Many of the protesters who gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday already had left for the night before the Assembly even made it to the floor to begin debate on Gov. Scott Walker?s budget. And when debate still had not begun after 10 p.m. because of delays in drafting amendments to the plan, lawmakers also called it a night. The two-year budget proposal aims to balance an estimated $3 billion budget hole by cutting spending on public schools by about $800 million, limiting their ability to raise property taxes to make up the difference, cutting funding for the University of Wisconsin System by $250 million, taking some $500 million from Medicaid programs, and placing an enrollment cap on Family Care, a program aimed at keeping poor, elderly people out of nursing homes. Republican leaders announced they were backing away from a controversial plan to give back some $37 million in federal grant money awarded to the University of Wisconsin system.Supporters say that money will help extend broadband Internet to rural and under-served areas. The proposal would have meant UW-Madison could no longer support WiscNet, a statewide Internet provider.
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