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Wisconsin lawmakers claim $555K in expenses during pandemic

Report: Funding, social factors affected Wisconsin CWD fight
Posted at 12:59 PM, Mar 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-23 13:59:24-04

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin legislators claimed more than $555,000 for traveling to and working in Madison in 2020, even though they never convened for a floor session over the last eight months of a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate and Assembly chief clerks released records Tuesday that show legislators claimed $555,159 in per diem expenses.

That's on top of their $53,000 annual salaries.

The Legislature adjourned its two-year session just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020.

Lawmakers convened in April to pass a COVID relief bill but took the rest of the year off to campaign. Legislators claimed about $800,000 in expenses in 2018, their last campaign year before 2020.

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