Rep. Davis: Time to pass a budget
Assembly Republicans are unified when it comes to keeping state spending at a rate taxpayers can afford, but there is a difference of opinion about what harm not passing a state budget could do, GOP state Rep. Brett Davis told WisPolitics in an interview yesterday.
Davis said the caucus stands solid against not handing Senate Democrats a "blank check."
"The differences in the caucus, perhaps, are the ramifications for and what will happen with no budget," said Davis, R-Oregon. "And if we don't have a budget, there's obviously some significant ramifications that happen, in my opinion, across the state. The governor's alluded to several of them. And I think there may be a difference of opinion as to whether or not we need a budget at all."
Davis, who represents a swing district and is regularly targeted by Dems, said what he hears most from his constituents is that legislators need to compromise. While many of his colleagues have signed various "no-tax" pledges, he said it's unlikely a budget would be passed without some new revenue uppers.
"I think the Senate has made it pretty clear that's not going to happen," he said.
David said Huebsch has done a good job of keeping the caucus informed and with the negotiations, but admitted the speaker will have a difficult time lining up Republican votes for the end product. He feels those votes can be delivered with the right package.
In the end, he said, passing a budget is a necessity.
"Let me just say that I want to do what I can to help to get the budget done as soon as possible," Davis said. "I feel the budget should have been done a couple months ago. I think there's been a lot of political rhetoric on both sides -- the Senate Democrats and on our side, the Republicans -- and I personally don't feel it does the state any good. It just isn't rocket science. We can sit down and be grown-ups about this and figure out a solution for it."
In an interview with WisPolitics last week, state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said lawmakers could dig in until after Christmas in an effort to defeat Dem tax proposals.
Listen to the interview with Davis here.
Davis also makes the case for taking action on the budget in this column released today.
