Citizen Action Weekend Newsletter, March 21st
Attend a Citizen Action Hands Off Medicaid Town Hall!
Directly-impacted Wisconsin residents, local legislators, lawmakers, and advocates will speak at a 3 community town hall events to discuss massive federal Medicaid cuts now being debated in Congress.
- Wausau on Saturday, March 22, 6pm. Click here to register
- La Crosse on Monday, March 24, 6pm. Click here to register
- Eau Claire on Tuesday, March 25, 7pm. Click here to register
The 3 town hall events in Wausau, La Crosse, and Wausau are expected to draw people from across Western and Central Wisconsin. Each will include a brief presentation from a Citizen Action of Wisconsin health policy expert, comments from local elected officials, testimony from directly-affected community members, and an open forum for questions and further testimony.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid program covers 1.2 million people. It contains BadgerCare, a health insurance program for low-income residents; FamilyCare and IRIS, which fund nursing home care and home healthcare services for seniors and people with disabilities; Birth to 3, which provides comprehensive services for infants with developmental disabilities, and several other programs serving vulnerable populations who would otherwise be excluded from healthcare infrastructure. It is also the largest payer of mental health services, one of the primary funders for substance use disorder rehabilitation, and a budgetary lifeline for hospitals and physicians serving rural and low-income patients.
In February, both chambers of Congress passed a budget resolution calling $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over the next decade, including a $2 trillion reduction in government spending. The Energy & Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid, was apportioned $880 billion of these cuts. Though Medicaid was not explicitly named in the resolution, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan government agency, concludes that this goal is unattainable without severe cuts to Medicaid.
The federal government funds 60% of Wisconsin’s $11 billion Medicaid budget, which covers 1.2 million Wisconsinites. A cut of even 10% of federal support would require an additional $600 million of state money—a 15% increase in funding from general purpose revenue—or state cuts to Medicaid funding, which would remove people from the program or further reductions in payments to medical providers.
Time to Get Out the Vote! Volunteer for Citizen Action’s Crawford/Underly virtual statewide phone bank, Tuesday, March 25th, 5pm.
Volunteer to knock doors or make calls from home for Susan Crawford and Dr. Jill Underly.
Building Power Together: A New Member’s First Canvass Experience
This past week, I had the opportunity to canvass with a new member, Christian Lozornio, and it was an energizing reminder of why this work matters. Stepping up for their first canvass, they weren’t sure what to expect—but after just a few doors, they saw firsthand the power of having real conversations with our neighbors. By the end of the shift, they felt inspired, motivated, and ready to do it again!
Here’s what they had to say about their experience:
“I think it went great being able to be a part of something that helps shape and contribute back to our community. Helping families stay informed on our current elections, how important voting is, and how our vote impacts our community.”
With just weeks to go, now is the time to take action. Every conversation we have helps build the movement we need. Whether you’re experienced or brand new, we need you in these final, critical weeks!
Join us for a phone bank every Tuesday at 5 PM or a canvass every Saturday at 10 AM. Contact Ruben Aquino at 414-377-2995 or [email protected] to get involved. Let’s make a difference together!
Citizen Action Driftless Organizing Coop Update: La Crosse energy campaign kicks off this week.
Citizen Action is launching a campaign to connect Wisconsinites to information about the IRA grants for homeowners to weatherize their home and help them lower their utility bills, fight climate change, and make sure our communities have equitable access to funding through the IRA.
Green Homeowners United, the City of La Crosse and Citizen Action of WI announced the new program in front of Citizen Action Driftless Co-Op and board member Rebecca Schwarz’s home on Tuesday. Rebecca’s home was the first to go through the energy savings upgrades and hundreds of area homeowners can also cut their heating bills and improve home comfort—often at no cost—through grants/rebates Wisconsin is offering for home energy efficiency. These homeowners would then also be newly eligible for thousands of dollars in further energy-efficiency upgrades such as basement insulation, heat pumps and more that can make a big difference to save energy!
Right now, too many families are struggling with high energy costs.In La Crosse County, the average household spends over $2,500 per year on energy, and for low-income families, that can be up to 20% of their total income, which is a major financial strain. That’s not just an inconvenience, it’s an energy burden that forces families to choose between heating their homes or paying for food and medicine. Citizen Action member Suzanne Morgan, pays 9% of her income on utilities alone. She also recently stopped going to the doctor and taking needed medication because of the financial burden high medical and utility costs have placed on her family. We know that lower income families carry the brunt of the energy burden in this country because they often live in less energy efficient homes and can’t afford the upgrades. That is why we are working on legislation – a 2% of income utility rate cap for lower income people in Wisconsin.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, La Crosse homeowners won’t have to wait for new legislation – they can access thousands of dollars in rebates and grants for free energy assessments, insulation, heat pumps, and efficiency upgrades; all designed to cut costs and reduce pollution.
Together, we can lower bills, fight climate change, and build a Wisconsin that works for everyone.
Upcoming Events:
- La Crosse Canvass for Susan Crawford, Jill Underly, La Crosse Mayoral candidate Shaudel Washington-Spivey and other local candidates – Saturday, March 22nd and Saturday March 29th at 10am – 2318 State Rd, La Crosse (If you want to canvass and can’t make it to these Saturday group canvasses, please contact Kristie Tweed to get info)
- Hands Off Medicaid Town Hall, Monday, March 24th, 6pm. Click here to register
- Statewide Phonebank for Susan Crawford – Tuesday, March 25th – Sign Up Here
- Hands Off Medicaid Follow Up Actions and Events – TBD
- Driftless Healthcare Team Meeting – TBD (Early April)
In solidarity, Kristie Tweed; Driftless Co-Op Organizer, 608-317-1331 or [email protected]
Attend the Fundamentals of Organizing Training
Tue, April 1, 4:30pm–8:00pm CDT and Tue, April 8, 4:30pm–8:00pm CDT
Join us and our national network, People’s Action for the ‘Fundamentals of Organizing’, a two-part training that is held quarterly. The training has an emphasis on building relationships grounded in mutual self-interest that balances an expansive sense of how a multiracial democracy should operate and a long-term vision for the world with the realities of building power in the world as it is today.
FOCUS: Fundamentals of Organizing with a focus on power, self-interest, one-to-one relational meetings; and the foundation of power organizations.
WHO: Open to leaders and staff of People’s Action member organizations, partners, and movement allies.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 1 & Tuesday, April 8, 2025
WHERE: On-line
HOLD THE DATES: Joint Finance Committee Public Hearings on the State Budget
The Joint Finance Committee has officially announced Budget Listening Sessions. They will be held:
- Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Kaukauna High School, Auxiliary Gymnasium (Door AA4) 1701 County Road CE Kaukauna.
- Friday, April 4, 2025 Wisconsin State Fair Park, Exposition Center 640 South 84th Street West Allis.
- Monday, April 28, 2025 Hayward High School Auditorium 10320 Greenwood Lane Hayward.
- Tuesday, April 29, 2025 Northcentral Technical College-Center for Health Sciences 1000 W. Campus Dr. Wausau.
Submit a comment on State Budget
Call your state legislators in support of expanding BadgerCare in the state budget. Call 1-800-362-9472.
Call Governor Tony Evers at 1 (608) 266-1212 and urge him to veto any state budget that does not include BadgerCare expansion.
Citizen Action in the News
Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig was on the Earl Ingram Show for the full hour to answer the question, did America vote for a dictator?
Robert is on Earl’s show every Wednesday from 9 AM to 10 AM on the statewide Civic Media Network. Station list here.
Listen to “Adults not listening” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast
Can Congress get away with taking away health care from millions to fund huge tax cuts for the rich? We preview Medicaid Town Halls in Wausau, La Crosse and Eau Claire that will help organize resistance to proposed slashing cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Rep. Van Orden continued to hunker down in his basement bunker, holding a virtual town hall where he can avoid answering tough questions after misleading his own constituents about Medicaid cuts he rubber stamped in Congress. We cannot win by surrendering in advance. We continue to encourage Governor Evers to veto any budget the Legislature produces that fails to expand BadgerCare.
The Spring Election is around the corner and Brad Schimel rehashes voter fraud conspiracies about Milwaukee that he knows are false. So much for his phony stance as a high minded judge above politics. This week the only debate in the State Superintendent of DPI election was held by WPEN and other allies. This race remains about Jill Underly’s dedicated support for improving and properly funding our public schools vs. her opponent who is a supporter of siphoning even more money to private unaccountable voucher schools.
Robert educates us on a legal case against Greenpeace who was found liable for $645 million for Dakota Access Pipeline protests that has huge implications for the Constitutional right of free speech and protest. Will this be the beginning of a legal strategy to bankrupt progressive nonprofits to silence free speech and assembly?
We close with a soul-searching discussion with James Causey, a longtime columnist with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on adults forcing police officers back into Milwaukee Public Schools without ever listening to the kids.
Social media post of the week
