Tuesday, August 14, 2007



Wisconsin Assembly Celebrates Reagan
Assembly budget would name highway for 40th president

On Tuesday, July 10, Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled assembly approved a budget plan which would rename a portion of US Route 14 “Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway.” The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project (RRLP) praises all Wisconsin lawmakers who endeavor to preserve the memory of President Reagan in their state.

The assembly balanced the state budget without increasing taxes, eliminating a myriad of taxes proposed by Governor Jim Doyle (D) and an $18 billion payroll tax in the senate budget that would have quickly made Wisconsin the highest-taxed state in the nation.

The budget’s highway proposal would rename US Highway 14 from Madison south to the Illinois border. This was the second attempt in recent years to name the same section of the highway. Gov. Doyle vetoed a separate bill to rename the section “Ronald Reagan Highway” after it passed both the senate and assembly in 2005.

“The assembly budget is the perfect place for this proposal in Wisconsin,” said Grover Norquist, chairman of the RRLP. “President Reagan’s legacy clearly lives on in the minds of these representatives, who passed an admirable no-tax-increase budget and demonstrated their respect for Wisconsin taxpayers.”

During his two terms in office, President Reagan lowered the top marginal income tax rate from 70 percent to 28 percent, which increased the relative tax burden of the highest 1 percent of income earners, who generated more income as a result. Reagan’s economic policies began one of the greatest periods of economic prosperity and development in American history.

“Both this resolution and the fiscally responsible budget approved in the Assembly are testament to the great presidency and life of Ronald Wilson Reagan,” said Norquist. “It is critical that both his life and mission be remembered as America looks to define its role in the 21st century.”