A 58-38 party-line vote against a compromise to the budget repair bill proposed by Assembly Democrats Thursday afternoon was expunged, allowing more time to discuss Democratic amendments and extending the Assembly's Marathon session indefinitely.
The compromise Democrats offered would have taken out the changes to collective bargaining and paying off the Minnesota reciprocity debt.
Most of the discussion in the Assembly centered around the large number of proposed amendments by Democrats on Gov.
Scott Walker's budget-repair bill. Republicans repeatedly attempted to table the amendments in hopes of voting on the overall bill.
State Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, was particularly vocal in his frustration. He spoke on an amendment by Assembly
Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, which would strike the portion of the bill establishing 35 secretarial positions in executive branch state agencies.
""This amendment can save $3 million,"" Pocan said. ""If Walker is serious about laying off 1,500 people, why would we keep these apparently useless and political positions in the bill?""
Pocan was one of many Democrats who voiced their anger toward the governor and Republicans who they say claim to be fiscally responsible, then tabling amendment after amendment that Democrats insist contain, ""real solutions to real budget problems.""
Mark Radcliffe, D-Black River Falls, expressed outrage, claiming the Speaker of the Assembly Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, did not put five amendments Radcliffe proposed on the agenda.
""How can you take your goals seriously when you won't talk about ideas like this?"" said Radcliffe.
Radcliffe said his proposals are not controversial, but rather fiscally responsible ways of consolidating services. However, majority continues to table them without discussion.
Much of the discussion gravitated toward the heated debate on the collective bargaining rights portion of the bill.
While speaking about an amendment by state Rep. Chris Danou, D-Trempealeau, that addressed Wisconsin's debt to the state of Minnesota of over $60 million, Pocan voiced Democratic frustration with the budget-repair bill as a whole.
""This amendment represents the hypocrisy of the budget repair bill at large. Wisconsin owes Minnesota $60 million, Walker told me he'd fix it, there's nothing about it in the bill,"" Pocan said.
