Wisconsin will take more funding from Biden, but they already have a lot of help from DC

One main difference between the Biden/Dem plans for stimulus and the GOPs "mini-size" bill is $350 billion that would be given to state and local governments to help them deal with the continued added costs and needs that are part of the COVID World. And any help state and locals get would be useful, given that it takes the burdens off of a level of government that can't go into debt as easily as Uncle Sam can.

That being said, the long-debated bill that was finally signed by Donald Trump in the last week of 2020 did give some help to state and locals. The difference in that December bill vs the Biden plan and last Spring's CARES Act is that the funds were designated for specific items. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently gave a list of the aids passed down from DC and heading to Wisconsin, and some of the biggest items that could have an effect on the upcoming state budget.

CDC aids for COVID
$52.6 million toward vaccination
$335.1 million on testing, tracing, and containment measures against the virus.

There are additional funds for Indian Health Services to carry out these duties, but LFB doesn’t give a specific number for Wisconsin tribes.

Education
$686.1 million to K-12
$318 million to higher education
$98.3 million in the “Governors Emergency Education Relief” fund, which Evers can use at either level to offset COVID-related fiscal difficulties.

Rental Assistance
$386.8 million in total. This includes funds that go out both statewide, and those targeted to the largest-population counties in the state.

Of this, $28,221,000 will be provided directly by the federal government to Milwaukee County, $16,313,700 to Dane County, $12,061,500 to Waukesha County, $7,894,100 to Brown County, and $322,287,300 to the state government.

Child Care
$147 million added to the state’s current block grant of $136.8 million.

However, it can’t be used to “supplant state funding for current programs,” so this is extra funding vs an excuse to cut state spending. But the CAA funds do allow for it to take the form of subsidies to help child care providers get by. Seems like a big boost to me.

One program area that was in the December bill that was not in this Spring’s CARES Act was funding for roads, which was put in along with more support for mass transportation in the air, as well as on the ground.

Transportation Aid
$188 million for Wisconsin highway infrastructure
$83.2 million to assist the state’s airports
$79.6 million in additional transit funding, plus $2.3 million to tribal governments.

In addition to the provisions added in the December bill, Wisconsin was already getting added help from the Feds to pay for higher expenses in Medicaid and SNAP (we’ll see if the SNAP aid stays, as the gerrymandered WisGOP Legislature flails around on Gov Evers’ mask mandate). Unlike the Child Care funds, these can take the place of state funding, and has allowed for large sums of money to be saved in the current state budget.

The extra Federal Funding already in place is a significant reason behind LFB projections that say Wisconsin would carry over an estimated $1.8 billion on June 30. And the size of funds that were in December's bill do allow the Biden Administration a spot to reduce funding if they need that to ensure the votes of some shaky Senators, and/or target the funding to state and local governments as opposed to having it be "no strings attached".

Well, they also could raise taxes on the rich to pay for it and reduce the casino-like element that is in our economy these days. But that card can also be played later.

Plus, while state and local funding would certainly help in getting the economy back on track, it also can be saved for the next form of Biden stimulus. That would be a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that can be debated and passed in the Summer, along with the Feds' 2021-22 budget, which begins in October.

The infrastructure package might be even more important than the stimulus package when it comes to keeping the foot on the gas when it comes to keeping our economy out of recession after 2021, and allow it to be built on a better foundation than the Bubbly, unequal "growth" that we saw in the last half of 2020.

So I say we should get Stimulus Part 1 passed ASAP this month, but woth the understanding that more state and local funding could be the one part of the bill that doesn't have to become law until later. And don't let that one portion delay checks, unemployment aid and COVID funding that are much more urgent today.