Conservatively Speaking

Thursday, February 19, 2009, I did an interview with WisconsinEye about the budget repair bill/stimulus package and Governor Doyle's proposed 2009-11 state budget. You can see the interview here.

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) has released its Legislative Agenda for the 2009-10 legislative session. You may note a photo ID requirement to vote is not on the list.

The state Senate today took action on Senate Bill 16, a bill to allow breast-feeding in public.

I want to make sure that the public is clear about the details of this bill. This bill is not about the merits of breast-feeding. It is not about whether breast-feeding is healthy or unhealthy. This legislation specifically would allow breast-feeding in any public or private place.

The Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) provides this analysis of Senate Bill 16:

“This bill permits a mother to breast-feed her child in any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be.”

The wording of the bill before the state Senate today included the following:

“A mother may breast−feed her child in any public or private location where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. No person may interfere with the right of a mother to breast−feed her child as provided in this section.”

An amendment to the bill I authored changed the above wording to the following:

“A mother may breast−feed her child in any public or private location where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. No person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her child as provided in this section.”

My amendment was approved on a voice vote. Senate Bill 16, as amended, was then approved on a voice vote.

Because breast-feeding in public is not prohibited by Wisconsin law, I was not enamored with Senate Bill 16. However, I feel more comfortable that the legislation was amended to stipulate that no person may “prohibit” as opposed to “interfere” with breast-feeding.

Governor Doyle re-introduced his hospital tax proposal that was rejected during the 2008 state budget repair bill deliberations. It was included in the governor's budget repair bill that was signed into law last week. Doyle calls it an assessment, however it is a tax that supporters claim will bring in more federal dollars to the state.

Illinois has implemented a hospital tax, and is now experiencing a major problem: the promised federal money has yet to arrive.

The State Journal Register of Springfield, Illinois reports:

“The idea is for hospitals to pay money to the state. That money then is used to generate extra Medicaid funds from the federal government. The result is a cash boost for hospitals and state government.

The first step in the assessment program, however, requires the state to come up with some cash — about $1 billion as of Friday. That hasn’t happened.

Hospital officials throughout the state say the delay has left them in the lurch. They’ve put off large purchases and reduced travel and other expenses, but they say patient care hasn’t been affected.”

Here’s the entire article. 

I voted against the budget repair bill and Governor Doyle’s hospital tax that will drastically increase hospital rates.

As a member of the Joint Committee on Audit, I voted in favor of a full audit of the taxpayer-funded Wisconsin Shares child care program. I was the first legislator to call for an audit following an investigative series by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Joint Committee on Audit approved an audit of Wisconsin Shares, 10-0.

Prior to the vote, State Auditor Janice Mueller informed the committee an audit of Wisconsin Shares would be conducted in two phase. An investigative phase to ascertain the scope of the problems in Wisconsin Shares would be conducted and completed no later than this June.  The second phase would evaluate issues of quality and assess the program’s regulatory process.

During the hearing, I mentioned that a past audit that I requested of the Food Stamp program was intended to catch or minimize the problems encountered in Wisconsin Shares because the Food Stamp program is an access point for other programs. I asked Auditor Mueller if there were reasons why this did not occur. Mueller said the answers are hard to come by because of delays and backlogs in food stamp applications.

I also asked Mueller if the Audit Bureau would be sampling the experiences of foster parents. Mueller confirmed that input would be sought from foster parents and that if anyone wanted to provide information anonymously, they could contact the state’s toll-free hotline of waste and fraud. 

Prior to the committee vote, I testified, asking for a full audit of the Wisconsin Shares child care program. Here is my testimony:


Testimony of Senator Mary Lazich
On Audit request of Wisconsin Shares
Joint Committee on Audit
February 19, 2009

Good morning, Co-committee chairs Senator Vinehout and Representative Barca and committee members.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony to the Joint Committee on Audit on my request about an audit of the Wisconsin Shares program.

Many of us recall the blaring headline on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel just a few weeks ago:  “Child-care scams rake in thousands.” That was the newspaper’s introduction to a series of investigative reports on Wisconsin Shares, the 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.

However, during the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s four-month long investigation, it discovered Wisconsin Shares was not operating effectively or appropriately. The newspaper found what it called, “a trail of phony companies, fake reports and shoddy oversight.”

The Journal Sentinel 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 was able to pinpoint $750,000 in suspicious child-care disbursements.

Taxpayers funding this program demand answers and accountability concerning these serious allegations. The current conditions outlined by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are unacceptable. The newspaper’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 uncovered. It appears the state and local governments investigated refused to provide some information to the newspaper. That indicates to me that the true scope of the problem could be even more serious and widespread. That is the reason a full audit of Wisconsin Shares is necessary.

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 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 the seriousness of the fraud in Wisconsin Shares.

Wisconsin had 589 traffic fatalities during 2008 compared to 739 during 2007, a 20 percent decline. Virginia also had a 20 percent decline in traffic fatalities.

Only the District of Columbia (30 percent), Massachusetts (27 percent), Alaska (23 percent), and Hawaii (22 percent) had a greater percentage drop in traffic fatalities than Wisconsin.

Read more in USA TODAY.

Our state’s budget gap is the fourth highest in the country. To illustrate the seriousness our fiscal situation ranks, we are being mentioned in the same sentence as states like California and New York that are experiencing budget meltdowns. In the past, we have spent, borrowed, and pushed our troubles ahead into the next budget.  It would have been nice to hear the governor proclaim that the days of charge card budgeting ended.

The 2009-11 state budget must not be about new taxes and increased spending. The next biennial state budget must be about protecting you, the taxpayers. That is the clear, concise message that would have been nice to hear from Governor Doyle over and over again tonight. For the sake of taxpayers in need of protection, it was a disappointment.

I have written several blogs during the past two years recognizing Wal-Mart efforts at developing affordable heath care. 

Wal-Mart has opened clinics staffed by certified nurse practitioners that treat common family illnesses such as sore throat, ear infection, seasonal allergies and bronchitis. Cholesterol screenings, TB testing and flu vaccinations are also available. Other retailers like Target, CVS, and Walgreens have followed suit. Wal-Mart has also revolutionized access to prescription drugs, offering $4 medications.

During May 2008, Jim Jubak, senior markets editor for MSN Money went so far as to recommended  in a column that Wal-Mart  run the health care system.

Now comes word from the Washington Post that Wal-Mart’s successful trend continues. The newspaper reports, “Washington policymakers contemplating a fundamental overhaul of the nation's troubled health-care system may want to study the saga of Wal-Mart. Once vilified for its stingy health benefits, the world's largest company has become an unlikely leader in the effort to provide affordable care without bankrupting employers, their workers or taxpayers in the process.”

Only 5.5 percent of Wal-Mart employees are un-insured, compared to the national rate of 18 percent. Wal-Mart has implemented digital records, and has teamed up with the renowned Mayo Clinic.

The Wal-Mart experience, though not perfect, has had more than enough progress to have observers calling the huge retailer an “innovator” and “leader” in health care. The public sector would be wise to pay attention.

Read more in the Washington Post.  

Read my previous blogs on this issue:

Wal-Mart to the rescue 

Walgreens follows Wal-Mart’s lead

Wal-Mart to the rescue, again 

Business writer says Wal-Mart equipped to run health care system 

The 4^th annual College Goal Sunday takes place all over Wisconsin on February 21st and 22nd, 2009.  College Goal Sunday offers help to high school seniors and their families seeking financial aid for college.

Over 1,400 students and parents attended the 2008 event. The 2009 College Goal Sunday will be held at 20 different sites with financial aid experts on hand to assist with Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms that determine the amount of aid a student is eligible to receive. Students that complete the FAFSA may receive state or federal grants, scholarships, campus jobs in the work study program, low interest loans or other forms of financial assistance.

I encourage constituents to attend these events to receive valuable information that can make the complex procedure of financial aid application much easier.

More information is available at the College Goal Sunday website. Here are the locations for College Goal Sunday. You may call a toll-free number, 1-866-578-GOAL (4625) for more information.

During 1919, Wisconsin became one of the first states to enact a minimum wage.  It was 22 cents per hour.  Today, the minimum wage is $6.50.  This week, Senate Democrats voted to increase the minimum wage to $7.60 by June of this year, and to index it to inflation every year thereafter.  It is only fair; they say poor families are losing ground to inflation.

Well, let us take a look.  During 1919, our minimum wage was 22 cents per hour.  Adjusted for inflation, according to the bureau of labor statistics, that today would be $2.70.  Today’s actual minimum wage is over twice that amount.

During 1956, the minimum wage was increased to 70 cents per hour.  Indexed to inflation, that would be $5.47 today.  During 1989, the wage became $3.65; today, that would be $6.25.  Again, growth in the minimum wage outstripped inflation.

Moreover, it is still outstripping inflation.  June 1, 2005, Wisconsin’s minimum wage went from $5.15 to $5.70, nearly an 11% increase.   June 1, 2006, one year later, it was increased another 14%, to $6.50.

This latest increase, if it becomes law, will be another 16.9% increase.  That will be a 47.6% increase just since 2005.  Inflation has not been anywhere close to that increase.

Clearly, this is not about lifting people out of poverty, or keeping up with inflation as proponents say.  It is about power, government power, and the power to take money from one person, and give it to another person.  To stick government fingers deeper and deeper into other people’s pies, and set the stage for even more government power by pitting groups of citizens against each other.

Proponents of increasing the minimum wage hope to convince us that the government must act, and act big, to save us all.

It is likely we will see that strategy replayed repeatedly during this session of the Wisconsin Legislature.  To save us all from the rising cost of health care, Democrats are already pursuing policies that will force increases in the cost of health insurance.  As those costs rise, more people will be unable to afford health care, and government health care will be the only answer!

To save us from a bad economy, Democrats will spend billions upon billions of our dollars and create a lot of debt burdening us, our children and grandchildren, and convince us that government action alone saved us from the recession!  Never mind that their own government policies of high taxes, constant regulation, and a new bureaucracy for every problem create a bad economic environment and prevent businesses from using their dollars to build business and add jobs in our state and in our country.

The irony is, if lawmakers during 1919 had been able to see the path they were starting with their 22-cent minimum wage, they likely would not have done it.

Governor Doyle is one of only a handful of governors to refuse to sign a proclamation honoring President Ronald Reagan.

Here are the details.

Despite the frigid temperatures, Wisconsinites are taking advantage of the candlelight events in Wisconsin state parks and forests. More events are scheduled in the next few weeks. The Department of Natural Resources says they can even be, “romantic.”

Here are details.

I have blogged extensively about the scheduled February nationwide conversion to all-digital television. Congress has voted to delay the conversion from February 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009.

Here are complete details from MSNBC.

Prior to the vote by the House, ZDNet.com editorialized that a delay was unnecessary and costly.

Requiring a photo ID to vote is a concept I strongly support, even more so after a recent court ruling and some significant findings from the November 2008 election.

Georgia’s photo ID law, one of the strictest in the country, had its constitutionality upheld by an appellate court on January 14, 2009. The court compared obtaining a photo ID to air travel, writing in its decision:

“Before an adult passenger can board an airplane for a commercial flight in the United States, the passenger must present to a federal official an identification card with a photograph of the passenger. The burden of that exercise assists the federal government in keeping passengers safe from physical harm. We conclude that the burden imposed by the requirement of photo identification is outweighed by the interests of Georgia in safeguarding the right to vote.”

The Georgia case was like many other court challenges to photo ID laws in that the plaintiffs were unable to produce evidence of individuals who either did not already possess a valid ID or could not easily obtain one. Two witnesses testified, according to the court ruling, “that they could and would obtain a free photo identification with little difficulty.”

More evidence strengthening the validity of requiring photo ID comes from the November 2008 presidential election. Hans von Spakovsky, a former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission and a former Justice Department official did some digging and uncovered some fascinating data about photo ID and voter turnout. Remember, opponents of photo ID argue that the requirement will suppress turnout, especially among minorities.

Von Spakovsky notes black turnout during the November 2008 election was an all-time high. He examined results from Indiana and Georgia, the two states with the strictest voter ID requirements.

Von Spakovsky found that numbers released by American University indicate Georgia had the largest turnout in the state’s history. The black share of Georgia’s vote increased from 25 percent during the 2004 election while Georgia did not have a photo ID law to 30 percent during the 2008 election while a photo ID requirement was enforced. Neighboring Mississippi that does not have a photo ID law and has a black population comparable to Georgia saw an increased turnout of just 2.35 percent.

What about Indiana, with a strict photo ID law ruled constitutional during 2008 by the U.S. Supreme Court? Von Spakovsky found that during the November 2008 election, Democrat turnout increased by 8.32 percent, the largest Democrat turnout increase in the U.S.  Neighboring Illinois that does not have a photo ID law experienced just a 4.4 percent increase. 

Von Spakovsky came to the conclusion that there is overwhelming evidence photo ID laws do not suppress voter turnout. In fact, Von Spakovsky believes voter confidence in the election system is enhanced by photo ID laws.

Opposition to voter IDs has come largely from those fearing the requirement will disenfranchise voters without IDs or would find it difficult to acquire them. The evidence suggests otherwise.

I have always supported and continue to support the implementation of a photo ID requirement for voting in Wisconsin. 

I blogged that the federal stimulus package being considered by Congress will not solve budget problems being encountered in all states, including Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle in his State of the State address said the stimulus package would not solve Wisconsin’s budget deficit. The Wisconsin State Journal writes the stimulus could make our budget problems even worse. The newspaper writes:

“The federal largesse — up to $4 billion or more for Wisconsin alone — carries the potential of leaving the state budget worse off in the future if the economy doesn't recover and lawmakers don't do a better job than they have in the past of making sure the state lives within its means.”

You can read the entire State Journal piece here.

Today on the floor of the state Senate, I voted against an increase in Wisconsin’s minimum wage. 

The timing of the proposal is horrible given our recession.  A new survey shows 25 percent of American companies are planning a salary freeze. Residents across Wisconsin are accepting pay cuts just to preserve the jobs they have. The state Senate wants to impose a salary hike on Wisconsin businesses that will kill jobs and hurt businesses.

I received several communications from a constituent very concerned about the impact on camps. The constituent correctly points out that the minimum wage increase bill contains a 24 percent increase for minor staff and an 11 percent increase for adult staff at camps.  The increases that would go into effect this June would create an immediate $10,000 shortfall at the constituent’s camp.  Camp directors do not want to see themselves put in the terrible position of contributing to increasing the unemployment numbers. 

Because this bill will create layoffs, kill jobs, and raise unemployment at the worst possible time in our state and national economies, I voted against the minimum wage increase on the floor of the state Senate today.