Here & Now

Assembly Leaders Weigh In On Legislative Agenda

Zac Schultz:

With the elections coming up in the fall, the legislature isn’t planning on being in session very long this year. In tonight’s capitol insight, we’ll hear what legislative leaders hope to accomplish in the next couple months. First up, Republican Jim Steineke, majority leader in the Assembly. He joins us from Green Bay. Thanks for your time.

Jim Steineke:

Thanks for having me.

Zac Schultz:

First off, I want to get your reaction to the result of Tuesday's special election. Governor Walker called it a wake-up call for Republicans. What’s your take-away?

Jim Steineke:

I think that’s right. I think the enthusiasm gap is obviously there, so that’s something we’re going to have to work on. I think as state legislators and state leaders, the biggest thing that we have to do is continue to tell the story of the transformation Wisconsin has seen over the course of the last seven years and why it’s important to keep that momentum going.

Zac Schultz:

Now in recent days we've seen the governor agree to more funding for rural schools, call for speeding up the overhaul of the juvenile justice system and now a special session on welfare reform. What on that list fits with your agenda in the Assembly?

Jim Steineke:

Most of it does. We’ve been looking at — for the remainder of the session, we’ve been looking at, focusing on economic development, schools, welfare reform and some other things. So it fits in pretty well with what we’ve been thinking.

Zac Schultz:

Regarding the welfare reform and the special session, the Journal Sentinel reported that the current Foodshare work requirements have cost the state $18 million and 24,000 people have found jobs thru that program. And 86,000 did not and lost money for food. Is that a success? And how will the new welfare bills change that system or work with it?

Jim Steineke:

The biggest thing that we’re seeing in Wisconsin is we’ve gone from seven years ago not having enough jobs for the people that needed them to a place where we have not enough people for the jobs that are available, which is a better problem to have, but it’s still a problem. So we need to make sure that as much as we can, as we get people that aren’t currently working that are able to work, we need to get them back to work. So whether that’s getting them the skills they need and the training or just getting them the motivation to start moving in the right direction, those are things that we have to look at.

Zac Schultz:

But some of the welfare package includes an ID for Foodshare cards using a photo ID is that necessary? Will that get people working?

Jim Steineke:

Well, I think it’s cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse is always been something we’ve been working on over the course of the last seven years. One of the things that I hear on a regular basis as I go out into the communities and talk to my constituents is they want to make sure if they’re sending their tax money to Madison to help people that it’s going to people that truly need the help and it’s not being wasted or fraudulently used.

Zac Schultz:

The governor vetoed the rural school funding in the last budget and he’s ignored calls to shut down Lincoln Hills in recent years. So Democrats are saying this rush of things, ideas from the governor is just politics for an election year. How do you respond to that?

Jim Steineke:

Well, listen, I can’t put myself in their shoes because I don’t understand the thinking. These are things that they want. Just because he didn’t embrace them when they wanted him to, you know, they’re criticizing him. The point is we’re on the way now. We’re getting more monies to schools and that’s a good thing.

Zac Schultz:

Are you hoping for any of these bills to gather any Democratic bipartisan support?

Jim Steineke:

I would certainly hope so. I mean, over 90% of the bills that got signed into law so far this year have had bipartisan support. I would expect that to continue. Because these are things that have broad support throughout the state and something I would hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle would embrace as well.

Zac Schultz:

Now, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently put out that the cost of public benefits for the Foxconn project is now approaching $4.5 billion. When you compare that with money cities around the country are offering Amazon in order to win their new headquarters, do you still consider Foxconn to be a good deal for Wisconsin taxpayers?

Jim Steineke:

Absolutely. What people have to remember is that high line number is only reached if they meet certain performance measures. So payments — money doesn’t go out until they create jobs or they make capital expenditures. So as they do that, that’s when the tax incentives come into play. So it’s really a pay-as-you-grow kind of system. I think it’s going to prove to be a good thing for the state of Wisconsin.

Zac Schultz:

There has been a lot of political observers saying Governor Walker is not campaigning on Foxconn and Republicans aren’t talking about Foxconn out in the world so that they’re afraid this deal. They think it will hurt them in the polls and the elections this fall. Do you think that will happen?

Jim Steineke:

No. I don’t think so. I’ve been talking about it freely. I think others will as well. As we start to see the ground being broken on this project, as we start to see suppliers from around the state getting involved in this project, it is going to touch every corner of this state, this project will, and I think when people see the jobs coming and the expansion — you know, the actual creation of the buildings, I think it’s going to be a good thing for all of us.

Zac Schultz:

All right. Representative Steineke from Green Bay, thanks for your time today.

Jim Steineke:

Thank you.

Zac Schultz:

Joining us now to respond is Democrat Gordon Hintz, the minority leader in the Assembly. Thanks for your time today.

Gordon Hintz:

Thanks for having me.

Zac Schultz:

What is your takeaway from Tuesday night?

Gordon Hintz:

I think Senator-elect Schachtner deserves a lot of credit for a campaign she ran that demonstrated she was really in touch with what people want from state government on their basic needs. I thought she ran an authentic campaign. Obviously it was a rejection of what we’re hearing from a lot of people around the state of Wisconsin that they’re tired of a government at the national level that just focuses on tax cuts for the wealthy, seems out of touch with dealing with problems that we need fixed, like transportation infrastructure, and really just getting back to the basics.

Zac Schultz:

Now, as the new minority leader part of your job looking forward to the election is to bring in a lot of new members. Are you sensing the same wave that other people are talking about? Do you feel that same energy?

Gordon Hintz:

Look, Tuesday's results are fantastic for Democrats. They followed a pattern that has happened all over the country. We’re hearing from people that are overwhelmingly rejecting the Trump/Walker agenda on federal and state issues. Besides the western Wisconsin race, we won the city of West Bend in a special election in a race that wasn’t expected to be competitive. So one of the things that we saw in the race the other night, in the senate race, is across the board Democrats picked up seats, including people who voted for Trump in ’16 are now coming around two years later and voting for Democrats. That’s a good sign.

Zac Schultz:

How will the election results and Governor Walker’s wake-up call on Twitter impact what legislation is introduced and passed in the next couple months?

Gordon Hintz:

Based on Governor Walker’s excessive tweets following the race and just each day this week, it appears he’s trying to make up for seven years of failed leadership by taking Democratic ideas, by trying to chase the politics of resentment, by attacking people living on the margins, which I think goes further to demonstrate how out of touch he is with both the economy and the needs throughout the state.

Zac Schultz:

But when it comes to actually passing legislation, if some of these are Democratic ideas or good policy, it’s better late than never?

Gordon Hintz:

Well, look. Democrats have long supported expanded health care access, juvenile corrections reform, funding transportation, dealing with sparsity aid and low-spending school districts. I think we’ll look at those actual proposals if they come to the table. We certainly would love to get them done regardless if it’s for political reasons or not. But I think we’ll wait and see. The governor has said he’s going to do things before. We’ve got a month left in session. It seems like a lot of desperation, but we’ll see.

Zac Schultz:

What about this special session on welfare? What about calling it a special session signifies it over some of the other things he’s pushing?

Gordon Hintz:

Yeah, it’s funny. Democrats crush Republicans in western Wisconsin, blow it out. Get a lot of support. And the governor immediately gets on an airplane and flies around the state and comes with a bunch of mean-spirited, inefficient and costly legislation that he’s never talked about before with one month left in session. And it seems a little desperate. It seems completely geared at the election. And it’s trying to take us in a different direction message-wise where he doesn’t have to defend $4.5 billion going to Foxconn or that fact that he’s failed on fixing transportation for seven years.

Zac Schultz:

And speaking of Foxconn, the $4.5 billion is the new number that came out from the Fiscal Bureau. How does that compare to what other cities or states are offering Amazon, in particular, to move their headquarters? Is that just the price to play ball nowadays?

Gordon Hintz:

Look, I think everybody might have been willing to offer some incentives and take some risk. But when you’re looking a cost with a payback that’s at least 25 years and now it’s costing even more money, and there’s a lot of questions about the long-term viability of what they’re going to be making, I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this. I haven’t seen the Amazon deal, but I understand it’s a much smaller investment and commitment from state government and a much bigger return in terms of jobs and they’ve got demonstrated success with what they’ve done in Seattle and beyond and seem to be a company that is here for the long haul.

Zac Schultz:

Just the last few seconds, how big of an issue will Foxconn be for Democrats in the fall?

Gordon Hintz:

We didn’t have to make Foxconn an issue. It's already on voters’ minds. I just don’t think people think cutting funding from their public schools in their communities and cutting funding from their universities to give money in cash payments to a foreign company is the best investment.

Zac Schultz:

All right. Gordon Hintz, we’ve leave it there. Thank you.

Gordon Hintz:

Thank you.