In a letter to the editor of the Ozaukee County News Graphic, Cedarburg resident James Blank highlights instances in which Senator Duey Stroebel and the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) refused to take responsibility for blocking spending on clean water, land protection, and literacy progress.
Sen. Stroebel’s response? He blames the governor. In an email newsletter to his constituents, Sen. Stroebel says Gov. Evers is stalling progress in the state by vetoing $125 million in the budget for PFAS cleanup and by partially vetoing funding for the Right to Read program. Blank notes that Gov. Evers attempted to resolve the PFAS funding by calling JFC into special session, but was met with a refusal from Republican legislators to meet with him.
“The governor believed the experts water scientists at the DNR should allocate the money to the communities most in need … not Duey’s JFC,” writes Blank.
Blank likens that strategy to JFC’s habit of blocking funding for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program projects. In one such instance, JFC refused to allocate Knowles-Nelson funds for the DNR-approved Cedar Gorge Clay Bluffs project in Ozaukee County, forcing Gov. Evers to ultimately use federal monies to fund the project.
Featured image by Joseph Gage, 2020.
