New Assembly Committee Will Focus On Altering Public Benefits

'We Need To Weed Out Fraud, Waste And Abuse' Says Vos

By
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos during an appearance on the show "Here and Now" on Wisconsin Public Television. Image courtesy of WPT.

The speaker of the state Assembly sent another signal on Tuesday that members of his caucus will focus on changes to public benefits when the Legislature returns to Madison in January.

Speaker Robin Vos announced the creation of a new Public Benefit Reform Committee. In a statement, Vos wrote, “We need to weed out fraud, waste and abuse to ensure that people who really need temporary assistance are getting it.”

Vos had already released an agenda for next session that includes a bill to require drug testing for public benefits recipients. That same agenda called for encouraging all public benefits programs to be administered through an electronic debit card that’s programmed to automatically decline at places like casinos, liquor stores or strip clubs.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Mandating drug tests for public benefit recipients polled well leading up to the last election, but it’s likely illegal under federal law. Federal courts have found it unconstitutional, and when the idea was tried in Florida, it cost the state more money than it saved.

Support your connection to lifelong learning! Give now.