Striking a different tone from state Senate Republican leadership, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, is calling on her senate colleagues to end the delay on the Foxconn bill.
“I am ready to vote for the Foxconn bill and am urging my fellow senators to take it up without delay,” Vukmir said in a press release Tuesday. “I do not want any hesitation on our part to jeopardize Wisconsin’s opportunity for this transformative investment in our economy.”
Vukmir added any reluctance to support the Foxconn bill “makes no sense to me.”
“We have been presented with an incredible opportunity that puts Wisconsin workers first and will have a ripple effect across our entire state,” Vukmir said. “Wisconsin wins with Foxconn.”
Vukmir concluded her statement with the observation that states are competing to bring back jobs. “We cannot wait any longer. Let’s get this bill to the Senate floor,” Vukmir said.
In a phone interview, Vukmir’s chief of staff Jessica Ward said that the senator is willing to have the bill go to the Joint Finance Committee or be considered on the floor of the Senate.
“I think she just wants the process to speed up a bit,” Ward said. “Obviously Leah takes her role on Joint Finance seriously and I think she would be fine with Finance coming in, but when is that? I think that’s her point.”
Asked if Vukmir has a preference of how the bill is considered, Ward said no. “I think her preference is that the process just go much quicker,” Ward said. “Understandably, the Foxconn deal affects the state budget so she certainly understands the Finance committee has to be thorough looking at the numbers to be sure that we can get this done and that we take a closer look at it. But she definitely wants the process to speed up a bit.”
Ward said that Vukmir’s urgency on the Foxconn bill is taking a different tone than the state Senate leadership. “She feels she’s had plenty of enough time to look at the legislation,” Ward said.
In response to Vukmir’s statement, the office of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, issued the following statement:
“We are continuing to follow the legislative process and the next step for the bill in the Senate is review by the Joint Finance Committee. Senator Fitzgerald has expressed his confidence that the bill will be approved well within the timeline laid out in the MOU and that in the meantime the Senate will do our due diligence to ensure that this will be a great deal for Wisconsin and our taxpayers.”
