2022: Delivering Results for Wisconsin

Senator Baldwin secured passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, thirteen years after its original introduction. The law repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and requires federal and interstate recognition of legal same-sex and interracial marriages. Senator Baldwin led negotiations to secure bipartisan support with an amendment that clarified the bill’s intent and protection of existing religious liberties. By doing so, Senator Baldwin provided assurance to the LGBT community that their hard-won rights would be protected by federal law.

Senator Baldwin worked with Senator Portman (R-OH) to pass the Invent Here, Make Here for DHS Act as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Baldwin’s legislation will strengthen requirements ensuring that inventions and products developed through federally-funded research are manufactured in the United States. A recent investigative report found that the Department of Energy allowed breakthrough battery technology, developed at federally-funded a national lab, to be licensed to a Chinese manufacturer who is now making the product in China.

As the opioid and substance use disorder crisis continues to plague American families, Senator Baldwin has led numerous efforts to ensure comprehensive federal resources are available to address this issue. In the Fiscal Year 2022 funding bill, the Senator secured $1.525 billion for State Opioid Response grants, including $55 million for tribes. In the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill, she secured an additional $50 million for State Opioid Response grants.

Moreover, Senator Baldwin worked to improve and enhance the grant program by leading the State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act, which gives states and tribes the ability to use the federal funds to address the misuse of both opioids and stimulants, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. This bill was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation in December.

Senator Baldwin helped create the 988 National Suicide Lifeline, which went live in July 2022, through the passage of her bipartisan National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. This year, she committed to making sure the lifeline works to support those in crisis. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin helped secure $101 million for the Lifeline in Fiscal Year 2022. Over $7 million of that amount is supporting specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Senator helped secure an additional $400 million for 988. To support Wisconsin’s implementation of 988, the Senator also secured over $3 million in dedicated federal funding.

Moreover, she introduced the bipartisan 988 Coordination and Improvement Act with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to ensure that call centers have resources to respond to calls and give Americans the specialized care they need. Her legislation, which was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation, will establish a 988-coordinating office within the Department of Health and Human Services and require reports to Congress on the success of the Lifeline.

Senator Baldwin helped bring home Wisconsin’s first Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and announced that Department of Commerce awarded $1.61 million to Wisconsin North Central Minority Supplier Development Council to operate Wisconsin’s first Business Center to assist minority-owned business. Before this, Wisconsin was served by offices in Detroit and Chicago, but now Wisconsin will join a network of MBDA Business Centers and partners from around the country to provide high-quality technical assistance to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) – including by providing counseling and mentoring, assisting with access to capital, securing contracts and grants, and supporting job creation and retention. The goal of the MBDA’s Business Center Program is to promote the growth and global competitiveness of America’s MBEs.

Senator Baldwin worked to make the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency permanent and more than double the agency’s annual funding as part of bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baldwin worked to pass her bipartisan Farmland Security Act as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill. The bill, which she introduced with Senator Grassley (R-IA) requires greater scrutiny over foreign investments into American agricultural land to protect family farms, rural communities and food supply chains.

Specifically, Senator Baldwin led the effort to require reporting by USDA on the impact foreign investments in agricultural land have on the domestic food supply, small farming operations and rural communities. USDA will also be required to modernize the reporting requirements by foreign entities to improve our nation’s security by creating an interactive and public database of these investments.

Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Great Lakes Winter Commerce was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill supports economic activity on the Great Lakes through several improvements to icebreaking, including: codifying the Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission in the Great Lakes, requiring the service to maintain a certain standard of icebreaking activity and navigable waterways, authorizing $350 million for the construction of a new Great Lakes icebreaker, and requiring the creation of a database related to the impact of icebreaking as a barrier to commerce in the Great Lakes. The bill additionally requires annual reports and ongoing USCG coordination with commercial icebreaking operations.

Senator Baldwin worked with Senator Portman (R-OH) to pass the Invent Here, Make Here for DHS Act as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Baldwin’s legislation will strengthen requirements ensuring that inventions and products developed through federally-funded research are manufactured in the United States. A recent investigative report found that the Department of Energy allowed breakthrough battery technology, developed at federally-funded a national lab, to be licensed to a Chinese manufacturer who is now making the product in China.

In 2022, federal agencies began rolling out proposed rules and guidance based on Senator Baldwin’s Buy America reforms included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These rules require federal agencies to buy American iron, steel, manufactured goods, and construction materials when funding or financing public infrastructure projects.

Senator Baldwin continued working to expand domestic content requirements in Navy shipbuilding programs this year. At Baldwin’s request, the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act added to the list of ships subject to existing domestic production requirements. Additionally, the annual funding bill included Senator Baldwin’s language on the domestic source content for all Navy shipbuilding programs to support Wisconsin workers. Moreover, Senator Baldwin secured increased funding for the Frigate Industrial Base workforce and supplier development program, which will provide investments in new training facilities and expand industrial partnerships with local communities on tradesmen mentorship and recruitment programs.

Senator Baldwin successfully secured additional funding for the Army’s tactical vehicles produced in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to enable the company to meet its minimum sustaining rates, thereby supporting the Tactical Wheeled Vehicles industrial base, which is made of hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses across Midwest and thousands of jobs in Wisconsin.

This year, Senator Baldwin continued to support American manufacturers who stepped up to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She led her Senate colleagues in urging President Joe Biden, the Architect of the Capitol, and to the Secretary of the Senate to prioritize the purchase of masks made in the U.S. with U.S. materials. In line with Baldwin’s work, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule this year encouraging hospitals to buy American products, thereby bolstering American mask manufacturing to help prevent future shortages of lifesaving personal protective equipment. 

In addition, Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Medical Device Integrity Act was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation. Baldwin’s provision will help increase supply of high-quality medical devices, such as personal protective equipment, and aid in the work of the Food and Drug Administration to better address counterfeit medical devices.

Senator Baldwin secured funding in the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill for the Regional Innovation and Technology Hub program, which Congress authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law earlier this year. The program is based off a proposal from a Brookings Institute report that suggested Madison-Milwaukee as one of the most fertile regions in the country for a new innovation hub.

As Chair of the Commerce Committee subcommittee with jurisdiction over U.S. manufacturing, Senator Baldwin held a hearing to highlight measures Congress included in the CHIPS and Science Act to boost American manufacturing and competitiveness. Representatives from Wisconsin manufacturers Rockwell Automation and Husco International testified at the hearing to share their perspectives.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin helped secure $188 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership to equip small and medium-sized manufacturers with the resources needed to grow and thrive.

As the opioid and substance use disorder crisis continues to plague American families, Senator Baldwin has led numerous efforts to ensure comprehensive federal resources are available to address this issue. In the Fiscal Year 2022 funding bill, the Senator secured $1.525 billion for State Opioid Response grants, including $55 million for tribes. In the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill, she secured an additional $50 million for State Opioid Response grants.

Moreover, Senator Baldwin worked to improve and enhance the grant program by leading the State Opioid Response Grant Authorization Act, which gives states and tribes the ability to use the federal funds to address the misuse of both opioids and stimulants, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. This bill was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation in December.

Senator Baldwin has been a tireless advocate for making sure that communities have the resources needed to save lives and prevent overdoses. In Fiscal Year 2022 funding legislation, she helped secure millions of dollars for grants to Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose Related Deaths; the Targeted Capacity Expansion MAT for Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction program; and CDC’s programs to prevent overdose deaths and respond to infectious disease outbreaks associated with the opioid epidemic.

In addition, Senator Baldwin has worked to make overdose reversal drugs more accessible. In 2022, she introduced the Naloxone Education and Access Act to provide funding to states and tribes to promote education, dispensing and distribution of opioid overdose reversal drugs and devices. A version of this bill was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation, which also included additional funding increases for grant programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration aimed at reducing deaths due to overdose.

Senator Baldwin also called on drug companies to make their treatments available over the counter. In April, Senator Baldwin led a bicameral, bipartisan group of colleagues in sending letters to seven major manufacturers of naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication, urging them to apply for over the counter status for their products to help increase access and save lives. The FDA will be considering two applications for over the counter products in 2023.

Senator Baldwin helped create the 988 National Suicide Lifeline, which went live in July 2022, through the passage of her bipartisan National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. This year, she committed to making sure the lifeline works to support those in crisis. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin helped secure $101 million for the Lifeline in Fiscal Year 2022. Over $7 million of that amount is supporting specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Senator helped secure an additional $400 million for 988. To support Wisconsin’s implementation of 988, the Senator also secured over $3 million in dedicated federal funding.

Moreover, she introduced the bipartisan 988 Coordination and Improvement Act with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to ensure that call centers have resources to respond to calls and give Americans the specialized care they need. Her legislation, which was signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation, will establish a 988-coordinating office within the Department of Health and Human Services and require reports to Congress on the success of the Lifeline.

Senator Baldwin has been a tireless advocate for lowering prescription drug prices and has long fought for Medicare to be able to negotiate prescription drug prices. She cosponsored legislation to require insurance to cap patients’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month. Beginning this year, as required by the Inflation Reduction Act, recommended preventive vaccines are free of charge and insulin is capped at $35 for people with Medicare prescription drug coverage. The Inflation Reduction Act also empowers Medicare to begin negotiating directly for the price of prescription drugs for the first time ever, helping more Americans afford the drugs they need and saving the government nearly $300 billion. The new policy will ensure that patients with Medicare get the best deal possible on high-priced drugs and caps Medicare patients out of pocket costs at $2,000 a year.

In 2021, Senator Baldwin supported passage of the American Rescue Plan Act to expand premium tax credits for low-and middle-income Wisconsinites and lower health insurance premiums for working families who buy insurance through the ACA marketplace. Senator Baldwin helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 to further extend these tax credits for three additional years, lowering health care costs for Wisconsin families and expanding access to affordable health care for millions of Americans.

Senator Baldwin has also worked to hold the Biden Administration accountable for doing more to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In October, the Treasury Department finalized a rule to fix the family glitch, allowing approximately one million Americans to either gain coverage or receive more affordable coverage as a result of the new rule. For years, Senator Baldwin has called for action to address this problem, which prevented families from accessing tax credits to purchase affordable insurance on the exchanges if a mother or father had health insurance through their employer, but their employer did not offer affordable coverage for a spouse or children.

Senator Baldwin helped advance efforts to allow states to extend Medicaid coverage for up to one year postpartum, which was originally included as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. End-of-the-year legislation, supported by Baldwin, builds on this progress by making this option for states permanent, creating additional incentives for states like Wisconsin to provide better coverage for new moms. Wisconsin has extended postpartum coverage under Medicaid to 60 days, and Senator Baldwin is committed to working with state leaders to see this coverage put in place for a full year. In addition, Senator Baldwin helped lead legislation to reauthorize and expand a grant program to screen and treat maternal mental health and substance use disorders, and support the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, which was signed into law.

Senator Baldwin also helped secure a fix signed into law to provide better health care coverage for kids. Thanks to her work, starting in 2024, kids in Wisconsin who are enrolled in BadgerCare will see continuous coverage for a full year, regardless of any slight changes in family eligibility. Previously, kids could be unenrolled from BadgerCare when families experienced slight changes in their income levels. This important law will help make sure that more kids have continued access to health coverage.

Senator Baldwin has spent her career fighting to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. Again this year, Senator Baldwin helped lead the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would guarantee equal access to abortion everywhere—and the right of an abortion provider to deliver these abortion services—free from medically unnecessary restrictions. This bill passed the House of Representatives in July of 2022.

Baldwin called on the President to support “bold action” to protect the right to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and she supported legislation to expand access to over-the-counter birth control and ensure that women’s access to contraceptives is protected. She has consistently fought for funding for family planning services.

In response to the overturning of Roe, Senator Baldwin called on the Biden Administration to take concrete actions to expand access to medication abortion. The Administration later announced that it would ease restrictions on access to mifepristone and allow the drug to be distributed at retail pharmacies, rather than exclusively from doctors. Senator Baldwin also worked with her colleagues to introduce legislation that would provide funding for organizations who support individuals that are forced to travel to seek an abortion. This legislation, which is the first of its kind, would prioritize grants for organizations in states like Wisconsin where abortion is no longer accessible.

Senator Baldwin led a letter with Senator Klobuchar urging the Federal Trade Commission to protect the privacy of women seeking reproductive health care immediately following the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The letter, which highlighted the dangers posed to women by the sale of their data by brokers, noted the need for increased consumer privacy for reproductive health care data. In response, President Biden issued an Executive Order calling on the FTC to protect consumers’ privacy when seeking information about and provision of reproductive health care services, and the FTC subsequently committed to using the “full scope of its legal authorities to protect consumers’ privacy” against illegal use and sharing of highly sensitive reproductive health data.

Two of Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan bills, the Tracking Pathogens Act and Bolstering Infectious Outbreak (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act, were signed into law as part of end-of-the-year legislation. The bills will better prepare the U.S. for future pandemics. The Tracking Pathogens Act will strengthen and expand activities related to advanced molecular detection and genomic sequencing of pathogens, including the use of genomic sequencing to support public health surveillance, enhancing the sequencing and analytics capabilities of the public health workforce, and continuing partnerships with public and private partners. The BIO Preparedness Workforce Act will establish a pilot program to provide loan repayment opportunities for infectious disease clinicians and public health preparedness professionals who work in health care settings to make sure that our health care workforce is better supported and prepared for pandemics.

Senator Baldwin helped bring home Wisconsin’s first Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and announced that Department of Commerce awarded $1.61 million to Wisconsin North Central Minority Supplier Development Council to operate Wisconsin’s first Business Center to assist minority-owned business. Before this, Wisconsin was served by offices in Detroit and Chicago, but now Wisconsin will join a network of MBDA Business Centers and partners from around the country to provide high-quality technical assistance to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) – including by providing counseling and mentoring, assisting with access to capital, securing contracts and grants, and supporting job creation and retention. The goal of the MBDA’s Business Center Program is to promote the growth and global competitiveness of America’s MBEs.

Senator Baldwin worked to make the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency permanent and more than double the agency’s annual funding as part of bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In December, the Biden Administration approved $35.8 billion in financial assistance for the Central States Pension Fund. This funding, which was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, will ensure that nearly 22,000 Wisconsin workers and retirees will receive the pensions they have earned. Senator Baldwin advocated for the inclusion of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act in the American Rescue Plan to support troubled multiemployer pension plans.

In May, the Department of Interior approved the Ho-Chunk Nation’s application for a casino in Beloit. The announcement followed Senator Baldwin’s advocacy to three different administrations for Interior to approve the project, citing the economic impact and local support within Beloit, Rock County, and the State of Wisconsin, as well as increased revenue for the Ho-Chunk Nation to expand educational, housing, and health services for its members.

This year, Senator Baldwin led a bipartisan group in writing to the Surface Transportation Board urging the Board to act to ensure reliable, consistent rail service for American industries and shippers. Disruption of rail services had prevented Wisconsin products from the agriculture, manufacturing, and energy sectors to get to market on time. In response, the Board announced that it would require the largest railroads to submit detailed data on their efforts to improve operations.

Additionally, Senator Baldwin introduced the Reliable Rail Service Act to help address the unreliable service and high costs of rail shipping for American businesses. The legislation, which is supported by rail labor, members of the agriculture industry, energy producers, and manufacturers, better defines the railroads’ common carrier obligation to ensure the largest freight railroads provide American businesses reliable services at reasonable rates.

The Women of Trucking Advisory Board was established this year as the Department of Transportation implemented Senator Baldwin’s Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act, which was signed into law as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law. Members of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board were announced in August, and the Board had its inaugural meeting in November. The Board is tasked with identifying barriers to entry and retention for women in the trucking industry. Currently, women make up 47 percent of the labor force, but only 24 percent of America’s trucking workforce and 7 percent of truck drivers.

In July, the Department of Transportation announced the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, implementing legislation Senator Baldwin successfully included in the 2018 FAA reauthorization legislation. It was developed using feedback from the Air Carrier Access Act Advisory Committee, which includes representatives of passengers with disabilities, national disability organizations, air carriers, airport operators, contractor service providers, aircraft manufacturers, wheelchair manufactures, and a national veterans organization representing disabled veterans.

This year, Senator Baldwin secured funding that supports the wellbeing and safety of the Wisconsin’s servicemembers. She secured funding for barracks renovations at Ft. McCoy. She also championed an expansion of child care options for members of the Coast Guard that will allow parents to utilize off-base providers as well as in-home providers. This is an important quality of life issue for families stationed at Coast Guard locations in Wisconsin that currently have a lack of access to childcare.

Moreover, Senator Baldwin secured $15 million in additional funding for mental health care for members of the National Guard. Part of this funding will be used to hire additional providers specifically for National Guard members. She also successfully advocated for continued funding of the Veterans Crisis Line and additional funding that would support an increase in staffing levels for Suicide Prevention Coordinators who respond to calls.

Senator Baldwin continued to advocate for the proper handling of whistleblower complaints, and of sexual assault and harassment cases in particular. She sent a letter to the National Guard Bureau requesting collaboration on ways to expand the capacity of the Office of Complex Investigations, the organization that handles most sexual assault and harassment reports in the National Guard.

Senator Baldwin secured funding for the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs to assist in preparing for the arrival of F-35s at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison.

This year’s National Defense Authorization Act directs the Department of Defense to ensure inclusion of state-owned National Guard facilities in its proper cleanup of hazardous substances. Senator Baldwin advocated for this measure to ensure continued attention to and funding for PFAS testing and remediation at military installations and their surrounding communities.

In keeping with her commitment to better care for veterans who experienced toxic exposure during their service, Senator Baldwin voted for the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics of 2022 (PACT Act). This law will extend VA benefits to more than 3.5 million veterans who served during the Gulf War as well as Post-9/11, establish new VA health care facilities, and improve the process through which the VA screens veterans for toxic exposure health effects.

The House of Representatives passed Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act in late 2022. The bill will expand community-based outreach that will help veterans access services to improve their health and wellness. While the bill stalled in the Senate, the Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill requires the VA to report to Congress on availability of and access to community-based and home-based services for veterans in rural areas, including those who live on Tribal lands, are women, or are disabled.

As Chair of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baldwin worked to pass her bipartisan Farmland Security Act as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill. The bill, which she introduced with Senator Grassley (R-IA) requires greater scrutiny over foreign investments into American agricultural land to protect family farms, rural communities and food supply chains.

Specifically, Senator Baldwin led the effort to require reporting by USDA on the impact foreign investments in agricultural land have on the domestic food supply, small farming operations and rural communities. USDA will also be required to modernize the reporting requirements by foreign entities to improve our nation’s security by creating an interactive and public database of these investments.

The outbreak of COVID-19 highlighted significant supply chain disruptions and vulnerabilities, with reports of agricultural exports sitting at ports while ocean carriers returned to Asia with empty containers. In response, Senator Baldwin helped introduce bipartisan legislation that will help level the playing field for American exporters by discouraging ocean carriers from unreasonably refusing goods ready to export at ports. It would also give the Federal Maritime Commission, the federal agency responsible for the regulation of ocean borne transportation, greater authority to regulate harmful practices by carriers. President Biden signed the bill into law in June 2022.

As Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin advanced Fiscal Year 2023 legislation that invests in Wisconsin’s agriculture economy and supports hardworking farmers and producers nationwide. For example, the bill includes additional funding for agricultural research and funding to respond to the historic avian flu outbreak that is contributing to the increase in egg prices. Senator Baldwin’s bill includes funding for her Dairy Business Innovative Initiative, Grazing Lands Initiative, and Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. The bill provides increased funding for the Agriculture Marketing Service that creates domestic and international marketing opportunities and the Farm Service Agency that provides farm operating and ownership loans.

Senator Baldwin led the effort to fight back against fraudulent organic imports and ensure a fair playing field for American farmers by securing the passage of the Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act in the 2018 Farm Bill. In 2023, USDA finalized the organic certification rule required by Senator Baldwin’s bill. The rule will protect the integrity of organic supply chains by ensuring that foreign producers no longer have the opportunity to undercut American organic farmers in the marketplace.

Additionally, because of global marketplace disruptions and extreme weather, organic producers and family farmers in Wisconsin and across the country are facing high feed costs. Senator Baldwin called on USDA to partner with Congress to provide solutions for the organic industry to ensure these small, family-owned agricultural operations can stay in business. As a result, USDA announced up to an additional $100 million for targeted assistance to smaller dairies that are most vulnerable to marketing challenges and supply chain disruptions.

Senator Baldwin led a bipartisan resolution with Senator Collins (R-ME)recognizing “National Loggers Day” and the importance of the industry in the United States. The forest products supply chain remains an important part of Wisconsin’s economy and this bill acknowledges this contribution of loggers and timber professionals.

Dairy won hard fought access into the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), enabling Wisconsin’s dairy producers and cheesemakers to have a fair playing field when selling their products in neighboring markets. Senator Baldwin called on the U.S. Trade Representative and United States Department of Agriculture hold our trading partners accountable in this process. As a result, the Biden Administration announced that they are pursuing consultations with Canada over its dairy tariff rate quota administration under the USMCA.

Wisconsin is now home to an Institute for Rural Partnership, one in a network of three in the nation. As Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin worked to create and fund the Institutes for Rural Partnership, which will go far in addressing the unique challenges facing rural communities through research, outreach activities, and partnership development. More specifically, the funding will promote equitable, resilient, and prosperous food and agricultural systems, a fair marketplace for producers, and expanded opportunities for economic development in rural communities. The Institutes will also collaborate with community-based initiatives and local research, educational institutions, and subject matter experts.

Senator Baldwin applauded USDA’s expansion of the Rural Partners Network to Wisconsin. This program will establish a targeted network of USDA staff and resources with the goal of supporting local organizations, creating local jobs, building infrastructure, and supporting long-term economic stability. The network will also help rural communities across the state in accessing the historic funding provides by the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act.

Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Great Lakes Winter Commerce was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill supports economic activity on the Great Lakes through several improvements to icebreaking, including: codifying the Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission in the Great Lakes, requiring the service to maintain a certain standard of icebreaking activity and navigable waterways, authorizing $350 million for the construction of a new Great Lakes icebreaker, and requiring the creation of a database related to the impact of icebreaking as a barrier to commerce in the Great Lakes. The bill additionally requires annual reports and ongoing USCG coordination with commercial icebreaking operations.

This spring, Senator Baldwin, Chair of the Oceans Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, led a letter to the Biden administration urging the prompt nomination of the 27th Commandant of the USCG, underscoring the importance of the position for national security, ocean shipping supply chain resiliency, and environmental protection. President Biden nominated Admiral Fagan for the position, and her nomination was confirmed by the Senate in May 2022.

Senator Baldwin hosted Admiral Fagan in Sturgeon Bay, WI in 2021 to meet with a USCG unit to discuss the unique challenges that units experience, such as access to affordable childcare and a shortage of housing options for Coast Guard members and families. Additionally, they talked about the Coast Guard’s icebreaking missions on the Great Lakes and the need for an a additional Great Lakes Icebreaker to support our supply chains and the Made in Wisconsin economy.

Senator Baldwin led the effort since 2017 to protect workers and local communities in Wisconsin from multiple industrial facilities that were improperly accepting hazardous waste and violating air and waste management rules. After years of pressing the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Transportation to pursue and finalize investigations into the Container Life Cycle Management, owned by Greif, Inc. facilities in Wisconsin, the United States Department of Justice secured a settlement this winter. The U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with Container Life Cycle Management LLC to address the company’s air emissions and waste management violations at its container reconditioning facilities in St. Francis and Oak Creek and a former site in Milwaukee. The settlement requires the company to upgrade its facilities that will protect workers and nearby residents.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin has worked to secure funding to address PFAS in Wisconsin communities. The Fiscal Year 2023 funding bill includes additional funds to support safe water infrastructure at municipalities and water utilities across the Wisconsin, including funding for projects to mitigate PFAS pollution. The bill includes funds to support innovative water technologies and technical assistance. It also includes funds for USDA to test soil, water, or agricultural products and mitigate the impact of PFAS on farmers and producers. The bill includes funding for EPA research into the transmission of PFAS in watersheds and activities to help reduce exposure to the contaminants in our food supply and for promoting farm viability.

Senator Baldwin secured funding dedicated to water infrastructure projects, including PFAS mitigation, in Wausau, Rib Mountain, Eau Claire, Campbell, Peshtigo, Park Falls, and Milwaukee.

As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Senator Baldwin secured additional funding for the USDA ReConnect Program. ReConnect provides loans and grants to improve and expand access to high speed broadband service in remote and under-served rural areas. Senator Baldwin also directed USDA to continue to update the program and minimize the burden of applying for funds.

In November, the FCC debuted a new broadband map as required by the Broadband DATA Act, which Senator Baldwin cosponsored and became law in March of 2020. These maps will be used to guide implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s historic investment to close Wisconsin’s digital divide. Senator Baldwin also joined 25 bipartisan colleagues on a letter to the FCC urging it to work with stakeholders to improve the accuracy of the map and hold internet service providers accountable for the data they provide to the Commission.

Senator Baldwin secured passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, thirteen years after its original introduction. The law repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and requires federal and interstate recognition of legal same-sex and interracial marriages. Senator Baldwin led negotiations to secure bipartisan support with an amendment that clarified the bill’s intent and protection of existing religious liberties. By doing so, Senator Baldwin provided assurance to the LGBTQI+ community that their hard-won rights would be protected by federal law.

In June, the House passed Senator Baldwin’s LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act, which would require federal agencies to collect voluntary, self-disclosed data on sexual orientation, sex characteristics, and gender identity in federal surveys. The LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act will help ensure that policy makers and community leaders have the information they need to help better understand the full extent discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community and to better serve the communities they represent. President Biden’s June 15 Executive Order on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and Intersex Individuals takes a step towards better data collection by establishing a new federal coordinating committee on sexual orientation and gender identity data to lead efforts across agencies to identify opportunities to strengthen data collection while safeguarding privacy protections and civil rights for LGBTQI+ individuals.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin secured historic increases in funding to offset the cost of childcare for Wisconsin families. Senator Baldwin’s advocacy also secured an expansion of categorical Head Start eligibility to SNAP recipients, lowering barriers to Head Start enrollment and connecting more children to high quality early education. She also worked to secure dedicated funding to support access to childcare in Wisconsin, including funds the state will use to expand early childhood education apprenticeship programming and build new childcare centers in Platteville and Richland Center.

Senator Baldwin secured a total increase to the maximum Pell award of $900 as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 appropriations bills. Nearly 100,000 Wisconsin students receive Pell Grant awards to offset the cost of higher education. Increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $900 over these two fiscal years makes significant progress towards Senator Baldwin’s commitment to doubling the total Pell Grant award.

Senator Baldwin voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Congress’ most comprehensive gun safety legislation since the 1990s, which was signed into law in June. In addition to providing $150 million for 988, the bill supports the implementation of state “red flag” laws, addresses the “boyfriend loophole,” increases penalties for straw purchasing, enhances background checks for gun buyers under age 21, provides $250 million for community-based violence prevention initiatives, and includes $2 billion for school based mental health services and to improve conditions for student learning.

On September 19, 2022, the Senate confirmed Gregory J. Haanstad to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for a term of four years. Haanstad was recommended by Senators Baldwin and Johnson and their bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission. The Senators jointly sent his name to President Biden for consideration.

Senator Baldwin voted to confirm the first African American woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Senator Baldwin spoke on the Senate floor in support of now-Justice Jackson, highlighting Justice Jackson’s work as a public defender and noting the importance of representation on the Court to young girls of color. In the 117th Congress, Senator Baldwin supported the confirmation of 97 judges – three quarters of whom are women and nearly half are women of color. In 2022, Senator Baldwin voted to confirm 16 judges to federal appeals courts and 39 judges to federal district courts, including the first Black women to serve on the Third and Fifth Circuits.

Senator Baldwin voted for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, signed into law in March 2022. The reauthorization of VAWA extends services and funding through 2027, preserves advancements made in previous reauthorizations, and includes a number of additional improvements to the current law. The bipartisan authorization provides economic security assistance for survivors by reauthorizing the National Resource Center on Workplace Response, expands access to medical forensic examinations after a sexual assault for survivors who live in rural communities, protects Indian women by improving tribal access to federal crime information databases and clarifying the existence of tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indian perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual violence, sex trafficking, and stalking that takes place on tribal lands, and authorizes a grant program to provide community-specific services for LGBT survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Senator Baldwin also voted for the FY23 omnibus bill which included $700 million, the highest funding level ever, for grants provided by the Office on Violence Against Women.

Senator Baldwin introduced her Legacies of War Recognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act, a bill that authorizes humanitarian aid to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia with respect to the clearance of unexploded ordnance. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she secured additional funds for conventional weapons destruction programs, including funds dedicated to Southeast Asia.

She led her colleagues in sending a letter requesting a State Department investigation into the death of Omar Assad, an American citizen and former resident of Milwaukee, who was killed by Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank. The State Department publicly condemned the incident and called for a thorough criminal investigation. The Israeli government acknowledged the leadership failures that contributed to Mr. Assad’s death and committed to pursuing disciplinary action against those responsible.

Additionally, Senator Baldwin successfully advocated for a more aggressive approach to requiring the Egyptian government to conform to international standards for human rights protections. She led her colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson regarding the Egyptian government’s ongoing practice of imposing travel bans, asset freezes, and arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detentions of political prisoners, including U.S. citizens.

Baldwin continued to advocate for programs that protect LGBTQI+ rights globally, including by securing over $50 million for these offices and programs, including a new funding line under USAID that specifically addresses inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons.

After Senator Baldwin led her colleagues in making the request to the Administration, Temporary Protected Status was granted for Cameroonians in America. The Senators had argued that the ongoing armed conflict and resulting dramatic increase in human rights abuses made returning to the country a horrific and likely deadly option for many asylum seekers. The Administration agreed to offer an 18-month TPS designation, protecting an estimated 11,700 Cameroonians.

Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation to rename the New Richmond, Wisconsin Post Office in honor of two WWII heroes from the town passed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending bill. The Post Office will now called the “Captain Robert C. Harmon and Private John R. Peirson Post Office.” The legislation honors Captain Robert C. Harmon and his half-brother, Private John R. Peirson, who were both killed during World War II.

Senator Baldwin and Senator Johnson introduced a resolution recognizing the one-year anniversary of the tragic attack at the Waukesha Christmas Parade, which was agreed to in the Senate in November 2022. The resolution honors the memories of the Wisconsinites killed in the attack, recognizes the strength and resiliency of the Waukesha community, and applauds the bravery of first responders and medical professionals who responded to the attack and cared for the injured.

Senator Baldwin and Senator Johnson introduced a resolution recognizing the 10-year anniversary of the tragic attack at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and honoring the memory of those who died, which passed the Senate in August 2022. The resolution offered the Senate’s heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who died in the attack, applauded the bravery of first responders, and recognized the Sikh community for its unwavering courage, strength, and resilience in response to the attack.

Senator Baldwin voted for the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that reforms and modernizes a 19th century law to ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. It creates clear procedures that maintain appropriate state and federal roles in selecting the President and Vice President of the United States as set forth in the U.S. Constitution. In January of 2022, Senator Baldwin made a floor speech calling for action to protect voting rights and underscoring how the Big Lie led to tragedy on January 6, 2021. The legislation clarifies the law that was misused to justify violence on January 6 and protects American democracy from these unacceptable attacks in the future.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Baldwin worked to include over $255 million in dedicated to funding projects throughout Wisconsin in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations bill. This builds on the work she did to secure $187 million for Wisconsin projects earlier this year. These community-driven projects will reach every corner of Wisconsin, with critical investments for roads, bridges and water infrastructure, workforce development, access to health and child care, improvements for emergency services, and so much more.