Rep. Tauchen called on to share views on COVID

To the editor:

Gov. Evers, in consultation with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued statewide stay-at-home guidelines to reduce the COVID-19 pandemic throughout our great state.

Rep. Gary Tauchen and the Republican legislature objected to the content of the uniform public and private behavioral standards and took their objection to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. The Republican “non-partisan” court agreed that any statewide requirements must have legislative approval and rendered a decision that left Wisconsin without statewide behavioral standards to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wisconsin citizens are now left with a standard compliance mess.

Counties, towns, villages, cities, public institutions, private businesses and businesses catering to social events and recreational gatherings all have committed to different health-related standards that are confusing the public and leaving state directives largely ignored.

Our state representatives, in addition to their generous salaries, also receive abut $160 per day for expenses when in Madison. Rep. Tauchen was in the top 10 legislators in those expenses, receiving over $10,000 in additional dollars.

The state legislature was in session less than 25 days last year; it would appear that Rep. Tauchen must have been attending several meetings that included discussion of what uniform statewide standards Republican legislators are willing to support, particularly in light of the fact that COVID-19 cases are increasing dramatically throughout the state and in Rep. Tauchen’s Assembly district. Would Gary Tauchen please share his views on the matter? He is our representative, and our health depends on it.

Herbert Grover

Gresham