asking Congress for a $1 trillion stimulus package.

Read more in Stateline.

Here is the calendar for the state Senate floor session Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.:

First Order.               Call of Roll.

Second Order.           Chief clerk's entries.

Third Order.              Introduction, first reading and reference of proposals; reference of appointments.

Fourth Order.            Report of committees.

Fifth Order.               Petitions and communications.

Sixth Order.              Advice and consent of the Senate.

QUESTION:       Shall the appointment be confirmed?

Finder-Stone, Patricia, of De Pere, as a member of the Board on Aging and Long Term Care to serve for the term ending May 1, 2013.

Lease, Mary, of Oregon, as a member of the Nursing Home Administrator Examining Board, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2011.

Seventh Order.          Referrals and receipt of committee reports concerning proposed administrative rules.

Eighth Order.            Messages from the Assembly.

Ninth Order.              Special Orders.

Tenth Order.             Consideration of motions, resolutions, and joint resolutions not requiring a third reading.

QUESTION:       Shall the resolution be adopted?

Senate Resolution 2. Relating to: the senate rules.  By Senators Decker, Risser, and Hansen.

QUESTION:        Shall the joint resolution be adopted?

Senate Joint Resolution 2. Relating to: commending Jim Miller on his retirement as president of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.  By Senator Darling.

Senate Joint Resolution 3. Relating to: Proclaiming Data Privacy Day.  By Senators Erpenbach, Taylor, Lehman, Hansen, Wirch, Kanavas, Cowles, and Lazich; cosponsored by Representatives Pope-Roberts, Roys, Soletski, Berceau, Molepske, and Townsend.

Senate Joint Resolution 4. Relating to: recognizing February 2009 as American Heart Month and February 6, 2009, as Wear Red For Women Day.  By Senators Lassa, Darling, Coggs, Cowles, Hansen, Harsdorf, Hopper, Kedzie, Lazich, Lehman, Miller, Olsen, Plale, Schultz, Sullivan, and Vinehout; cosponsored by Representatives Shilling, Nygren, Ballweg, Benedict, Berceau, Brooks, Cullen, Davis, Grigsby, Hebl, Hintz, Hraychuck, Kerkman, Molepske, Petersen, Pasch, Sinicki, Spanbauer, Radcliffe, Toles, Turner, Townsend, Strachota, M. Williams, Ziegelbauer, Zigmunt, and Pope-Roberts.

Senate Joint Resolution 5. Relating to: commending the heroic efforts of US Airways pilot Jeff Skiles in the Hudson River crash of flight 1549.  By Senators Erpenbach and Miller.

Twelfth Order.          Second reading and amendments of assembly joint resolutions and assembly bills.

Thirteenth Order.     Third reading of joint resolutions and bills.

Fourteenth Order.     Motions may be offered.

Fifteenth Order.        Announcements, adjournment honors, and remarks under special privilege.

Sixteenth Order.        Adjournment.

The Senate will recess and reconvene at 6:30 P.M. for the purpose of a Joint Convention of the Legislature in the Assembly for the Governor's State of the State Address at 7:00 P.M.

The Madison Vet Center has produced an outstanding flier that outlines the various services available statewide to our veterans.

The Madison Vet Center provides a variety of care that includes professional readjustment counseling, community education, outreach to special populations, balancing of services with community agencies, and key access links between the veteran and other services in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Since 1982 the Madison Vet Center has helped over 11,650 veterans.

I urge veterans and their families to read the Madison Vet Center flier for more important information, and thank you for your service to our great country!

Here is a news release I issued this morning:


LAZICH WANTS FULL AUDIT OF WISCONSIN SHARES PROGRAM
Request follows MJS series that found rampant fraud in child care program

FOR IMMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        Contact: Sen. Lazich
MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2009                                        Phone: (608)266-5400

(MADISON) - State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) has formally asked the co-chairpersons of the Joint Committee on Audit to request that the Legislative Audit Bureau conduct a full review of the state taxpayer-funded Wisconsin Shares child care program. Lazich’s request follows a series of reports by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after its four month investigation of Wisconsin Shares uncovered what the newspaper called, “a trail of phony companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight.”

The Journal Sentinel also reported, “The system allows child-care providers and parents to easily con the system, capitalizing on children for public cash.” With limited access to child care cases, the Journal Sentinel still pinpointed $750,000 in suspicious child-care disbursements.

“The taxpayers funding this program demand answers and accountability concerning the serious allegations made as a result of the Journal Sentinel’s investigation and subsequent reporting,” said Lazich, a member of the Joint Committee on Audit.

“The current conditions outlined by the Journal Sentinel are unacceptable,” said Lazich who made her request for an audit in a letter to Joint Committee on Audit co-chairpersons, Senator Kathleen Vinehout and Representative Peter Barca.

The Journal Sentinel’s findings include counties accepting almost anything as verification of employment for parents requesting assistance,  caseworkers approving child care while children were at school all day, and regulators reluctant to revoke licenses for fraud.

“My fear is that the problems associated with Wisconsin Shares are even more serious than the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel discovered,” said Lazich. “I trust the outstanding Legislative Audit Bureau will do an excellent job determining the extent of fraud in Wisconsin Shares.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the last full audit of Wisconsin Shares was done during 2001.



UPDATE from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Legislative Democrats plan to reintroduce their government health care program that had a price tag of $15.2 billion during the last legislative session. A new report by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) says the plan would result in a huge influx of the uninsured.

The WPRI reports:

“An influx into the state of Wisconsin of health care–seeking persons, many of whom may have chronic, serious, and costly health care problems, would result in a significant, unbudgeted burden on Wisconsin taxpayers, as well as the possibility of reduced health care quality as measures are taken to help control cost overruns. Troubling on its own, this will be even more problematic in an era of projected multi-billion dollar deficits.”

I have opposed and will continue to oppose the Democrats’ government health care plan that amounts to the largest tax increase in the history of America.

Here is the full WPRI report and a Journal Sentinel article.

I am one of 29 state legislators to sign a letter requesting that the University of Wisconsin Hospital immediately halt its plans to offer late-term abortions at a private clinic.

The letter reads, in part, “Other hospitals around the country are taking pride in their ability to provide lifesaving care for babies born in the second trimester. We in the Wisconsin State Legislature, as well as the constituencies we represent, do not want our University to develop a nationwide reputation for killing these babies.”

You can read the letter here and a report by the Appleton Post-Crescent.

The Greendale School District has the highest ranking of any district in Milwaukee County according to The Wisconsin Public Policy Forum’s  2007-2008 report on the achievement of 50 school districts.

A summary prepared by the Greendale School District reports the following rankings in specific categories for Greendale:

4th grade reading ranked 6th in Southeastern Wisconsin with 96% of students scoring proficient or advanced.

8th grade reading ranked 13th in Southeastern Wisconsin with 94% of students scoring proficient or advanced.

10th grade mathematics ranked 13th in Southeastern Wisconsin with 90% of students scoring proficient or advanced.

Greendale ranked 10th in attendance in Southeastern Wisconsin out of 50 districts with student attendance of 96.4%.

Congratulations Greendale Superintendent William Hughes, Greendale School District officials and staff, teachers, students, and parents for your outstanding achievement!

Here are the complete rankings compiled by the Public Policy Forum

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that, “A state law that prevented Milwaukee property owners from getting full court review of disputed assessments is unconstitutional. In March 2008, the Legislature passed a law allowing municipalities to adopt ordinances that would prevent property owners who challenge assessments from getting a full-blown court trial if they appealed boards of review decisions. Within weeks, Milwaukee and a few other communities adopted such ordinances. The law allows property owners to seek a review of an assessment but does not permit a new trial on all the issues.”  

I cast the lone dissenting vote against the legislation in the state Senate during March 2008 and explained the reason on my blog:

“Property taxpayers in Wisconsin already bear a heavy burden. Stacking the deck against them in court before a hearing even begins, assuming that the assessor is correct, and slapping them with a fee is bad public policy. The Governor should have vetoed this bill.”

This court ruling is a victory for taxpayers who rarely get a chance to celebrate in Wisconsin. Thank you to Judge Jean DiMotto for an excellent court ruling.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) wants to hear public input on Connections 2030, its long-range transportation plan. A public meeting is set for Wednesday, January 21 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Milwaukee County Downtown Transit Center.

Connections 2030 will assist the state in making transportation choices over the next two decades.

You can get more details on the meeting and Connections 2030 here.

Last summer I blogged that the Wisconsin blueberry is a superfood. 

The blueberry also falls under the category of one of the 11 best foods you aren’t eating. That’s the assessment of Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.”

His list of the 11 best foods you aren’t eating was one of the most-viewed stories in the New York Times in 2008. 

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan and Peter Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a former deputy assistant to President George W. Bush write in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that America is witnessing a major change in the relationship between government and our economy. Ryan and Wehner call it, “a new era of government activism.”

There has already been a never-before-seen infusion of sizeable government relief packages. Government health care will now become the main objective of the change from a market-driven to a socialistic economic system.

As dependence on health care from the government grows, so does a bond between the recipients and government. Ryan and Wehner fear that any talk of fiscal belt tightening or tax cuts will result in hoots and hollers that such actions will impair health care.

The writers offer an alternative to socialized medicine:

“Tax credits, high-risk pools, insurance choice and regulatory reform can form the basis of a transformation from today's enormously costly and inefficient third-party system into one driven by ownership, choice and competition. And at the nucleus of this redesigned system will be the patient-doctor relationship.”

If this approach is unsuccessful and government dependence increases, Ryan and Wehner foresee America moving from a limited to a full-blown welfare state.

Their column is an interesting read.

You should be seeing new television spots soon promoting Wisconsin winter tourism. The ads are part of a new campaign by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism that highlights Wisconsin as a unique destination that inspires.

The ads feature 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist Bonnie Blair and the founder of the highly acclaimed Ko-Thi Dance Company, Ferne Caulker. This page contains the ads. The ad with Blair and her family was shot at Cascade Mountain in Portage while the ad with Caulker was produced at the Riverside Theater in downtown Milwaukee.

The new spots will air in the Milwaukee and Madison TV markets, in Chicago and in Minneapolis-St.Paul.

Travelers spent over $2.2 billion in Wisconsin during December 2007 and January and February 2008. For more information about Wisconsin tourism, visit this website.