Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, blocked a vote on Feb. 4 to fund the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project.
The bipartisan bill would have given $1 million over two years to the project working to identify and recover missing U.S. military personnel from past conflicts. 1,500 MIA American service members come from Wisconsin, according to the project's website.
UW MIA Recovery project team lead Charles Konsitzke testified Jan. 29 in support of the bill.
“Our missing service members further include Wisconsin Coast Guardsmen lost in the icy waters of the North Atlantic aboard the USS Escanaba, Wisconsin airmen whose aircraft went down in the fields of northern France, Wisconsin soldiers whose remains still lie on a Belgian hillside following the early fighting of the Battle of the Bulge and Wisconsin soldiers, airmen, and Marines who remain missing from conflicts in North Korea and Vietnam,” Konsitzke said..
He said this funding would help conduct annual recovery missions and help cold case investigators review specific cases.
“They prepare detailed presentations and reports for families of service members whose cases are deemed recoverable, as well as comprehensive closure reports for those determined to be unrecoverable, such as maritime losses,” Konsitzke said. “These reports provide families with far more meaningful and substantive information than the brief telegrams and notices received during wartime.”
The Assembly Committee for Veteran and Military Affairs removed the legislation from the calendar at Vos’ request. Vos has blocked this legislation each of the past four consecutive legislative sessions.
Vos did not respond to The Daily Cardinal’s request for comment.
Coauthored by Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, and Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, the bill was originally introduced Nov. 7, 2025, but has remained in limbo since.
Democratic lawmakers speculate Vos has concerns with the bill’s ties to UW-Madison, and is blocking funding from going towards any university affiliated projects.
Gov. Tony Evers said he would not use his partial veto power if the bill made it to his desk, according to the Wisconsin Examiner.
Vos has historically conflicted with UW-Madison’s budget, from a deal to reimagine DEI in 2023 to floating a $80 million dollar cut in 2025.
“We remain committed to seeking out our missing service members, advocating for their families, and never giving up; because we owe that commitment to those who fought and died for our nation,” Konsitzke said.
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