MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers sent another in a series of letters to every member of Wisconsin's Congressional delegation, urging bipartisan opposition to provisions in President Donald J. Trump's proposed Federal Fiscal Year 2027 (FFY27) budget that would have devastating impacts on Wisconsin's valuable natural resources and weaken the state's infrastructure and disaster preparedness. The governor's latest letter comes as congressional committees in Washington are expected to continue their work marking up the federal budget with the goal of finalizing the budget by the end of the current federal fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2026.
"For over a year, the Trump Administration has repeatedly tried to thwart our efforts here in Wisconsin and across the nation to ensure clean water for our residents, protect valuable natural resources, invest in needed infrastructure across the state, and ensure families, neighbors, and communities can appropriately respond to emergencies," said Gov. Evers. "While we've fought these efforts with every tool and power that we have here in Wisconsin, the president's budget further entrenches federal efforts to cut and gut critical programs that keep our state safe, healthy, and prepared for the future. I'm calling on Congress to reject these disastrous budget proposals and be the champions Wisconsin needs who will fight for our families and communities."
A summarized list of the concerns outlined in Gov. Evers' latest letter in opposition to the president's proposed FFY27 budget includes:
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Clean Water and Natural Resources:
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President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate or gut several grants and
programs aimed at ensuring clean water and protecting natural resources for Wisconsinites across the state, including:
he State Revolving Funds program, which has provided billions of dollars to Wisconsin communities to help afford the construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure that provides safe drinking water, wastewater services, and stormwater management;
he State and Tribal Assistance Grants, also known as Performance Partnership Grants, which fund critical pollution control efforts throughout Wisconsin;
he State, Private, and Tribal Forestry Grants that support foresters who are responsible for implementing national forest policy priorities, as well as the implementation of Wisconsin's Statewide Forest Action Plan, which guides management of state forest lands, enables the state to provide technical assistance to private landowners, and supports the work to improve health, resilience, and productivity of private, state, and federal lands alike;
he State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program, which is the main source of federal support for proactive wildlife conservation and supports Wisconsin in implementing the congressionally mandated State Wildlife Action Plan that helps conservation efforts for more than 500 species; and
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Eliminating Coastal Zone Management grants, which support wetland mapping in Great Lakes coastal counties, which are then used for land use planning, nutrient management, water quality permitting, and habitat conservation activities.
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Transportation, Housing, and Infrastructure:
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President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate or gut several grants and programs aimed at creating safe and reliable 21st-century transportation, cybersecurity, and health infrastructure, including:
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Reducing funding for the Capital Investment Grants program, which supports transit systems expansion;
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Reducing funding for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program, which increases access to passenger rail services and boosts economic development;
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Reducing funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement program, which improves freight and passenger rail tracks and other infrastructure;
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Reducing funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program that helps to continue the state's successful electric vehicle charging network build-out along high-traffic corridors;
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Reducing the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program, also known as the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program.
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The program has funded several important transportation infrastructure projects in Wisconsin, such as PurpleLine Corridor enhancements in Milwaukee and road improvements in the Menominee Nation;
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Significantly reducing Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) funding by $707 million;
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CISA provides vital technical assistance, threat intelligence sharing, and coordination with state, local, Tribal, and private sector partners.
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Eliminating the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, with Wisconsin losing $3.5 million annually;
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The grants help local and Tribal health departments invest in locally identified priorities that support their accountability, effectiveness, and community health improvement infrastructure.
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Eliminating funding for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, which funds efforts by nonprofit providers and state and local governments that promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families;
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Without funding, Wisconsin's CoC program will lose critical coordinators of services that provide services to Wisconsin's most vulnerable residents, disrupting access to shelter for people experiencing homelessness, permanent housing programs, and housing stability resources.
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Housing for over 660 households would be lost with the CoC program.
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Cutting the Housing for Persons with AIDS program entirely and leaving the state without a key resource skilled in supporting 271 eligible households with a unique set of needs.
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Decreasing funding for the Housing for Persons with Disabilities by $20 million and the Homeless Assistance Grants by $390 million;
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Eliminating funding for the existing $1.25 billion HOME Investment Partnership Block Grant, which helps eligible housing organizations with development of affordable rental housing, provides home purchase assistance and home rehabilitation to low- and moderate- income households, and provides funds for security deposits, rental assistance, and utility assistance to help households obtain and retain rental housing; and
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In 2025, the HOME Investment Partnership Block grant served over 600 households and created over 100 affordable housing units, with additional projects already underway in FY26.
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Eliminating the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which would significantly reduce specialized training opportunities available to Wisconsin's emergency responders.
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These programs provide critical training that prepares responders for natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, terrorism threats, and other complex emergency scenarios.
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Emergency and Disaster Response:
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President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate or gut several programs aimed at mitigation and prevention programs that build more resilient communities and reduce the severity of future emergencies, including:
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Reducing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Emergency Management Performance Grant, which currently supports approximately 25 percent of Wisconsin Emergency Management's (WEM) personnel costs and around 40 percent of county and Tribal emergency management budgets;
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Reducing FEMA's Non-Disaster Grants by $1.3 billion;
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The reduction in funding represents an approximately 35 percent cut from FFY26 and would significantly impact WEM and local emergency management agencies statewide.
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Cutting funding to the Homeland Security Grant Program, which funds the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center, local SWAT, bomb, and dive teams, as well as statewide emergency response training and exercises; and
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Eliminating the Hospital Preparedness Program, cutting $3.4 million annually from Wisconsin, and leaving the healthcare system less prepared to respond to crises.
The list released by the governor today comprises programs at the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, WEM, and more. The Evers Administration is continuing to analyze the impacts of President Trump's budget proposal on other state agencies and programs that Wisconsinites depend on every day and anticipates releasing further analyses as they become available.
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