Walker Pleased With Budget Committee’s All-Night Session

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Governor Scott Walker is giving the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) high marks for changes they made to his budget during an all-night session.

Governor Walker spoke to the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon on the one-year anniversary of a recall attempt that failed to unseat him. Walker says since the protests over collective bargaining have died down the economy has been improving, due in part to the reforms he’s championed.

He also says he’s pleased with the budget changes made overnight by the Joint Finance Committee. Walker singled out their decision to boost his proposed tax cut from $343 million to $651 million. He says it will help every taxpayer in the state.

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“Some of the big beneficiaries of this as well, beyond just individuals and households, will be small business owners. Because most small businesses pay individual, not corporate taxes; most of our employers are small businesses. So this is a big move for creating more jobs as well as for just the hard working taxpayers in the state.”

The governor says he also likes that JFC voted to expand the state’s voucher school program statewide even though the committee decided to limit participation to 1,000 students. Walker pushed for no limits after two years.

“In many ways our expectation was that in the first couple years, that would be the level we’d be at anyway. So, I don’t know that they’re too far off from where we practically thought things were going to be.”

Walker says lawmakers can take another look at the limits in two years. He says while the full Assembly and Senate still have to approve it, he expects the budget will look very much like what the JFC passed this morning.