The Legislative Affairs Committee met Monday to prepare a response to Gov. Scott Walker’s budget bill, encouraging members to meet with local legislators to voice their demands for change.
Legislative Affairs Committee Chair Tom Gierok spoke about the proposed budget changes for UW-Madison and what the administration is likely to do if the bill is passed later this year. This included a possible increase in out-of-state tuition as well as a reduction in staff and other areas.
The committee focused on Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s speech from last Thursday to spark the conversation, echoing her mentality that Walker’s proposed cuts are too large for the university to handle.
Gierok used UW-Green Bay’s operating budget as an analogy for the budget cuts UW-Madison faces, saying their budget is half of what this university is expected to lose.
“It would be like cutting Green Bay twice,” Gierok said.
But members expressed hope in combating the budget bill before legislators have the chance to pass it. Gierok said there has been a bit of bipartisan dissent for the bill, noting there are some members of the republican party who agree the cuts are too big for the university to manage.
Government Relations Advisor Michael Moscicke spoke to the committee about the best practices for speaking with legislators to advocate for change. Moscicke prompted members to send emails to their local legislators to begin their campaigns, beginning with requests for low-pressure visits.
The intention is to work up to high-pressure meetings that get to the root of what members want to change about the budget bill. Moscicke said persistence is required in getting these types of meetings.
Committee member Morgan Rae enthusiastically confirmed this idea, saying she once went through a one-month sequence of phone calls before getting a meeting with a legislator.
Gierok said he believes there is a high possibility for the budget bill to change before it passes because there are so many people who are weary of the cuts and want to do something about it, including people inside and outside the university.
“I think there’s a great chance we could change something,” Gierok said.
