MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have voted to end funding for a pandemic-era child care subsidy program. The vote Friday morning came over the objections of Democrats and child care providers who argued that the move would be devastating for needy families and the state’s economy. The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee, which writes the state budget, voted to kill the funding. The Child Care Counts program handed out nearly $600 million to more than 4,900 child care providers from March 2020 through March 2023, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had proposed spending more than $300 million to continue the program.
