Wisconsin Republicans seek to reduce unemployment benefits when the economy is doing well
Patrick MarleyMADISON - Republican lawmakers said Tuesday they plan to pass legislation by next month that in the short term would nearly halve the amount of time people could receive unemployment benefits.
Other bills they plan to pass would put in place more drug testing and work requirements for unemployment benefits and food stamps, cut off unemployment benefits for those who don’t show up for job interviews and suspend people’s access to public health insurance if they turn down job offers.
Republicans said their efforts were aimed at getting more people off of public benefits and into the workforce just as businesses are clamoring for workers.
“No person has ever become prosperous and independent on welfare checks,” Senate President Chris Kapenga of Delafield said at a news conference at the state Capitol.
Republicans have large majorities in the Senate and Assembly and plan to pass their plans by the end of February, according to Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Tyler August of Lake Geneva.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has taken a dim view of many of their plans and could veto them.
Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback did not say how Evers would respond to the GOP efforts but noted the governor last year announced he was using federal aid to help get people into the workforce.
"Gov. Evers is investing $130 million to find innovative, community-based solutions to confront our state's workforce challenges head-on, so it's great to hear Republicans now recognize the importance of these efforts," she said by email.
One bill would base how long people could receive unemployment benefits on the state's recent unemployment rate.
Now, those who lose their jobs qualify for regular unemployment benefits for 26 weeks. Under the bill, that level of benefits would be available only when the unemployment rate is above 9%.
When the unemployment rate is 3.5% or lower — as it is now — regular benefits would be available for 14 weeks.
Under another bill, those who don’t show up for job interviews could lose their unemployment benefits. They could also lose their benefits if they declined a job interview or did not respond to a request for a job interview.
Another bill seeks to jump-start a provision in state law that is supposed to require some people to take drug tests to qualify for unemployment benefits. The provision has not gone into effect because the Evers administration has not adopted formal rules on the drug-testing program. The legislation would force the administration to take that step.
In a similar vein, another bill is meant to ensure the administration enacts work requirements and drug testing requirements for some people to qualify for FoodShare benefits.
To receive unemployment benefits, claimants under current law must perform work searches. Under one bill, the state Department of Workforce Development would have to conduct audits for at least half of those searches to make sure they’re really happening.
That bill would also require the state to maintain longer hours at its unemployment call centers when call volumes are three times higher than normal, as happened in 2020 during a massive backlog of unemployment claims because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an attempt to reduce fraud, the measure would also require the state to run the names of benefits claimants through databases of death records and prison records.
Other bills are focused on Medicaid programs like BadgerCare Plus, which provides health insurance to low-income people.
One would suspend BadgerCare benefits for six months to those who refuse to take a job in an effort to keep their benefits.
Another would require the state Department of Health Services to check the Medicaid eligibility of people in the program every six months. Those who do not report information that could affect their eligibility could lose their benefits for six months under the legislation.
Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.