One Wisconsin Now Calls on State Senators With Taxpayer-Funded Memberships to Dump Affiliation with Right-Wing ALEC

MADISON, Wis. — One Wisconsin Now sent letters today to 9 current Wisconsin State Senators asking them to revoke their membership in the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The Senators would join the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and corporations like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Intuit and Kraft who earlier announced they’ve pulled their support. The letter also asks that the nine refund the tax dollars that were used to purchase ALEC memberships on their behalf.

By dumping ALEC and refunding tax dollars, elected officials can take the side of people.

One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne said, “This is golden opportunity for these legislators to show whose side they are on by revoking their membership in this right-wing, corporate-funded front group.”

Among the issues ALEC is currently supporting is the privatization of social security and allowing insurance companies to deny women coverage for services like mammograms and cervical cancer screenings.

In Wisconsin, ALEC model legislation protecting corporations from liability for injuring consumers, making voting more difficult for seniors, minorities and students and increasing the privatization of public education has been passed by the Republican legislature and signed into law by Governor Walker.

Browne concluded, “By dumping their membership in ALEC and refunding the tax dollars they used to pay their dues, these elected officials can take the side of the people who they were sent to Madison to represent instead of the narrow interests of the wealthy and corporations.”

According to records provided by the Wisconsin Senate Chief Clerk, the Wisconsin State Senators using tax dollars to fund their current ALEC memberships are Lasee, Darling, Kedzie, Fitzgerald, Grothman, Wanggaard, Moulton, Lazich and Zipperer.