You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Funding for the University of Wisconsin system is being held up by Republicans, who control the Legislature and who want to kill all spending on diversity, the Associated Press reported.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he expected the budget-writing committee to cut all funding that the university system would use for diversity initiatives. He estimated the cuts would total $32 million.
“I hope we have the ability to eliminate that spending. The university should have already chosen to redirect it to something that is more productive and more broadly supported,” Vos said.
Governor Tony Evers and other Democrats are opposing the moves.
Republicans are also refusing to fund a new engineering facility on the flagship Madison campus.
Hours of negotiations on Tuesday failed, and the measure on the university budget has been postponed.
On Wednesday, Evers threatened to veto the appropriations bill if it contains the $32 million cut for the university, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“To cut, at this point in time, the University of Wisconsin System when we have a $7 billion surplus is irrational. I’m hopeful that will change before the budget is passed,” he said.
