MADISON, WI (WSAU) — Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg was one of three Wisconsin Mayors calling for Congress to pass a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure package that’s been held up for weeks as lawmakers discuss the size and scope of the bill.
Rosenberg used her time on the call to talk about what the child care aspects of the bill could mean for both Wausau and Marathon County.
“In Marathon County we lost 55% of our child-care providers during the last recession ten years ago,” said Rosenberg. “So in my community you can only pay hundreds of dollars per week for child care if you can find it.”
She says that means parents may not be able to work as much, and kids may not be getting a head start on their schooling. “In a world-class economy like the United States, it begins with equitable access to high-quality care and education for our youngest citizens. That’s one of the things [in the proposal] that I’m really excited about.
“One of the ways to restart our economy is to build the things, then make sure the people can use them, live life with a purpose” added Rosenberg.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says the proposal would help her city jump-start some flood protection projects. “We know that we need tens of millions of dollars worth of upgrades to our stormwater system to deal with future flooding and reduce the risk of a catastrophic flood. We also need to upgrade our aging infrastructure like the John Nolan Drive Bridges and add new infrastructure like [bringing] Amtrak service to Madison.
“We know that these investments will bring family-supporting jobs to Wisconsin and to our communities,” added Rhodes-Conway.
Rosenberg and Rhodes-Conway were joined by Racine Mayor Cory Mason and Sheboygan’s Ryan Sorensen. All four also expressed frustration with how slow the process of passing the bill has been moving.
“Local government doesn’t have the luxury of not getting stuff done. We have to deliver clean water, we have to pick up the trash, we have to plow the streets. We have to provide services to our communities every day. So it is frustrating to see Congress going back and forth and up and down and not making any progress,” said Rhodes-Conway.
The bill has been held up for weeks while lawmakers negotiate the size and contents of the package. Some have set a soft deadline of having the measure passed by the end of October, though it’s unclear if that will happen.
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