Wisconsin Republicans Introduce Legislation Tightening Eligibility for Unemployment Benefits and Medicaid

Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 -- 11:01 AM

(AP) Wisconsin Republicans introduced a package of legislation Tuesday that would tighten eligibility for unemployment benefits and Medicaid coverage, saying the bills are designed to help alleviate what they maintain is a crippling labor shortage in the state.

The bills would mandate audits of benefit recipients’ work search efforts, shrink the duration of benefits as the unemployment rate drops and deny benefits to recipients who refuse job offers or don’t show up for job interviews.

“We have such an immense number of jobs available,” Senate President Chris Kapenga said at a news conference to introduce the bills. “The people who are on benefits are not in the workforce. We want to reduce that so we don’t have dependency on government. No person has ever become prosperous and independent on a welfare check.”

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3% in November, according to the latest data available from the state Department of Workforce Development. The agency estimated about 97% of the state’s 3,107,800-person workforce was employed that month.

But Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business group and a key Republican ally, has insisted employers are still suffering from a lack of workers. The bills come as GOP legislators prepare to head out on the campaign trail in a few months.

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