PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Sen. Tammy Baldwin spent Monday touring Southwest Wisconsin to tout some of the accomplishments of the bipartisan infrastructure deal passed by the Senate while also talking about what work still needs to be accomplished.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the infrastructure deal in Washington, D.C., the day started with a focus on Wisconsin. Specifically, how legislation permanently lowering the federal excise tax on beer, wine, and spirits can help grow the 'Made in Wisconsin' economy.
Sen. Baldwin said she has seen firsthand just how far a tax break can go when it comes to brewing beverages.
“They were either doing something like providing a health benefit to their employees or adding another piece of large equipment so they could, you know produce even more,” Sen. Baldwin said. “I mean all of the things they were doing were changing communities.”
Previous cuts to the federal excise tax on craft alcohol were set to expire at the end of 2020, but Sen. Baldwin's 'Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act' made them permanent after it was passed as part of the year-end bipartisan government funding legislation signed into law.
Erin Rasmussen just opened the doors on her new business, American Wine Project in Mineral Point, and showed Sen. Baldwin around Monday.
Rasmussen said the way craft-brewed alcohol was being taxed was a burden for small businesses.
“The way that they're applied is not as relevant now as it may have been after prohibition, so to see some change happen that really takes into account where we are as a craft industry would be great,” Rasmussen said.
Down the road in Platteville, the senator heard from local leaders about expanding access to reliable and high-speed broadband.
Sen. Baldwin, who voted for the 'Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act' which cleared the Senate, said though the latest funding would come with more oversight, there still needs to be a better way for local officials to plan projects.
“It's not that it's not there at all, but we need to have usable tools so that we can make sure, again, that we're good stewards of the public dollars,” Sen. Baldwin said.
Sen. Baldwin wrapped up her day with a stop in Crawford County to talk about building climate-resilient infrastructure.
Baldwin's bipartisan 'Rebuilding Stronger Infrastructure Act' was a part of the overall infrastructure bill passed by the Senate, and would allow for federal funds from a program to repair roads and bridges after natural disasters to also be used preventatively to keep down costly repairs from severe weather in the future.
Republicans, however, criticized the price tag of the infrastructure bill and called the spending “excessive.”
“Wisconsinites are suffering from higher prices and a Democrat-bolstered labor shortage that is hurting small businesses and families alike,” Anna Kelly, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement. “Wisconsinites want infrastructure -- but they don’t want the Democrats’ excessive $3.5 trillion spending spree that would drive up inflation and debt while exacerbating our national labor shortage.”