OPINION: Will Congress prioritize affordability in 2026? Wisconsin is watching

Congressional Republicans Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil need to prioritize affordability for Wisconsin families.

A new year typically brings renewed hope and fresh starts. We make resolutions, plan for the future, and hope things will improve. But for thousands of Wisconsin families, 2026 has started with a harsh reality: skyrocketing costs with no relief in sight.

At Opportunity Wisconsin, we’re helping tell these stories and encourage congressional Republicans to do the right thing. 

Marty from Sparta saw her health insurance bill jump by $12,000 this year after Congressional Republicans, including Derrick Van Orden, allowed health care tax credits to expire. Kate met Congressman Derrick Van Orden and he promised her he’d never cut benefits for people like her mother who relies on Medicaid to afford long-term care – before turning around and voting for the largest Medicaid cut in history. Joey, a Kenosha firefighter with five kids, is watching the price of family dinners skyrocket as tariffs drive grocery prices through the roof.

These aren’t just statistics. They’re real Wisconsin families paying the price for decisions made in Washington.

Over the past year, Van Orden and Bryan Steil have consistently chosen to prioritize handouts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy while making life harder for working families. They voted for the Republican Tax Law that slashed more than $900 billion from Medicaid – putting 110,000 Wisconsinites at risk of losing health care and threatening rural hospitals with closure – and cut SNAP benefits that help families afford groceries. They’ve voted for tariffs multiple times that are sending the cost of everything from food to furniture soaring.

The pattern is clear: tax breaks for those at the top, cost increases for everyone else.

Now Congress has a choice. Will they finally prioritize affordability for Wisconsin families, or will we see more of the same?

First, Congress must reverse the devastating cuts to Medicaid in the Republican Tax Law. These cuts threaten health care for children, seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans who rely on the program. They put rural hospitals at risk of closure and force families to make impossible choices about their loved ones’ care.

Second, Van Orden, Steil, and their colleagues need to vote to remove the costly tariffs that are driving up prices on groceries, home goods, and everyday necessities. Wisconsin families can’t afford to keep paying more while corporate profits soar.

Third, Congress needs to reinstate the health care tax credits that helped more than 277,000 Wisconsinites afford coverage. Van Orden and Steil let these credits expire, forcing families to choose between paying thousands more or going without insurance. While Van Orden recently voted for an extension, it’s too little too late – costs are already going up, and the extension is not guaranteed to be signed into law. 

They have a chance to fix this crisis they created. The question is whether they will take it.

Wisconsin families are watching. They’re seeing which side their representatives choose – working families struggling to make ends meet, or wealthy corporations and the ultra-rich. Marty, Kate, Joey, and thousands of others deserve members of Congress who fight to make health care, food, and basic necessities more affordable, not less.

Will Congressmen Van Orden and Steil finally stand up for their constituents in 2026? Or will it be more of the same?