Larson Bi-Weekly Report, November 15, 2012

Dear Friend,

As the newly elected Democratic Leader of the Senate, I look forward to working with my colleagues, Republican legislators, and the governor to get Wisconsin back to work and moving forward again. Continue reading for more information about the challenges facing our state and priorities for the upcoming session.

Sincerely,

Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7

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Web:  SenatorChrisLarson.com

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Ready to Tackle State Challenges as Democratic Leader

I am humbled by the confidence my fellow senators have in me by electing me their leader. With the elections complete, we have an opportunity to stop divide-and-conquer politics and start working responsibly across the aisle to serve all Wisconsinites. Wisconsin voters spoke loud and clear on November 6. They want Democratic and Republican lawmakers to move the state forward with programs and policies that reflect our shared Wisconsin values.

For the sake of Wisconsin’s future, I encourage members of the Legislature to work together as Wisconsinites by casting off our partisan labels and setting aside any politically divisive agendas. I have encouraged Governor Walker to adopt the following immediate priorities:

1). Creating the family-supporting jobs Wisconsinites have been calling for.
 

2) Re-investing in our public education so that our children are armed with comprehensive learning skills that will allow them to be productive and successful in the workforce, and creating stronger accountability measures for private voucher schools that currently receive $157.8 million in non-transparent taxpayer dollars.

3) Adding accountability and transparency to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Giving away taxpayers’ money and not following it is proving ineffective at creating the jobs our neighbors need. The least we can do is track where these dollars are going.

4) Implementing a comprehensive and functional health care exchange that genuinely benefits our citizens and local businesses and complies with the Supreme Court upheld Affordable Care Act.

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We at Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC "Congratulate" Senator Larson and wish him a very productive reign as the Democratic Leader.

We hasten to add, we ask that he make #4 - Affordable Health Care a priority and the #1 item.

Whereas items 1-3 have their place, if Wisconsinites do not get on top of health concerns (population-focused), get a handle on the high cost of health care; we will fail to have a healthy population for:

-  family supporting jobs.

-  improve chronic health conditions for children and adults (helps education budget).

-  drive down cost and decrease the national debt.

-  Affordable Health Care comes with resources that can drive economic engines.

-  Best practices and accountability is necessary across the board - all departments.