Wisconsin

House passes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Here’s how Wisconsin’s delegation voted

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2024

House passes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Here’s how Wisconsin’s delegation voted

WASHINGTON – The House on Saturday passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, ending a monthslong delay to act on the assistance over objections from some on Republicans’ right flank.

Lawmakers approved the measures, which were voted on individually, to support the three nations with broad bipartisan support. A fourth bill that includes sanctions on Iran, provisions to seize Russian assets and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher’s legislation that could ban the video sharing app TikTok in the U.S., also passed.

The legislation is similar to an aid package the Senate passed in February, but Speaker Mike Johnson broke the assistance into individual bills to get support from different factions of his conference — allowing members to oppose certain measures without sinking the entire proposal. The strategy garnered support from Wisconsin’s lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The bills will now be combined and sent to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.

The package includes $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia; $26.3 billion to Israel as it battles Hamas, including about $9 billion in global humanitarian assistance; and just over $8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific in an effort to deter China’s threat to the region.

Its passage ends months of delays and uncertainty over whether Congress could pass the assistance as a group of Republicans in both the House and Senate have rejected the idea of providing more assistance to Ukraine. Some, including those in Wisconsin’s delegation, have called for aid to Kyiv to be tied to U.S.-Mexico border provisions. Supporters of the Ukraine aid, meanwhile, have noted the country is running out of ammunition to fight back against Russia.

Johnson, the House speaker, pushed forward with the legislation as he faced threats from those on the far right of his conference to remove him from his post should he put additional assistance to Ukraine up to a vote. Those threats still loomed large Saturday afternoon.

“We can’t play politics with this, we have to do the right thing,” Johnson told reporters this week, referencing Ukraine funding. “I’m going to allow every single member of the House to vote their conscience and their will.”

He added of aid to the country: “To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys.”

Wisconsin’s lawmakers on Saturday were split over the measures.

Gallagher, who had planned to leave Congress on Friday, extend wshis tenure through to support the legislation Saturday. He was the only Wisconsin Republican to vote in favor of aid to Ukraine.

Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, for example, has rejected providing more offensive capabilities to Israel as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to grow. And Republicans like Rep. Tom Tiffany have opposed sending more assistance to Ukraine. He and Reps. Glenn Grothman and Scott Fitzgerald told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week they wanted to see border legislation added to the package.

“$95 billion in FOREIGN aid with NOTHING to stop the FOREIGN invasion of our own country,” Tiffany tweeted Friday, after opposing a procedural move to proceed to debate on the entire package. “America’s border security should come FIRST.”

Here’s how Wisconsin’s House delegation voted Saturday (a yes vote means a lawmaker voted in favor of the legislation):

Aid to Ukraine

The more than $60 billion aid to Kyiv passed the House on an 311-112 vote.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R) — No

Rep Mike Gallagher (R) — Yes

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R) — No

Rep. Gwen Moore (D) — Yes

Rep. Mark Pocan (D) — Yes

Rep. Bryan Steil (R) — No

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) — No

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) — No

Aid to Israel

The bill to provide $26.3 billion in aid to Israel passed on an 366-58 vote.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R) — Yes

Rep Mike Gallagher (R) — Yes

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R) — Yes

Rep. Gwen Moore (D) — Yes

Rep. Mark Pocan (D) — No

Rep. Bryan Steil (R) — Yes

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) — No

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) — Yes

Aid to Taiwan, Indo-Pacific

The $8 billion package to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific passed the House on an 385-34 vote.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R) — Yes

Rep Mike Gallagher (R) — Yes

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R) — Yes

Rep. Gwen Moore (D) — Yes

Rep. Mark Pocan (D) — Yes

Rep. Bryan Steil (R) — Yes

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) — No

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) — Yes

A fourth bill, including TikTok measure

A fourth measure that included Gallagher’s proposal that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app or face a ban in the United States passed the House on an 360-58 vote.

Saturday’s Tik Tok provision was slightly different from a version the House passed last month. This measure extended the mandatory timeline for a forced sale of the app to a little under a year after the bill’s signing, up from roughly six months.

The legislation would also impose sanctions on Iran, and another provision would allow for the selling off of frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine’s fight.

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R) — Yes

Rep Mike Gallagher (R) — Yes

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R) — Yes

Rep. Gwen Moore (D) — No

Rep. Mark Pocan (D) — No

Rep. Bryan Steil (R) — Yes

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) — Yes

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) — Yes

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Wisconsin

No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 1 Texas Longhorns: Game Thread

Published

15 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

The Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the Texas Longhorns in the Elite 8 on Sunday evening, looking to make their way back to the Final Four in Kansas City next week.

Wisconsin pulled off an impressive win over the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Friday, as it out-hit the latter in a thriller behind strong efforts from Mimi Colyer (27 kills) and Charlie Fuerbringer (61 assists).

Now, they’re facing a team that they were swept by earlier in the season, as the Longhorns thrived off Badger errors during their first matchup.

Texas has cruised through its competition so far in the NCAA Tournament, beating Florida A&M, Penn State, and Indiana en route to the Elite 8.

If Wisconsin can win, it would face the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday in the Final Four, with the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers being the other two teams still left in the field.

Can the Badgers get a huge upset and break the Texas streak of wins on Sunday? Join us as our game thread is officially active.

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Wisconsin

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Published

12 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

WI lawmakers should support data center accountability bill | Letters

Data centers proposed in our area pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. We all can take action by asking our senators and representatives to back SB729.

Letters to the Editor
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The data centers proposed in our area in Mount Pleasant, Port Washington, and Beaver Dam pose multiple threats to our water, wildlife, and wallets. The centers will require vast amounts of water to cool their equipment. Plus, 70% of the water consumed each year in Wisconsin goes to electric power generation, so the water needed for energy production adds to the millions of gallons these centers will need on peak days.

The massive energy infrastructure required to build and operate the data centers is expensive and threatens to burden customers for years with the huge costs. Also, at a time when the impacts of climate change make it clear that we should be transitioning to clean renewable energy sources, utility companies are using data centers as justification for building new fossil gas power plants, thereby keeping us from achieving the zero emissions future that we so desperately need.

Take action by backing Data Center Accountability Act

The Data Center Accountability Act, bill SB729, was introduced recently in the Wisconsin legislature. If passed, the bill would stipulate that:

Data center must meet labor standards and use at least 70% renewable energy.
All data centers must be LEED certified or the equivalent.
Data center owners must pay an annual fee that funds renewable energy, energy efficiency, and a low-income energy assistance program.

We all can take action to prevent the worst impacts from data centers by asking our senators and representatives to vote for SB729. To find your legislators go to https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Elected-Officials.

Jenny Abel, Wauwatosa

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Wisconsin

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Wisconsin and Texas volleyball teams will face each other in the NCAA regional finals after first meeting near the start of the season.
Key factors for Wisconsin include overcoming Texas’ physicality and managing their talented pins.
The Badgers’ ability to handle adversity in a hostile environment will be crucial for a potential return to the Final Four.

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball’s first weekend of the 2025 season featured a high-profile match against Texas.

Wisconsin’s either final or penultimate weekend of the season – depending on whether UW can advance – also features a high-profile match against Texas.

But both sides will caution against reading too much into Wisconsin’s Aug. 31 loss to Texas ahead of a rematch in the NCAA tournament regional finals as each team seeks a return to the Final Four.

“We are completely different teams than what we saw however many months ago that was,” Wisconsin middle blocker Carter Booth said.

Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said almost the exact same thing in the Longhorns’ press conference, and his players echoed similar sentiments as well.

“I feel like both teams are just a lot more developed at this point in the year,” Texas setter Ella Swindle said. “At the beginning of the season, we were kind of just figuring out who we are and who we want to be. So now at this point, I feel like we know our identities, and we’re ready to go out and battle.”

Here are three keys for the much-improved Badgers to have a better outcome against the also-much-improved Longhorns in the NCAA tournament:

How efficient can Wisconsin’s attack be against Texas’ physicality at net?

Wisconsin’s path to advancing in the Texas regional has already required defeating one team with outstanding physicality at the net, and it is unlikely to get any easier in the regional finals.

“I was watching Stanford warm up, and you’re like, ‘Jiminy Crickets,’” Sheffield said. “It’s like watching the NBA dunking contest. It’s like, ‘Holy cow.’ They’re just bouncing balls on the 10-foot line and just really dynamic and impressive. And Texas probably has it even more than that.”

Texas’ physicality was abundantly apparent in its three-set sweep over Indiana in the regional semifinals. The Longhorns had a 12-2 advantage in blocks, and Indiana committed 23 attack errors. Going back to when UW faced Texas in August, the Badgers committed a season-high 26 attack errors despite it lasting only three sets.

“But each team has their thing,” Sheffield said. “And if we try to play their game, we’re going to get whacked. And if they try to play ours, that’s going to be problems for them as well.”

Can Badgers keep Texas’ talented pin hitters in check?

The Wisconsin-Texas match will feature two of the best outside hitters in the country.

Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer has averaged 5.38 kills per set, which is the highest among players who advanced to the NCAA regional finals and is destined to break the UW program record. Texas’ Torrey Stafford is ninth in the country with 4.78 kills per set while hitting .368.

“Both of them are fearless,” Sheffield said. “They’re extremely, extremely talented. I think volleyball fans are going to be following them for a long, long time. Both of them have tremendous careers in front of them.”

Stafford was virtually unstoppable in the Longhorns’ sweep over Indiana, recording 19 kills without any attack errors and hitting a video-game-like .679. But for as talented as the AVCA national player of the year semifinalist is, she is not the only pin that can give opponents fits.

Texas freshman Cari Spears has immediately stepped into a major role in the Longhorns’ attack as the starting right-side hitter in every match this season. In the second match of her career, she led Texas with 11 kills while committing only one attack error in the win over the Badgers.

“She was just trying to figure out how to breathe during that first match, and it just takes time,” Elliott said. “And now she actually understands our offense a lot more, she’s developed a lot of her blocking, her range has gotten better, and that applies to all of our team. Ella’s been doing the same thing. Her offensive system is completely different than it was the first week of the season.”

The Wisconsin match was the first of seven consecutive matches for Spears with at least 10 kills.

“Seeing that I can compete with one of the top teams in the nation and seeing the trust that my teammates had with me and the trust that the coaches had in me – it was a huge confidence boost for me,” Spears said.

As for how to stop Stafford, Spears and Co., Booth said it goes back to the Badgers’ fundamentals.

“I know I’m beating a dead horse, but that’s really what this is all about,” Booth said. “At the highest level, the margins are so thin that you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel again. You’re honing in on the details of what you already know to do. So it’s not necessarily about being perfect on the block. … Our focus is just going to be taking away good space for our defense and then trusting that the people around us have put in the work to be able to defend those shots.”

How do Badgers respond to adversity?

When Wisconsin defeated Stanford after an otherworldly offensive showing in the first set, Booth said it was “really an emphasis for us to always be the one throwing punches, not the ones taking them.”

The ability to punch first is far from a guarantee against a team as talented as Texas is, however. The Longhorns have only lost once this season at Gregory Gym, and that was against Kentucky, which is one of the other top seeds in the NCAA tournament.

Even in a neutral crowd situation, Wisconsin’s ability to not let Stanford’s momentum snowball was crucial in the four-set win. Now with the vast majority of the anticipated 4,500 people in attendance rooting against the Badgers in the regional finals, Wisconsin’s resiliency when Texas does pack a punch will be crucial.

“We are definitely more equipped to withstand those highs and lows of a set and able to step up after a mistake or come back after a battle,” Booth said. “You see yesterday, (we) come out very dominant in the first set, and then we dropped the second in a fashion that was a little bit uncharacteristic to the way we want to play. And being able to just step up and come back third and fourth playing our game – I think that goes to show how much we’ve grown in that sense.”

The Badgers – already confident before the tournament and now with even more reason for confidence after the Stanford win – are not ceding the possibility of still throwing that figurative first punch either.

“We are the writers of our own destiny, and I think that we are always in a position to be able to throw the first punch, no matter who we’re seeing across the net,” Booth said.

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