U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces New Federal Funding Available to Help Wisconsin Combat the Opioid Epidemic

Senator Baldwin worked to secure federal funding for local communities that invests in prevention, treatment and recovery

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today announced that an additional $11.8 million in federal grant funding is available to help Wisconsin combat the opioid epidemic.

Senator Baldwin led the effort to include an additional $1 billion for this program to fight the opioid epidemic in the FY2018 omnibus spending bill signed by President Trump. The grant program was established as part the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act that Senator Baldwin worked to pass in Congress.

“I’ve met with local health officials, law enforcement and first responders and it’s clear Washington needs to do more to support local prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. I have worked in a bipartisan way to make sure local communities in Wisconsin have the federal support they need to address the opioid epidemic and save lives,”said Senator Baldwin. “This epidemic is not a partisan issue, and a strong partnership between the federal government and our state is essential to an effective response. I’m hopeful that Governor Walker will act immediately to put these federal investments to work in Wisconsin to support our continued fight against this deadly crisis.”

The $11.8 million in federal funding for Wisconsin will be distributed through the State Targeted Response Grants program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Senator Baldwin has been a leader in working to provide more federal funding to fight the opioid epidemic in Wisconsin. She recently met with law enforcement, first responders, health officials and Wisconsin residents affected by this crisis in Superior, Sturgeon Bay and Kaukauna to call for a Senate vote on new bipartisan legislation, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018, that she helped pass in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. As a member of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Baldwin successfully worked to include in the bipartisan legislation an extension and expansion of the State Targeted Response Grants program to provide states and tribal communities more resources to address the epidemic. This bipartisan legislation passed the Senate HELP Committee in April and is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.