State Senator Eric Wimberger. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Republican State Senator Eric Wimberger is pressing Democratic Governor Tony Evers to hand over funds to the state treasury.
According to the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau, more than $170 million in interest has been accrued on unspent federal dollars since the pandemic.
“Federal money all got put into a bank account controlled by the governor alone. He would not spend it,” said Wimberger, R-Oconto. “He has failed to turn it over — refused to turn it over, actually. We’ve just been monitoring it for over a year.”
Those federal dollars given to Wisconsin were part of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. The program gave states money to assist in economic recovery during the pandemic.
Wimberger testified before a state Senate committee this week about a bill he introduced that looks to require Evers to give the accrued interest money to the state’s General Fund. He claims what Evers is doing with the funds is illegal.
“If he can create his own sources of revenue off federal dollars, we are not Wisconsin. We’re a subsidiary of the federal government,” said Wimberger at Wednesday’s state Senate Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development hearing.
During a visit to the Greenleaf area Thursday highlighting road improvements, Evers weighed in on Wimberger’s remarks.
“It came from money that the administration used for various projects, even things like this,” said Evers. “And what money has accrued as a result of that money, that will remain with us. We believe strongly that that’s already been litigated.”
Wimberger isn’t budging, and wants to see a plan for how that money will be spent.
“We’ll see. This is the budget cycle, and we’ll see what he wants to do with that [money], but if he doesn’t turn over that $170 million in interest, there’s a big problem,” said Wimberger.
“We still have projects that are left from that pot of money, and so we have to wait until that’s done to really understand how much of that money is already, is ready to go out the door for another purpose,” said Evers.
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